MANILA — Allies of President Rodrigo Duterte appear to have swept the elections for the Philippine Senate, according to unofficial results on Tuesday, giving him a stronger grip on the one legislative chamber that had shown some degree of independence from his authoritarian rule. With more than 95 percent of the vote counted, candidates backed by Mr. Duterte looked likely to win all 12 of the seats in the 24-member Senate that were up for election in Monday’s voting. If that is confirmed in the coming days by the Commission on Elections, then a small opposition bloc in the Senate that had managed to thwart some of the president’s agenda will become substantially weaker. One by one, candidates in an opposition alliance known as Otso Diretso, meaning Straight Eight, threw in the towel on Tuesday, and a spokesman for Mr. Duterte essentially declared victory. “The victory of the administration candidates and the shutout of the Otso Diretso candidates send a strong message that our people yearn for stability and continuity of the genuine reforms that the administration started,” the spokesman, Salvador Panelo, said in a statement. He said the new Senate would help in “crafting the president’s legislative agenda.”<doc-sep>MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte looked set on Tuesday to strengthen his grip on power after unofficial results of a mid-term election showed big wins for his candidates, and resounding public endorsement of his controversial rule. A voter searches for her name outside a makeshift polling precint for internally displaced people in Marawi City, Lanao Del Sur province, Philippines, May 13, 2019. REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez Nine of 12 available seats in the all-important Senate looked set to go to pro-Duterte candidates and the rest to independents, unofficial tallies showed, as the opposition that campaigned against his strongman approach failed to make the cut. Monday’s ballot for more than 18,000 posts, among them hundreds of mayors, governors, and congressmen, was billed as a referendum on the firebrand president, with special focus on his bid to consolidate power in an upper house that has not always worked in his favour. [L3N22M0NX] A Senate majority would cut the chance of censures and house investigations against his government, making it easier to co-opt independents and remove the few remaining hurdles to an ambitious agenda for massive infrastructure spending, re-drafting the constitution and the return of the death penalty. “This president’s popularity and transferability of his popularity is unprecedented to say the least, despite all the controversies,” said political analyst Edmund Tayao. “You expect normally two or three candidates from the opposition to win, but this is a wipe-out.” Candidates leading the Senate contest include Duterte’s closest aide, the daughter of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, the wife of the country’s richest man, a movie star, a jailed politician recently cleared of plunder charges, and a police general who spearheaded Duterte’s brutal war on drugs. They would join 12 Senate incumbents, only four of whom are from the opposition, including Leila de Lima, the biggest critic of Duterte’s deadly anti-drugs crackdown, held since 2017 on narcotics charges. Slideshow ( 2 images ) OPPOSITION DECIMATED The mid-term results leave the opposition in tatters and will change the dynamic of a Senate that has traditionally been a check on state power, and a bulwark against the kind of political dominance Duterte is demonstrating. He is also expected to retain control in the lower house. Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said the Senate’s independence would not be in question, but the vote showed the public overwhelmingly backed Duterte and his vision. “Undoubtedly, the Duterte magic spelled the difference,” he said. “People yearn for stability and continuity of the genuine reforms that this administration started. They yearn for a constructive and not obstructionist Senate.” The mid-terms come as Duterte, 74, appears untouchable, with last year’s spiraling inflation under control and a recent poll showing his public approval rating at a staggering 81 percent. Experts say the winning formula was selling Duterte as a brand, including use of his daughter Sara as a surrogate to promote his candidates, in a possible succession play for the 2022 presidential election. The result also shows the effectiveness of a diehard social media support base, despite intermittent outrage over his pro-China stance, jokes about rape, tirades about the church, and his anti-drugs crackdown. Duterte’s critics needed to accept that the electorate had rejected such negative propaganda, Panelo added. The opposition, however, said it would not give in. “Our fight for justice, for sovereignty and a more progressive future for our people continues,” said incumbent Senator Francis Pangilinan.<doc-sep>MANILA, Philippines — After seven hours, the Commission on Elections transparency server updated its transparency server to reflect the vote counts for the 2019 national elections. The poll body earlier admitted that a technical issue slowed down the transmission of the partial unofficial count to media partners. Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez stressed, though, that the server itself was receiving data. The initial results, which were in the tens of thousands, were released at 6:15 p.m. The Comelec released its second update at 1:19 a.m. showing votes in the millions. The Comelec's transparency server has resumed releasing election results to media, watchdogs. Full story in a bit, but here's a link for live updates on the midterm elections: https://t.co/9IvuGDuaQI pic.twitter.com/ggsO11jESk — Philstar.com (@PhilstarNews) May 13, 2019 Sen. Cynthia Villar maintained her lead in the senatorial race followed by Sen. Grace Poe, former presidential aide Bong Go and Rep. Pia Cayetano (Taguig City). Completing the "Magic 12" so far are former Philippine National Police chief Bato dela Rosa, Sen. Sonny Angara, former Sen. Lito Lapid, Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos., former presidential political adviser Francis Tolentino, Sen. Nancy Binay, Sen. Koko Pimentel and former Sen. Bong Revilla. A majority of in the top 12 in the latest results are allied with Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte's Hugpong ng Pagbabago coalition except for Poe, who ran as an independent, and Binay, who ran under the United Nationalist Alliance. In the latest update, Pimentel rose to the 11th spot from the 13th place. Sen. JV Ejercito, meanwhile, dropped to the 13th place after placing 12th in the 6:15 p.m. partial unofficial results. Rep. Zajid Mangudadatu (Maguindanao) of the administration PDP-Laban party and singer Freddie Aguilar, both of whom President Rodrigo Duterte endorsed, did not make it to the top 12. Jimenez earlier explained that there was an issue with sending the data from the transparency server to media computers linked to it, causing the delay in the released of the results. He clarified that there was no problem with the transparency server itself. — Patricia Lourdes Viray<doc-sep>
A rickshaw driver passes campaign posters in front of Baseco Elementary School in Manila on May 13, 2019. (CNN) — Three of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s children posted resounding victories in the country’s midterm elections this week as voters responded to what was largely seen as a referendum on the controversial leader’s first three years in office with a strong vote of support. More than 18,000 government posts were up for grabs in Monday’s midterms, which were marred by sporadic violence, accusations of vote-buying and faulty counting machines. In the President’s hometown of Davao, incumbent Mayor Sara Duterte on Tuesday led her re-election race with 580,440 votes – while her sole rival, independent candidate Jun Marcellones, only received 4,270, according to CNN Philippines. She will serve alongside her brother, Sebastian Duterte, who ran unopposed for vice mayor. Their older brother, former vice mayor Paolo Duterte, is also in pole position for a seat in the House of Representatives with 197,370 votes, well ahead of nearest rival Susan Uyanguren, on 5,135 votes. 01:06 - Source: CNN Duterte leads wrecking of smuggled luxury cars And with 98% of the vote counted in key Senate seats, members of the ruling PDP-Laban party and affiliated senators had secured a sizable majority, according to the country’s Commission on Elections. Nine of the 12 Senate winners were either part of the two lists endorsed by the Duterte administration, while the other three were not official opposition candidates. The ruling party’s high-profile Senatorial candidates include Duterte’s former special assistant Bong Go, former Philippines National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa – who oversaw much of the President’s bloody, protracted war against drugs – and Imee Marcos, daughter of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos. “It is unprecedented that no ‘genuine’ opposition candidate has won in an election in the Philippines (while) it is a formal democracy,” Aries Arugay, an associate professor at the University of the Philippines-Diliman, told CNN. MANMAN DEJETO/AFP/AFP/Getty Images Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte shows the ink on his finger after voting in his hometown of Davao City, where three of his children were on the ballot. Arugay said the increased support for Duterte could lead to a long-proposed raft of constitutional changes, providing individual states more autonomy and shifting the balance of power away from the influential National Capital Region (NCR), otherwise known as Metro Manila. “If this happens, the senators will have to think where they will place themselves under a new system of government. Maybe some would like to be state governors or maybe prime minister. In other words, a whole different political arena can determine their loyalty to Duterte,” Arugay said. The sweep was such that the Malacanang, the Philippines’ Presidential Palace, assured the public that the Senate would remain independent. “They have to support the President when the agenda of the President is for the good of the people and they will have to oppose it if they feel in their conscience that it (runs) counter to the interest of the nation,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said Tuesday. Duterte has enjoyed high levels of support despite his divisive policies, with Philippine pollster Social Weather Stations reporting a 72% approval rating in early May.