THE Commission on Elections (Comelec), sitting as the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC), yesterday completed the canvassing of votes for senator and party-list organizations that ran in the May 12 polls.
Based on the National Certificate of Canvass (NCOC) at the Tent City of the Manila Hotel, reelectionist Sen. Bong Go topped the race with 27,121,073 votes, followed by former senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino with 20,971,899 votes.
Reelectionist Sen. Bato dela Rosa was in third with 20,773,946 votes, followed by ACT-CIS party-list Rep. Erwin Tulfo at fourth, with 17,118,881 votes.
Former senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan (15,343,229) was at fifth, followed by SAGIP party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta (15,250,723), who got the 6th spot.
Come-backing senators Panfilo “Ping” Lacson (15,106,111) and Vicente “Tito” Sotto III (14,832,996) occupied the 7th and 8th spots, respectively, while at 9th and 10th spots were Sen. Pia Cayetano (14,573,430) and Las Piñas City Rep. Camille Villar (13,651,274), respectively.
Completing the Magic 12 were incumbent Senators Lito Lapid (13,394,102) and Imee Marcos (13,339,227).
Among the party-list organizations, the top vote-getters were Akbayan (2,779,621), Duterte Youth (2,338,564), Tingog (1,822,708), 4Ps (1,469,571), ACT-CIS (1,239,930), and Ako Bicol (1,073,119).
Within the top 15 spots were Uswag Ilonggo (777,754), Solid North (765,322), Trabaho (709,283), Cibac (593,911), Malasakit@Bayanihan (580,100), Senior Citizen (577,753), PPP (575,762), ML (547,949), and FPJ Panday Bayanihan (538,003).
The NBOC completed the canvassing of all 175 COCs, both local and overseas, in only three days.
Last Tuesday, the NBOC tallied 58 COCs, followed by 101 COCs on Wednesday, and the remaining 16 COCs yesterday.
In an earlier press briefing, Comelec chairman George Garcia stressed that the tally to be released by the NBOC is the one that is deemed as “official.”
“This one from the NBOC will be the one used as basis of the proclamation, and not those from other entities,” he said.
PARTY-LIST RACE
While winning senatorial bets are expected to be proclaimed this weekend, the NBOC said it is looking at Monday for the proclamation of successful party-list organizations at the Tent City of the Manila Hotel.
“For the party-list groups, give us another day to prepare the venue and be able to proclaim them… by Monday,” he said.
There are 63 party-list seats up for grabs during the recently concluded elections.
In computing the allocation of the party-list representatives, the Comelec will be using the formula provided by the Supreme Court (SC) in its 2009 ruling on the Banat versus Comelec case.
In using the “Carpio formula,” the participating party-lists shall be ranked from the highest to the lowest based on the number of votes they garnered during the May 12 polls before undergoing two rounds of allocation of seats.
For the first round, the party-list groups that received at least two percent of the total votes cast for the party-list system shall be entitled to one guaranteed seat each.
For example, 13 groups were able to meet the two percent threshold, which would result to 13 seats guaranteed for these party-lists.
For the second round, party-lists, including those that were able to meet the two percent threshold (two-percenters), would be allocated seats based on the whole number of the product between the percentage of their respective votes and the remaining available party-list seats.
This means that the percentage of vote for party-list “X” will be multiplied by 50, which is the remaining available party-list seats, with the product’s whole number becoming the additional seats for party-list “X.”
Allocation of seats in the second round will be continuous until all of the remaining seats have been distributed, including to those that were not among the “two-percenters.”
Finally, the three-seat cap for the party-list representation will follow the Carpio formula, which is the third formula used by the Comelec in determining the allocation of party-list seats following the “2-4-6 rule” provided under the Party-List System Act (Republic Act 7941); and the “Panganiban formula” as shown in the Veterans Federation Party vs Comelec case in 2000.
VOTER TURN-OUT
The Comelec yesterday said the May 12 polls has registered an 81.65 percent voter turnout, which marks the highest in the history of midterm polls in the country.
Garcia said 55,874,700 out of the 68,431,965 total registered voters participated during Monday’s polls.
“This is the highest voter turnout in a midterm election,” he said.
“We are happy because even though this is a midterm election, it still registered a high voter turnout,” he added.
The May 2022 presidential polls registered an 84.20 percent voter turnout, or 55,431,939 out of 65,831,806 registered votes.
On the other hand, the May 2019 midterm elections had a 75.9 percent voter turnout or 46,937,139 actual voters out of 61,843,771 registered voters.
Garcia attributed the high voter turnout to the youth, whom, he said, came out in droves.
“We haven’t seen the actual data yet. But, based on initial observation, the youth really came out to vote this 2025 elections,” he said.
Comelec data shows that individuals aged 18 to 30 years old accounted for nearly 20 million registered voters in the May 2025 polls.
The poll chief also attributed the high voter turnout to the active presence of the Comelec across the country.
“In all fairness, the Comelec became very visible. Since the voter registration period, we went around different parts of the country. We were everywhere,” he said.
Garcia said he believes their presence likely increased public confidence and trust to the electoral process.
‘MISLABELING
Poll watchdog Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) yesterday asked the Comelec to explain the mismatch between the number of people who voted and the ballots recorded by the automatic vote counting machines in some polling precincts in Dumaguete and Zamboanga.
PPCRV spokesperson Ana Singson said their field coordinators have reported the “mislabeling” on the Comelec’s website a few hours after voting ended on Monday.
Singson cited as an example a precinct in Calindagan, Dumaguete City where she said data from the poll body’s website showed there were 930 registered voters, while 814 voted on election day.
But Singson said there were 956 valid ballots cast in the said precinct.
She added that as of May 15, they have observed that the mislabeled ballots cast have been corrected to show that the number of voters who actually voted and the valid ballots cast of 814.
“We have been in communication with Comelec about this, and they said it was mislabeled,” Singson said, adding that the poll body said that the data that was used for that “particular cell was not the data supposed to be for that cell,” she said.
Despite this, she said the PPCRV still wants a more thorough explanation from the Comelec, especially on the data that was initially encoded in its website.
“We are simply requesting a more in-depth explanation,” she said, adding the PPCRV is not accusing the Comelec of any irregularity.
Singson added the PPCRV is specifically asking where the 956 figure in the Comelec website came from and what it was for.
ELECTION TAXES
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) yesterday reminded candidates and political parties who ran in the 2025 elections that they are subject to tax regulations and must comply with key requirements as part of their duties as candidates for public office.
The tax agency said all candidates must be registered with the BIR, issue invoices and pay taxes on excess campaign funds, stressing that those who seek public office should not run from their tax obligations.
Failure to comply with these requirements, it warned, could lead to tax evasion charges, and in certain cases, non-compliance may even serve as a ground for disqualification.
In a television interview, BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. stressed that “lahat ng mga tumatakbo, mga kandidato, mga political parties, at ang mga party-list kinakailangan nilang mag-rehistro sa BIR kung sila ay tumatanggap ng mga contributions at gumagastos sa kanilang kampanya (All candidates, political parties and party-list groups are required to register with the BIR if they are receiving contributions and spending for their campaign).”
“Kinakailangan na mag-rehistro yan at kinakailangan pag nagbabayad sila sa kanilang mga suppliers ay kinakailangan nilang mag-withhold ng five percent dun sa kanilang suppliers (They are required to register, and when they pay their suppliers, they must withhold five percent from their suppliers),” he also said.
Lumagui said that all candidates and political organizations must issue invoices for the contributions that they received, whether in cash or in kind.
“Kinakailangan nag-apply yan ng mga non-VAT invoices dahil kinakailangan nilang mag-issue ng resibo – lahat ng mga kandidato at political parties – ng invoice nila dun na sa mga nag-contribute sa kanila whether cash or in-kind, kinakailangan nilang isyuhan yan ng invoice (They are required to apply for non-VAT invoices because they need to issue receipts — all candidates and political parties—for the contributions they receive, whether in cash or in-kind. They must issue an invoice for those contributions),” Lumagui said.
He added that candidates must keep track of their expenses and submit detailed reports not just to the Comelec but also to the BIR.
“Tapos doon sa mga expenses nila, kinakailangan nilang ilista lahat yan at isasubmit din doon sa Statement of Contribution and Expenditures sa Comelec, pati na rin dito sa aming ahensya para makita natin na lahat kung compliant ang kanilang obligasyon dito (Then, for their expenses, they are required to list all of them and submit them in the Statement of Contributions and Expenditures to the Comelec, as well as to our agency, so we can verify if they are complying with their obligations),” he also said.
Lumagui said that while candidates and parties are allowed to keep excess campaign contributions, they must remember to pay taxes on these.
“Pagka sobra naman ang natanggap nila na mga contributions sa mga ginastos nila, kinakailangan nilang bayaran ang income tax patungkol dito sa sobrang natanggap nila (If they receive contributions that exceed their expenses, they are required to pay income tax on the excess amount received),” he said.
