Comelec proclamation of winning senators expected on May 17

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May 15, 2025 | 6:43pm

MANILA, Philippines — Winners of the 2025 senatorial race may be proclaimed by Saturday (May 17) as long as the remaining certificates of canvass are transmitted on time, according to the Commission on Elections.

Comelec Chairperson George Garcia said in an interview on Thursday, May 15, that the poll body hopes to complete the canvassing of the 16 remaining COCs today.

If all goes according to plan, the Comelec chairperson said they would be able to proclaim winning senatorial candidates by Saturday afternoon, with winning party-lists to follow on Monday.

The poll body has processed 159 out of 175 COCs as of Thursday, which is the second day of its canvassing. The midterm polls were held on Monday, May 12. 

"If that happens, this will be the fastest in our history that we are able to proclaim the winning senatorial candidates, and then the party-list winners," Garcia said in mixed English and Filipino. "So hopefully our canvassing will continue as scheduled today."

All COCs from local polling posts have already been received as of Wednesday, Garcia said, but three COCs overseas are still pending transmission.

The Comelec chairperson explained that the precinct in Moscow still needs to send their results to Qatar, while Milan needs to transmit theirs through Kuwait due to technical issues.

Garcia said they are coordinating with embassies and consulates to ensure all remaining COCs were sent by 3 p.m. Thursday.

The elections on Monday saw a turnout of more than 55 million — at least 81.65% of all registered voters. This is the highest voter turnout so far for a midterm election in the Comelec's history.

The polls held halfway into the Marcos administration will determine 12 new senators and over 300 new lawmakers at the House of Representatives, alongside local government positions.

Election day itself was marred by technical issues and delays across multiple voting precincts.

The National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL), an accredited citizens' arm of Comelec, documented several issues during election day, including malfunctioning vote-counting machines (VCMs), overcrowding and breaches in ballot secrecy.

NAMFREL observers reported that approximately one-fourth of volunteers witnessed problems with automated vote-counting machines, including printing jams, machines erroneously flagging properly filled ballots as invalid and ballots being rejected due to stray marks or folds.

— Cristina Chi with reports by Dominique Nicole Flores