Comelec invites Duterte, Robredo, other top gov’t execs to proclamation of winning senators

The Commission on Elections has invited top officials led by President Rodrigo Duterte for the proclamation of the 12 winning senators in the 2022 national elections scheduled for May 18, Comelec Commissioner George Garcia said Tuesday.

"Officially, we have invited the President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of the House and the Chief Justice for [the proclamation] tomorrow," Garcia said at a press conference.

"In the event that they are available to attend, there might be changes in prior arrangements," Garcia added.

Aside from President Duterte, other top officials invited include Vice President Leni Robredo, Senate President Vicente Sotto III, House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco and Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo.

Robredo is currently in the United States where she will be attending the New York University graduation of her youngest daughter, Jillian, at the Yankee Stadium in New York City.

Garcia, however, said that these top level officials are yet to confirm attendance for the proclamation.

Based on Comelec guidelines, each winning senator can have five guests.

The dress code for guests and winning candidates is Kasuotang Filipino.

Negative antigen or RT-PCR-COVID-19 test results are not required for attendees who will only need to present their COVID-19 vaccination card. 

Based on Comelec's partial and official count as of May 16, actor Robin Padilla leads the 2022 Senate race with 26.4 million votes.

Rounding up the winners' circle are:

• Legarda, Loren, - 24,183,946
• Tulfo, Raffy - 23,345,261
• Gatchalian, Sherwin - 20,547,045
• Escudero, Chiz - 20,240,923
• Villar, Mark – 19,402,685
• Cayetano, Allan Peter - 19,262,353
• Zubiri, Juan Miguel – 18,663,253
• Villanueva, Joel - 18,439,806
• Ejercito, JV - 15,803,416
• Hontiveros, Risa - 15,385,566 and
• Estrada, Jinggoy - 15,071,213

Only the certificate of canvass from Lanao del Sur is yet to be counted due to failure of elections in 14 barangays amid election violence. — Llanesca T. Panti/RSJ, GMA News