Comelec to proceed with full proclamation of senators

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will proceed with the full proclamation of the 12 winning senators for Eleksyon 2025 amid a motion asking the poll body to proclaim the top six candidates in the Senate race based on the partial and unofficial count.

On Wednesday, poll chairperson George Erwin Garcia called on candidates to “wait” for the proclamation, saying the Comelec is maintaining its target to proclaim the winning senators and party-list groups for the May polls by weekend  — the earliest proclamation so far.

“Sabi nga ng NBOC [National Board of Canvassers], ang atin pong decision ay lahat na ang proclamation. Kung pinakamaaga ka naman eh na makakapag-proklama, in less than one week makakapag-proklama ka, eh ‘di okay lang siguro na makikihintay na lang,” said Garcia.

(The NBOC decided to hold a full proclamation. We’re eyeing to hold the earliest proclamation date so far so we are appealing to candidates to kindly wait for the declaration.)

“Hintay-hintayan na lang. At saka ‘yan ay mangyayari naman kung ang lamang ng bawat isa ay malalapit o malalayo. Depende po yan kung yun ang natitirang uncavassed results will materially affect the results of the elections,” he said.

(Partial proclamation happens but it would depend on the remaining uncanvassed COCs and if it would affect the poll results.)

Sagip Party-list Representative Rodante Marcoleta — currently included in the Magic 12 in the senatorial race based on the partial and unofficial voting count —  earlier filed a motion with the Comelec, requesting the poll body to proclaim the top six senatorial candidates based on the partial and unofficial count.

As of 1 p.m., the partial and unofficial counts showed Marcoleta was ranked sixth in the Senate race as he garnered 14,910,418 votes.

Garcia said the NBOC and other board of canvassers are authorized to “lower the threshold” and proclaim winning candidates if the remaining  certificate of canvass (COCs) will no longer affect the results of the elections. However, the NBOC decided to complete the tallying of votes of the 175 COCs before holding the proclamation for the May polls.

“Ang sa atin, hanggat maaari walang lowering of the threshold. Hanggat maaari 100% canvass of all 175 COCs,” he said.

(We’re hoping we would not have to lower the threshold. We want to canvass the 175 COCs.)

“Manifestation ang na-file and therefore, we will proceed accordingly,” Garcia added.

(They filed a manifestation and we will proceed accordingly.)

The poll chairperson earlier said the Comelec  is aiming to proclaim the winning senators for Eleksyon 2025 by Saturday, May 17, 2025.

The Comelec, sitting as the NBOC, convened again to continue the tallying the votes for senatorial candidates and party-lists. It completed tallying 58 COCs on Tuesday, May 13, and eyes to finish an additional 100 COCs by Wednesday, May 14. 

COCs canvassing

The Comelec, sitting as the NBOC, convened again on Wednesday to continue the tallying the votes for senatorial candidates and party-lists. It completed tallying 58 COCs on Tuesday, May 13, and eyes to finish an additional 100 COCs by May 14.

This is the highest number of COCs canvassed on the first day of the canvassing, according to Garcia.

“First time na sa unang araw pa lang ng canvassing 58 [ang na-canvass]. Ngayong araw, sana 100 ang ma-canvass natin. 158 agad ‘yun. Pag nag-100 na COC ngayon, historic po yun. At sana magiging standard na natin sa susunod,” said Garcia. 

(This is the first time we canvassed 58 COCs during the first day. We’re hoping to canvass 100 more so we’ll have 158. That’s historic and we hope to set standard moving forward.)

“What we’re trying to do is to lay down certain standards. Hindi i-pressure ang susunod na Commission pero wala pa ring kapalit ang integridad sa mabilis. Kailangan mabilis pero mapagkakatiwalaan,” he added. 

(What we’re trying to do is to lay down certain standards. We’re not putting pressure on the next Commission but there is still nothing that would replace integrity with speed. We want to work fast but with integrity.)

A total of 175 COCs are set to be canvassed by the NBOC. Of the figures, one was from the local absentee voting, 82 were from provinces, 26 were from highly-urbanized cities (HUCs), and 64 COCs were from overseas voting. — RSJ/RF, GMA Integrated News

For more Eleksyon 2025 related content and updates, visit GMA News Online's Eleksyon 2025 microsite.