1951 Philippine Senate election

1951 Philippine Senate election

November 13, 1951
8 (of the 24) seats in the Senate 13 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Mariano Jesús Cuenco Carlos P. Garcia Party Liberal Nacionalista Leader's seat Nationwide at-large (lost) Nationwide at-large Seats before 18 4 Seats after 12 12 Seat change 6 8 Popular vote 8,764,190 13,266,643 Percentage 39.9% 59.1% Swing 13.5% 22.5%
Senate President before election Mariano Jesús Cuenco Liberal Elected Senate President Quintin Paredes Liberal

A senatorial election was held in the Philippines on November 13, 1951. The election was known as a midterm election as the date when elected candidates take office falls halfway through President Elpidio Quirino's four-year term.

Summary

As the Hukbalahap insurgency raged in Central Luzon, Filipinos trooped to the polling booths for the 1951 midterm elections—a referendum on President Quirino, who had won the presidency in his own right two years prior. Despite the political remarriage of the two factions of the Liberal Party, the Quirinistas and Avelinistas, the Quirino administration was still far from popular and had gained notoriety for its inability to rein in corruption and its ineffectual attempts to police lawlessness in the countryside. The Nacionalistas took advantage of the situation and mounted an active campaign to wrest back the Senate from the LP. Led by former President Jose P. Laurel, Quirino’s chief adversary in the 1949 presidential polls, the NP swept all eight Senate seats in contention, the first total victory of the opposition in the Senate. So strong was the rejection of the Quirino administration in 1951 that even LP top honcho, Senate President Mariano Jesus Cuenco, lost his seat. Laurel received the highest number of votes, which was seen as his political rehabilitation and which made him the first and only president, thus far, to have served in the Senate after his presidency.

Felisberto Verano, also a Nacionalista, won the special elections held on the same day to fill the Senate seat vacated by Vice-President Fernando Lopez.

Block voting, established in 1941, was abolished in 1951 with Republic Act No. 599. This would later lead to more fragmented results in most national elections.

Results

Per candidate

Summary of the November 13, 1951, Philippine Senate election result

Rank	Candidate	Party		Votes	%
1.	José P. Laurel style="width: 2px; background-color: #98fb98;" data-sort-value="Nacionalista Party" |	Nacionalista	2,143,452	48.8%
2.	Gil Puyat style="width: 2px; background-color: #98fb98;" data-sort-value="Nacionalista Party" |	Nacionalista	1,906,402	43.4%
3.	Manuel Briones style="width: 2px; background-color: #98fb98;" data-sort-value="Nacionalista Party" |	Nacionalista	1,774,687	40.4%
4.	Carlos P. Garcia style="width: 2px; background-color: #98fb98;" data-sort-value="Nacionalista Party" |	Nacionalista	1,573,095	35.8%
5.	Francisco Afan Delgado style="width: 2px; background-color: #98fb98;" data-sort-value="Nacionalista Party" |	Nacionalista	1,534,176	34.9%
6.	Cipriano Primicias Sr. style="width: 2px; background-color: #98fb98;" data-sort-value="Nacionalista Party" |	Nacionalista	1,487,159	33.9%
7.	Jose Locsin style="width: 2px; background-color: #98fb98;" data-sort-value="Nacionalista Party" |	Nacionalista	1,452,577	33.1%
8.	Jose Zulueta style="width: 2px; background-color: #98fb98;" data-sort-value="Nacionalista Party" |	Nacionalista	1,395,095	31.8%
9.	Jose P. Bengzon style="width: 2px; background-color: #f0e68c;" data-sort-value="Liberal Party (Philippines)" |	Liberal	1,277,925	29.1%
10.	Pio Pedrosa style="width: 2px; background-color: #f0e68c;" data-sort-value="Liberal Party (Philippines)" |	Liberal	1,232,791	28.1%
11.	Teodoro Evangelista style="width: 2px; background-color: #f0e68c;" data-sort-value="Liberal Party (Philippines)" |	Liberal	1,210,815	27.6%
12.	Mariano Jesús Cuenco style="width: 2px; background-color: #f0e68c;" data-sort-value="Liberal Party (Philippines)" |	Liberal	1,205,897	27.5%
13.	Antonio Quirino style="width: 2px; background-color: #f0e68c;" data-sort-value="Liberal Party (Philippines)" |	Liberal	1,041,539	23.7%
14.	Primitivo Lovina style="width: 2px; background-color: #f0e68c;" data-sort-value="Liberal Party (Philippines)" |	Liberal	982,601	22.4%
15.	Juan V. Borra style="width: 2px; background-color: #f0e68c;" data-sort-value="Liberal Party (Philippines)" |	Liberal	869,160	19.8%
16.	Raul Leuterio style="width: 2px; background-color: #f0e68c;" data-sort-value="Liberal Party (Philippines)" |	Liberal	850,216	19.4%
17.	Josefina Phodaca		APOY-NPPW	431,328	9.8%
Total turnout				4,391,109	92.4%
Total votes				22,465,664	N/A
Registered voters				4,754,109	100.0%
Note: A total of 20 candidates ran for senator.				Source:

Per party

style="width: 2px; background-color: #98fb98;" data-sort-value="Nacionalista Party" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #f0e68c;" data-sort-value="Liberal Party (Philippines)" | style="width: 2px; background-color: #DCDCDC;" data-sort-value="Independent (politician)" |

Party		Popular vote			Seats
		Total	%	Swing	Won	Before	After	%	+/−
Nacionalista	13,266,643	59.1%	22.5%	8	4	10	41.7%	6
Liberal	8,764,190	39.0%	13.5%	0	18	14	58.3%	4
	APOY-NWW	431,328	1.9%	1.9%	0	0	0	0.0%
Independent	3,503	0.0%	0.0%	0	0	0	0.0%
Totals		22,465,664	100%	—	8	24	24	100.0%

Special election

To serve the unexpired term of Fernando Lopez until December 30, 1953.

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Felixberto Verano	Nacionalista Party	873,457	47.69
	Cornelio Villareal	Liberal Party	609,303	33.27
	Prospero Sanidad	Independent Liberal	223,810	12.22
	Carlos Tan	Independent Liberal	124,975	6.82
Total			1,831,545	100.00
Valid votes			1,831,545	41.71
Invalid/blank votes			2,559,564	58.29
Total votes			4,391,109	–
Registered voters/turnout			4,754,307	92.36

See also

• Commission on Elections
• Politics of the Philippines
• 2nd Congress of the Philippines

External links

• Official website of the Commission on Elections