President Rodrigo Duterte’s long-time aide, Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go and former national police chief Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, were among the 12 winning senators who were proclaimed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
Sen. Cynthia Villar topped the Comelec count with 25,283,727 votes, followed bySen. Grace Poe, with 22,029,788 votes. The rest of the winners include Go, former Sen. Pia Cayetano, Dela Rosa, reelectionist Sen. Sonny Angara, former Sen. Lito Lapid, Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos, former presidential adviser Francis Tolentino, reelectionist Sen. Aquilino “Koko”, former Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., and reelectionist Nancy Binay.
Election observers and social scientists from the academe said the result of the midterm polls showed the weight of Duterte’s endorsement and the emergence of the south as a voting bloc.
