Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines — Oakwood mutiny leader Antonio Trillanes IV has won a seat in the Senate, making history as the country’s first former military officer to be elected senator while detained on coup d’etat charges.
Trillanes, a candidate of the Genuine Opposition (GO), sealed his victory Thursday with the returns from Surigao del Norte province. He is to be proclaimed the 11th in the winning circle of 12 senators Friday morning by the Commission on Elections sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBC).
“We believe it is already mathematically impossible to overcome the lead of Trillanes, in view of which the board has decided to have a partial proclamation again in [his] favor,” Comelec Chair Benjamin Abalos Sr. said before adjourning the NBC session at noon Thursday.
Abalos’ announcement — which he made after reading the ballot tally from Surigao del Norte, which accounted for 207,361 votes — was greeted with modest applause from the election lawyers present. Trillanes’ lawyer, Reynaldo Robles, contained his jubilation with a smile.
Trillanes actually did not fare well in the province, with only 44,604 votes that put him at No. 16.
But his hold on No. 11 in the overall tally remained firm, leading Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III of GO and Juan Miguel Zubiri of Team Unity (TU) by 272,670 votes and 384,231 votes, respectively.
Overjoyed
“Tuwang-tuwa kami (We’re overjoyed),” Robles told reporters.
Robles said he would try to “work it out” for the 35-year-old former Navy lieutenant to leave his detention cell in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, for the proclamation.
“He said it was OK with him not to attend his own proclamation. But I told him he owed it to the public to [be there], as a way of thanking and honoring all those who voted for him,” Robles said.
The lawyer said Trillanes had become “anxious” over the proclamation of the other winning senatorial candidates. “We felt that he should have been proclaimed also despite the uncanvassed returns. It was mathematically possible, but highly improbable, for the other candidates to overtake him.”
The Comelec proclaimed last week the first 10 winners in the senatorial race, including six GO candidates, ensuring the opposition’s continuing dominance of the Senate.
Robles said that after the Surigao del Norte certificate of canvass was tabulated, he was actually preparing to argue that Trillanes should now be proclaimed.
He said he could only heave a sigh of relief when Abalos made the announcement.
“He is the first senator to be elected while in detention, as far as I know,” Robles said of his client. “I think my information’s pretty accurate.”
Fight for last spot
With Trillanes’ impending proclamation, the battle will focus on the fight between Pimentel and Zubiri for the last spot.
The latest Comelec tally showed Pimentel still leading Zubiri by 111,561 votes. Contrary to TU expectations, the votes from Surigao del Norte failed to dislodge Pimentel from the 12th spot.
Zubiri garnered a total of 56,011 votes compared to Pimentel’s 56,165 votes.
“We are thankful that the canvassing is finally over for Trillanes. Of course, we will not leave Koko (Pimentel). We will continue to support him and make sure that the right votes will be counted,” Robles said.
Unaccounted votes from Maguindanao and several towns in Basilan, Bogo in Cebu and Biñan in Laguna were, according to Abalos, still pegged at less than 500,000, which could still alter the rankings of Pimentel and Zubiri.
The fight for the 12th spot could be extended should the Comelec en banc decide to declare a failure of elections and hold special polls in Maguindanao, where massive electoral fraud is said to have occurred.
A hearing on the matter is scheduled on Friday after Trillanes’ proclamation.
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