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The 12 Senators That Matter


One of the most pressing issues with regard to senators is that either he or she is too close for comfort with the president or so antagonistic that despite good intentions of other political leaders some senators are always on the warpath.  Thus, Filipino voters should bear in mind that the senators that they vote should matter to the president that they will vote.  In other words, there should be a balance between party mates and oppositionists.  It is not good when the senators that will be voted are presidential lapdogs and more so if the winners are so against with everything else. 



Total Number of Candidates

Initially, there were more than 100 who filed their certificates of candidacy running for one of the 12 available slots as incoming senators come next election. By virtue of Commission on Election (COMELEC) procedures, the list was trimmed down and last January 21, 2016, it came up with final list of eligible candidates. The final count per this list is 52 senatorial candidates.




Name to appear on the ballot
Name
\Political Party
1
ALUNAN, RAFFY IND
ALUNAN, RAFAEL III MORENO
IND
2
AMBOLODTO, INA LP
AMBOLODTO, NARIMAN ABDULLAH
LP
3
AQUINO, TONYBOY IND
AQUINO, ANTONIO BOMBATE
IND
4
ARQUIZA, GODOFREDO IND
ARQUIZA, GODOFREDO VILLAR
IND
5
BALIGOD, LEVITO IND
BALIGOD, LEVITO DONIEGO
IND
6
BELGICA, GRECO IND
BELGICA, GRECO ANTONIOUS BEDA BANTA
IND
7
BELLO, WALDEN IND
BELLO, WALDEN FLORES
IND
8
CAM, SANDRA PMP
CAM, SANDRA MARTINEZ
PMP
9
CATMON, JOEL PGRP
CATMON, JOEL URSABIA
PGRP
10
CHAVEZ, MEL WPPPMM
CHAVEZ, MELCHOR GONGORA
WPP/PMM
11
COLMENARES, NERI MKBYN
COLMENARES, NERI JAVIER
MAKABAYAN
12
DE LIMA, LEILA LP
DE LIMA, LEILA NORMA EULALIA JOSEFA MAGISTRADO
LP
13
DOMAGOSO, ISKO MORENO PMP
DOMAGOSO, FRANCISCO MORENO
PMP
14
DRILON, FRANK LP
DRILON, FRANKLIN MAGTUNAO
LP
15
GADON, LARRY KBL
GADON, LORENZO GACILO
KBL
16
GATCHALIAN, WIN NPC
GATCHALIAN, SHERWIN TING
NPC
17
GORDON, DICK IND
GORDON, RICHARD JUICO
IND
18
GUINGONA, TG LP
GUINGONA, TEOFISTO III DE LARA
LP
19
HONTIVEROS, RISA AKBYN
HONTIVEROS, ANA THERESIA NAVARRO
AKBAYAN
20
JAAFAR, PRINCESS ANGEL IND
JAAFAR, JAY ANGELIQUE SIBUG
IND
21
KABALU, EID IND
KABALU, MUSTAPHA MAMA
IND
22
KAPUNAN, ATTY. LORNA AKSYON
KAPUNAN, LORNA PATAJO
AKSYON
23
KIRAM, PRINCESS JACEL UNA
KIRAM, PRINCESS JACEL HICARTE
UNA
24
LACSAMANA, ALMA MORENO UNA
LACSAMANA, VENESA MORENO
UNA
25
LACSON, PANFILO IND
LACSON, PANFILO MORENA
IND
26
LAGARE, MR. JUROR IND
LAGARE, SIXTO BAFLOR
IND
27
LANGIT, REY UNA
LANGIT, REY MAGAT
UNA
28
LAPID, MARK AKSYON
LAPID, MARK TADEO
AKSYON
29
LIBAN, DANTE IND
LIBAN, DANTE VENTURA
IND
30
MAGANTO, ROMEO LAKAS
MAGANTO, ROMEO BAYLON
LAKAS CMD
31
MANZANO, EDU IND
MANZANO, EDUARDO BARRIOS
IND
32
MONTANO, ALLAN UNA
MONTANO, ALLAN SABLON
UNA
33
MONTAÑO, MON IND
MONTAÑO, RAON ENRIQUEZ
IND
34
NAPEÑAS, GETULIO UNA
NAPEÑAS, GETULIO PASCUA
UNA
35
OPLE, SUSAN NP
OPLE, MARIA SUSANA VASQUEZ
NP
36
OROZCO, EMMA IND
OROZCO, WILHELMINA SIOZON
IND
37
OSMEÑA, SERGIO III IND
OSMEÑA, SERGIO III DE LA RAMA
IND
38
PACQUIAO, MANNY UNA
PACQUIAO, EMMANUEL DAPIDRAN
UNA
39
PAEZ, MR. COOP IND
PAEZ, CRESENTE CALAGO
IND
40
PAGDILAO, SAMUEL IND
PAGDILAO, SAMUEL DULDULAO
IND
41
PALPARAN, JOVITO JR. IND
PALPARAN, JOVITO JR. SALVAÑA
IND
42
PANGILINAN, KIKO LP
PANGILINAN, FRANCIS NEPOMUCENO
LP
43
PETILLA, CARLOS JERICHO LO
PETILLA, CARLOS JERICHO LORETO
LP
44
RECTO, RALPH LP
RECTO, RALPH GONZALEZ
LP
45
RODRIGUEZ, ROGER IND
RODRIGUEZ, ROGER ALIM
IND
46
ROMUALDEZ, MARTIN LAKAS
ROMUALDEZ, FERDINAND MARTIN GOMEZ
LAKAS CMD
47
ROMULO, ROMAN IND
ROMULO, ROMAN TECSON
IND
48
SANTIAGO, DIONISIO IND
SANTIAGO, DIONISIO REYES
IND
49
SOTTO,VICENTE NPC
SOTTO, VICENTE III CASTELO
NPC
50
TOLENTINO, FRANCIS IND
TOLENTINO, FRANCIS NG
IND
51
VILLANUEVA, JOEL TESDAMAN LP
VILLANUEVA, EMMANUEL JOEL JOSE
LP
52
ZUBIRI, MIGZ IND
ZUBIRI, JUAN MIGUEL FERNANDEZ
IND


The List Profile

Looking at the list it is a mixed bag of candidates where there are those who are seeking re-elections, newbies, and the perennial losers.  Individually, the candidates are varied in terms of profession; there are lawyers, showbiz personalities, advocates, former congressmen, former cabinet secretaries, instant celebrities, whistleblower, a boxing champ, soldiers and ex-military men, and what have you. The list will make voters confuse as some of these names are familiar others are not.  Some are worth voting, and some are worth considering, and some are worth trying.  And there are just some whose names should not be in the list in the first place.



The Power of Senators

Now, before you make your choices with regard to whom shall be your 12 senators, it is right that you should know what are the roles of Senators so that you will be guided accordingly and come up with right choices and right leaders.  Take note that our Senate is modeled with that of The US Senate thus, it wields equal power with the House of Congress as every resolution and bill has to go through both houses and needs agreement by both house before that resolution or bill is pass to the president for signature.  However, once the House of Senate vetoed the bill it has lost its chance to become a law.  The bill should be approved by the Senate on the third reading it goes back to the House of Congress unless if there are similar bills or resolutions and in this case a bicameral resolution is needed to settle the matter or which version to pursue. 

The Role of a Senator

A Senator does not only pass laws or work with House of Congress, he or she also has other roles such as:

  • ·         Scrutinizing the work of the government as a whole.
  • ·         Create and defend legislations.
  • ·         Become a member of different Senate Committee to analyze information gathered from different sources in the community or in the country, presented by lobby groups and advocates, and other members of the society where these information may aid them in formulating relevant laws for the betterment of the country.
  • ·         Attend and participate on Senate hearings in aid of legislation.
  • ·         Promote their views in the Senate.

The 12 Senators

The twelve senators that matters is a personal thing.  Each voter has different set of candidates.  While political parties are encouraging voters to bloc vote, however, it has been standard practice of many senatorial candidates to align themselves with more than one party.  Recent trends in voting senators revealed that re-electionist tend to win a seat, famous movies star sometimes are guaranteed to win, and sons and daughters of politicians have better chances of winning even their relatives too. 



Caveat Emptor

Many groups advocating choosing right leaders are frustrated as their advocacy are not realized.  Filipinos tend to have this fan mentality and “alipin” complex where they vote those whom they are familiar with and whom they believe can improve their individual lives not the collective lives of all Filipinos.  Thus, at the end of election period, many are frustrated with the results as there are those who are more credible, qualified, and competent end up as losers.  In the first place, how can one choose the right leaders when only a few are considered credible, qualified, and competent? 

Photo credits (in order of appearance)

cnnphilippines.com
mb.com.ph
rappler.com
filipinofreethinkers.org
newsinfor.inquirer.net

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