1951 Philippine Senate election

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.

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

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.[1]

Results

Per candidate

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

Rank	Candidate	Party		Votes	%
1.	José P. Laurel		Nacionalista	2,143,452	48.8%
2.	Gil Puyat		Nacionalista	1,906,402	43.4%
3.	Manuel Briones		Nacionalista	1,774,687	40.4%
4.	Carlos P. Garcia		Nacionalista	1,573,095	35.8%
5.	Francisco Afan Delgado		Nacionalista	1,534,176	34.9%
6.	Cipriano Primicias Sr.		Nacionalista	1,487,159	33.9%
7.	Jose Locsin		Nacionalista	1,452,577	33.1%
8.	Jose Zulueta		Nacionalista	1,395,095	31.8%
9.	Jose P. Bengzon		Liberal	1,277,925	29.1%
10.	Pio Pedrosa		Liberal	1,232,791	28.1%
11.	Teodoro Evangelista		Liberal	1,210,815	27.6%
12.	Mariano Jesús Cuenco		Liberal	1,205,897	27.5%
13.	Antonio Quirino		Liberal	1,041,539	23.7%
14.	Primitivo Lovina		Liberal	982,601	22.4%
15.	Juan V. Borra		Liberal	869,160	19.8%
16.	Raul Leuterio		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:[2]

Per party

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.

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

Rank	Candidate	Party		Votes	%
1.	Felixberto Verano		Nacionalista	873,457	47.7%
2.	Cornelio Villareal		Liberal	609,303	33.3%
3.	Prospero Sanidad		Liberal (Independent)	223,810	12.2%
4.	Carlos Tan		Liberal (Independent)	124,975	6.8%
Note: A total of 5 candidates ran for senator.

See also

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

References

1. Philippine Electoral Almanac. The Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office. 2013. p. 28. Archived from the original on 2014-04-09.
2. Christof Hartmann; Graham Hassall; Soliman M. Santos Jr. (2001). Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz and Christof Hartmann (ed.). Elections in Asia and the Pacific Vol. II. Oxford University Press. pp. 185–230. ISBN 0-19-924959-8.

External links

• Official website of the Commission on Elections