2016 Philippine Senate election

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12 (of the 24) seats to theSenate of the Philippines 13 seats needed for a majority
Alliance KDM PGP UNA Seats won 7 4 1 Popular vote 140,756,973 32,154,139 24,660,722 Percentage 43.81 30.83 7.68
Results of the election per province/city. Results are determined via nationwide vote, the map represents if the results were determined per province/city, ordered by Koalisyon ng Daang Matuwid, Partido Galing at Puso, then other parties and coalitions. Results showing the alliance affiliation of first-placed candidates by province
Senate President before election Franklin Drilon Liberal Elected Senate President Koko Pimentel PDP–Laban

The2016 election of members to the Senate of the Philippines was the 32ndelection of members to theSenate of the Philippines. It was held on Monday, May 9, 2016, The seats of 12 senatorselected in 2010 were filled during this election. The winners in this election joined the winners of the 2013 election to form the17th Congress of the Philippines. The senators elected in 2013 served until June 30, 2019, while the senators elected in this election would serve up to June 30, 2022.

The Senate election was part of the2016 general election where elections for the president of the Philippines, vice president, members of the Philippine House of Representatives, and all local officials, including those from theAutonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, were held.

The Senate election used aplurality-at-large voting system where the voter votes for 12 candidates, with each candidate getting one vote, and from which the twelve candidates with the highest number of votes are elected to serve for six years.

Philippine senatorial elections are done via theplurality-at-large voting system: the entire country is oneat-large "district", where a voter can vote up to twelve people (one vote per candidate), with the twelve candidates with the highest number of votes deemed elected. Senators who are currently serving their second consecutive term areterm limited, although they may run again in 2019. Onlyhalf of the seats are up in every senatorial election. The winning senators replaced thebatch elected in 2010, and joined thebatch elected in 2013 in the 17th Congress.

Each party has aslate of as many candidates as it desires, although parties don't usually exceed a 12-personticket. A party may also choose to invite "guest candidates" to complete its slate. The party may even include, with the candidates' consent,independent candidates and candidates from other parties as the party's guest candidates. A coalition of different parties may also be formed.

In general elections where senators and presidents are elected at the same time, the presidential candidates often have their own slates of senatorial candidates. This means voters have more choices unlike in midterm elections, when there are usually only two major contending political forces.

Winning candidates are proclaimed by theCommission on Elections (COMELEC) sitting as the National Board of Canvassers. Candidates are proclaimed senators-elect if the thirteenth-place candidate no longer has a mathematical chance of surpassing the twelfth-place candidate. Post-proclamation disputes are handled by theSenate Electoral Tribunal, a body composed of six senators and three justices from theSupreme Court.

A coalition led by theLiberal Party (Liberal) of Interior and Local Government SecretaryMar Roxas, the successor of the administration-backedTeam PNoy coalition In 2013, and the primary oppositionUnited Nationalist Alliance of Vice PresidentJejomar Binay, put up senatorial slates. Aside from these coalitions, candidates running for president also put up their own opposition slates. Some candidates are included in more than one coalitions.

The senatorial ticket of the Liberal Party called as "Koalisyon ng Daang Matuwid" (Coalition for the Straight Path), was unveiled last October 12, 2015 at the Liberal's headquarters in Cubao, Quezon City led by President Aquino III, and the Roxas and Robredo tandem.^[1]

In a resolution passed September 30, 2015, the Liberal National Directorate, and Liberal National Executive Council nominated incumbent senatorsFranklin Drilon,TG Guingona andRalph Recto, formerDepartment of Justice (DOJ) secretaryLeila de Lima and former senatorFrancis Pangilinan for inclusion.^[2] Liberal Standard-bearer Mar Roxas also declared formerEnergy Secretary and formerLeyte governorJericho Petilla (Liberal) as part of the slate.^[3] On October 12, 2015, Interior and Local Government Assistant Secretary for Muslim Affairs and Special Concerns Ina Ambolodto, PhilHealth Board DirectorRisa Hontiveros, COOP-NATCCO Party List Representative Cresente Paez andTechnical Education and Skills Development Authority Director GeneralJoel Villanueva were included in the slate.^[4]

The senatorial slate ofGrace Poe, known as "Partido Galing at Puso," included independents and candidates from other political parties. The coalition line up was unveiled for the first time after the last day of filing on October 16, 2015. It includedManila vice mayorIsko Moreno, congressmanWin Gatchalian, worker advocateSusan Ople, incumbent senatorTito Sotto, Bayan Muna congressmanNeri Colmenares, actorEdu Manzano, lawyerLorna Kapunan, party-list congressmanSamuel Pagdilao, former senatorMigz Zubiri, andRichard J. Gordon, congressmanRoman Romulo, On October 29, 2015 the senatorial coalition line up was unveiled atClub Filipino.

The following are barred from seeking reelection, although they can be elected anew in 2019:

1. Pia Cayetano (NP), running for House representative fromTaguig's 2nd district

   Won the election for House representative fromTaguig's2nd district.^[5] Cayetano ran for senator in 2019 and won.

2. Miriam Defensor Santiago (PRP), running forpresident of the Philippines

   Ran for president and lost. Santiago subsequently died in September 2016.^[6]

3. Juan Ponce Enrile (UNA)

   In December 2013, Enrile said he would retire from politics, denying reports he would run for governor ofCagayan province.^[7] Enrile ran for senatorin 2019 and lost.

4. Jinggoy Estrada (UNA)

   In detention due to corruption charges and his alleged involvement in thePriority Development Assistance Fund scam, Estrada told reporters that after his August 2014 bail hearing he would "run in 2016 for a higher office" and that he would be Vice PresidentJejomar Binay's running mate.^[8] However, this did not materialize, withGregorio Honasan finally chosen by his party 's running to be Binay's running mate. Estrada ran for senatorin 2019 and lost. Estrada ran again for senatorin 2022 and won.

5. Lito Lapid (Independent), running for mayor ofAngeles City

   In January 2015, Lapid announced that he would run for mayor ofAngeles City.^[9] Lapid eventually lost.^[5] Lapid ran for senatorin 2019 and won.

6. Bong Revilla (Lakas)

   In detention due to corruption charges and his alleged involvement in thePriority Development Assistance Fund scam, Revilla expressed that he was considering a 2016 presidential campaign and a return to show business.^[10] However, this did not materialize. Revilla ran for senatorin 2019 and won.

Other incumbent senators may seek other political offices in 2016.

The following senators' terms are ending in 2016, are eligible to run, but targeted other positions:

1. Bongbong Marcos (Independent), running forvice president of the Philippines

   Ran for vice president asMiriam Defensor Santiago's (PRP)running mate and lost.^[11]

The following senators' terms ended in 2019. They could run for other positions, but could return to the Senate if they lose; have they won, they were expected to forfeit their Senate seats once the terms of their new position started:

1. Alan Peter Cayetano (Independent), running forvice president of the Philippines

   Ran for vice president asRodrigo Duterte's (PDP–Laban) running mate and lost.^[11]

2. Francis Escudero (Independent), running forvice president of the Philippines

   Ran for vice president asGrace Poe's (independent) running mate and lost.^[11]

3. Gregorio Honasan (UNA), running forvice president of the Philippines

   Ran for vice president asJejomar Binay's (UNA) running mate and lost.^[11]

4. Grace Poe (Independent), running forpresident of the Philippines

   Ran for president and lost.^[11]

5. Antonio Trillanes (Independent), running forvice president of the Philippines

   Running for vice president with no running mate but is supporting Grace Poe's candidacy, and lost.^[11]

None of the candidates whose terms ended in 2019 won, thereby giving the Senate a full 24-person membership at the start of the upcoming Congress.

Cayetano is a member of theNacionalista Party, so were Marcos and Trillanes, but all did not win that party's nomination to run as vice president. Instead, they were running as independents in the vice presidential election. Cayetano and Trillanes were expected to return to the Senate as Nacionalistas once the Senate opened its session for the 17th Congress.

In March 2015,Walden Bello resigned his position in Congress and from theAkbayan party, which is allied with PresidentBenigno Aquino III, due to conflicts with Aquino that surrounded the Disbursement Acceleration Program and theMamasapano incident.^[12] As a result of the Mamasapano clash,Getulio Napeñas was relieved from his position and later retired.^[13]

On May 20, 2015, theOffice of the Ombudsman dismissed the complaint filed by formerIloilo provincial administrator Manuel Mejorada against SenatorFranklin Drilon, DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson, DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr., and other officials involved in the construction of theIloilo Convention Center.^[14] On August 7, 2015, SenatorGringo Honasan, former CIBAC congressman and now TESDA chairJoel Villanueva, and seven other former and incumbent lawmakers were charged before theOffice of the Ombudsman in connection with thepork barrel scam.^[15]

In August 2015,Leila de Lima assisted Isaias Samson, an expelled minister ofIglesia ni Cristo (INC), in filing a case against the sect. Members protested at theDOJ office the next day while others occupiedEDSA inMandaluyong a few days later to urge de Lima to resign, and give focus to theMamasapano clash where two members of the INC were killed.^[16] On September 15, 2015,Francis Pangilinan announced his resignation from the cabinet of President Benigno Aquino III.^[17] On September 29, 2015,Francis Tolentino spoke inCavite for his intention to run for the Senate under Aquino'sLiberal Party. However, controversy surrounding a lewd performance in a political rally inSanta Cruz,Laguna forced him to resign from the party.^[18]

Grace Poe andFrancis Escudero revealed that eight candidates were named on the initial list of their senatorial slate.^[19] On September 30, 2015, Poe endorsedBayan Muna representativeNeri Colmenares.^[20] On October 12, 2015, theLiberal Party announced its complete senatorial line-up inQuezon City under theKoalisyon ng Daang Matuwid.^[21] TheUnited Nationalist Alliance completed their slate on October 21, 2015.^[22]Panfilo Lacson accused Poe of favoring actorEdu Manzano over himself on October 27, 2015 when it was reported that Manzano was joining the Senate slate of Poe.^[23] On October 29, 2015, Poe and Escudero announced in an event held inClub Filipino,San Juan, the complete senatorial slate for thePartido Galing at Puso coalition.^[24]

In an event commemoratingTyphoon Haiyan inTacloban on November 7, 2015,Martin Romualdez, the nephew ofImelda Marcos, declared his support forJejomar Binay.^[25] On November 14, 2015, in an interview byABS-CBN News Channel,Karen Davila askedAlma Moreno with questions regarding theReproductive Health Law. The interview went viral when Moreno was unable to answer coherently.^[26] In November 2015,Princess Jacel Kiram andMalaysian politicianNurul Izzah Anwar posted a photo demanding Malaysian Prime MinisterNajib Razak to free opposition leaderAnwar Ibrahim which was received negatively in that country, prompting Nurul Izzah to apologize.^[27] On November 17, 2015, in a vote of 5–4, theSenate Electoral Tribunal denied thepetition filed by aspiring 2016 presidential candidate Rizalito David for the disqualification ofGrace Poe as a senator.^[28]

On December 14, 2015, the court rejectedJovito Palparan's bid to be released on bail despite his plea that he is running for Senate.^[29] On January 26, 2016, theSenate Blue Ribbon subcommittee concluded its hearings on the corruption allegations against Vice President and UNA presidential candidate Jejomar Binay.^[30]

Campaigning for the Senate elections began on February 9, 2016. The United Nationalist Alliance's campaign started with a proclamation rally held inMandaluyong on that same day.^[31] The 10-person senatorial line-up ofMiriam Defensor Santiago's campaign were unveiled during a campaign event at theYnares Sports Arena on February 14, 2016.^[32] On February 15, 2016,PDP–Laban, the party ofRodrigo Duterte announced that it would not have a senatorial slate so that the party can concentrate on promoting the candidate.^[33]

On February 15, 2016, UNA senatorial candidateManny Pacquiao, in a video statement posted byTV5 for itsBilang Pilipino coverage, made a comment on the issue ofsame-sex marriage. He described people in these marriages as "mas masahol pa sa hayop" (English Translation: behaving worse than animals.)^[34] Pacquiao later apologized and stated that as aBorn Again Christian, he is against same-sex marriage, based onBiblicalteachings but he did not condemn gay people.^[35]Nike ended their longtime partnership with Pacquiao stating that his comments against gay people were abhorrent.^[36] Bello filed a petition that may disqualify Pacquiao for violating election rules regarding publicity.^[37][38] Based on the commission's rules, Pacquiao's wife,Jinkee Pacquiao, may substitute.^[39]

On February 22, 2016,Richard J. Gordon filed a petition to theSupreme Court to reverse a decision by theComelec from refraining to print receipts from the voting machines.^[40]Greco Belgica followed suit.^[41]

A total of 50 candidates were included in the initial list of candidates to be included in the ballot.^[42]

Opinion polling, locally known as surveys in the Philippines, is conducted bySocial Weather Stations (SWS),Pulse Asia and other pollsters.

The frontrunner is inbold. Those which are within the margin of error are initalics.

This list includes all individuals named by at least 10% of respondents in any of the eight conducted surveys. The top 16 candidates with the highest favourability in each poll are listed below, where the top 12 is marked with a "black line". For a comprehensive list of all individuals included in the surveys, and other surveys that have been conducted before 2016,see the main article.

The Commission on Elections, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers, convened for the first time on May 11, receiving the first batch of certificates of canvass, totaling 40, from various cities and diplomatic outposts.^[43] The camp ofFrancis Tolentino, the 13th-placed candidate, citing the alteration bySmartmatic to the script at the commission's "Transparency server", objected to the impending proclamation of the winning senators by securing a restraining order at theSupreme Court, but failed.^[44] On May 31, the SC has dismissed Tolentino's petition for being "moot and academic".^[45]

The commission proclaimed the 12 winning candidates on May 19.^[46] The senators elect include three senators-elect who were reelected, four returning senators from previous Congresses, and five neophytes. Seven candidates fromKoalisyon ng Daang Matuwid won, four from Partido Galing at Puso, and one from theUnited Nationalist Alliance.

The three senators who successfully defended their seats wereFranklin Drilon,Ralph Recto andTito Sotto.

There were four senators who returned to the Senate. These wereDick Gordon,Panfilo Lacson,Francis Pangilinan, andJuan Miguel Zubiri.

Five senators entered the chamber for the first time. These wereLeila de Lima,Win Gatchalian,Risa Hontiveros,Manny Pacquiao andJoel Villanueva. De Lima won her first election; this was the first election of Villanueva with his name on the ballot instead of his party (him being a nominee of theCitizens' Battle Against Corruption inparty-list elections); this was the first senatorial election for both Gatchalian and Pacquiao; and this was the third attempt of Hontiveros.

IncumbentsSerge Osmeña andTG Guingona did not successfully defend their seats.

Composition of the Senate before and after the election:

Key:

• ‡ Seats up
• + Gained by a party from another party
• √ Held by the incumbent
• * Held by the same party with a new senator

Notes:

• Alan Peter Cayetano,Bongbong Marcos andAntonio Trillanes, who all ran for the vice presidency as independents, are shown as members of theNacionalista Party both before and after the election.
• Manny Pacquiao ran under theUnited Nationalist Alliance during the election, but switched toPDP–Laban before the 17th Congress convened. He is shown here as a member of the PDP–Laban in the results tables, except for the "Per candidate" table, and on the "Per party" table's "Wins" column, where he is shown as an UNA member. In all other tables, including the "Per party" table's "Start" column, he is a PDP–Laban member.

• 
  Franklin Drilon
• 
  Joel Villanueva
• 
  Tito Sotto
• 
  Panfilo Lacson
• 
  Dick Gordon
• 
  Manny Pacquiao
• 
  Migz Zubiri
• 
  Kiko Pangilinan
• 
  Risa Hontiveros
• 
  Win Gatchalian
• 
  Ralph Recto
• 
  Leila de Lima

• The seats won totals does not account for guest candidates.

Manny Pacquiao won the election as a candidate ofUnited Nationalist Alliance (UNA), but later joined thePDP–Laban before the start of the 17th Congress. Pacquiao is treated as an UNA candidate in this table, except in the "After" column" where he is included in PDP–Laban's totals.

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats
					Up	Before	Won	After	+/−
	Liberal Party	100,512,795	31.28	+19.94	3	4	5	6	+2
	Nationalist People's Coalition	32,154,139	10.01	−0.15	1	2	2	3	+1
	United Nationalist Alliance	24,660,722	7.68	−19.29	1	3	1	2	−1
	Akbayan	15,915,213	4.95	+1.26	0	0	1	1	New
	Lakas–CMD	13,056,845	4.06	New	2	2	0	0	−2
	Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino	11,932,700	3.71	New	1	2	0	1	−1
	Aksyon Demokratiko	8,433,168	2.62	New	0	0	0	0	0
	Makabayan	6,484,985	2.02	+0.58	0	0	0	0	0
	Nacionalista Party	2,775,191	0.86	−14.44	2	5	0	3	−2
	Partido ng Manggagawa at Magsasaka	2,470,660	0.77	+0.16	0	0	0	0	0
	Kilusang Bagong Lipunan	1,971,327	0.61	New	0	0	0	0	0
	Independent	100,939,528	31.42	+8.16	1	3	3	5	+2
	Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino				0	1	0	1	0
	PDP–Laban				0	1	0	2	+1
	People's Reform Party				1	1	0	0	−1
Total		321,307,273	100.00	–	12	24	12	24	0
Total votes		44,979,151	–
Registered voters/turnout		55,739,911	80.69

• Serge Osmeña (independent), ranin 2019 and lost
• TG Guingona (Liberal/KDM)

On July 25, the day of convening of the 17th Congress, Tito Sotto and Migz Zubiri nominated Koko Pimentel for the Senate presidency, while Francis Escudero and Antonio Trillanes nominated Ralph Recto. Pimentel won by a vote of 20-3 with the backing of the largest party in the chamber, the Liberal Party, which included Recto as part of the tradition of opposing candidates voting for one other. Alan Peter Cayetano, who has expressed interest in leading the Senate, was absent during the session.^[47] Recto automatically became the Minority Leader after losing to Pimentel. Franklin Drilon was elected Senate President pro tempore while Sotto was elected Majority Leader.^[48]

• Philippine Senate elections
• 2016 Philippine general election

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