Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 17) — Actor-turned-lawmaker Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr. has made it to the Top 12 of the partial and official tally of the Senate race as expected, since he already ranks 10th in the partial and unofficial count.
Revilla snatched the 12th spot from Senator Bam Aquino, the lone opposition candidate in the list of probable winners, based on the canvassing made by the Commission on Elections, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC), as of Friday, 7:20 p.m. It reflected results from147 out of 167 certificates of canvas, or 88.02 percent of all election returns.
Revilla is poised to make a Senate comeback with 13,442,578 votes, while Aquino, who dropped to the 13th spot, got 13,384,293. Revilla is controversial for the multi-billion peso pork barrel scam where he was acquitted of plunder but ordered to return ₱124.5 million to the government. He spent four years in jail and is out on bail on graft charges.
Meanwhile, Senator Cynthia Villar maintained her lead with 23,610,580 votes, followed by fellow reelectionist Grace Poe with with 20,711,849.
President Rodrigo Duterte’s allies still dominated the race, with 8 of them in the winning 12. They include his former officials Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, Bong Go, and Francis Tolentino; reelectionists Villar, Sonny Angara, and Koko Pimentel; Taguig Rep. Pia Cayetano; and Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos.
Here are the top 15 senators in the partial, official count of the NBOC as of Friday night:
1. Cynthia Villar – 23,610,580
2. Grace Poe – 20,711,849
3. Bong Go – 19,030,884
4. Pia Cayetano – 18,550,012
5. Bato dela Rosa – 17,567,258
6. Sonny Angara – 17,027,333
7. Lito Lapid – 15,778,223
8. Imee Marcos – 14,775,948
9. Francis Tolentino – 14,387,602
10. Koko Pimentel – 13,563,083
11. Nancy Binay – 13,453,117
12. Bong Revilla – 13,442,578
13. Bam Aqunio – 13,384,293
14. JV Ejercito – 13,344,417
15. Jinggoy Estrada – 10,512,191
An unofficial tally is also being conducted by the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) – the accredited citizen’s arm of the COMELEC.
The official tally is based on the certificates of canvass from the 85,769 clustered precincts, while the unofficial tally is from data directly sent from vote-counting machines to the transparency servers of the COMELEC.
Here are the top 15 senators in the partial, unofficial count of the PPCRV, as of 8:28 p.m.on Friday.
1. Cynthia Villar – 25,003,479
2. Grace Poe – 21,836,835
3. Bong Go – 20,327,792
4. Pia Cayetano – 19,546,236
5. Bato dela Rosa – 18,685,022
6. Sonny Angara – 17,969,831
7. Lito Lapid – 16,809,902
8. Imee Marcos – 15,664,533
9. Francis Tolentino – 15,276,066
10. Bong Revilla – 14,467,366
11. Koko Pimentel III – 14,462,481
12. Nancy Binay – 14,393,136
13. JV Ejercito – 14,164,217
14. Bam Aquino – 14,039,398
15. Jinggoy Estrada – 11,253,028
