The canvassing, considered crucial to the ongoing fight for the twelfth spot in the Senate race between Aquilino Pimentel III of Genuine Opposition (GO) and Juan Miguel Zubiri of Team Unity (TU), will be held at Palacio del Gobernador Bldg. in Intramuros, Manila.

The Comelec, after proclaiming elected last Wednesday the 10 senatorial candidates who garnered the most number of votes among the 37 Senate bets in the Senate race, left yesterday the Philippine International Convention Center where it sat as NBoC starting last May 16 to count senatorial and party-list votes.

The NBoC decided to extend the recess it took last night until the whole day of Thursday to enable its personnel to transfer to Palacio del Gobernador Bldg. the computer, tally boards and other parapherlia that the Comelec used in the canvass of senatorial votes at the PICC.

Comelec and NBoC Chairman Benjamin S. Abalos, Sr. said all the parties interested in the Senate race, particularly the lawyers of Pimentel and Zubiri, as well as of GO’s Antonio F. Trillanes IV have been notified of the resumption of canvassing and the new venue.

Abalos said the Comelec expects to complete the canvass and proclaim the remaining two winning senatorial candidates within the next few days.

He said Comelec decided to defer the proclamation of the winners for the 11th and 12th positions because the possibility they could still be affected by the votes from Basilan, Lanaso del Sur and Surigao del Norte cannot be disregarded.

When the NBoC took a recess last Wednesday afternoon until yesterday, the 12th spot in the Senate race was occupied by Pimentel with 10,638,186 votes, closely trailed by Zubiri in No. 13 with 10,510,573 votes. Pimentel was ahead of Zubiri by 127,613 votes only.

Trillanes, who is in No. 11 with 10,922,184 is ahead of Pimentel by 283,998 votes and away from Zubiri by 411,611 votes.

But Trillanes’ winning margin over Pimentel and Zubiri could still be affected when the votes from Basilan, Lanao del Sur and Surigao del Norte are finally counted since the three Mindanao provinces have a combined voting strength of 839,982, broken down as follows: Surigao del Norte, 261,735, Lanao del Sur, 396,800, and Basilan, 181,447.

The fate of Maguindanao votes numbering 337,108 has yet to be decided by the Comelec en banc after it conducts a public hearing at 10 a.m. on Monday, The Comelec, is expected to decide whether to declare a failure of election in Maguindanao or to hold a special elections in the province because of the reported massive irregularities.

Joker pushes Human Rights Compensation bill

By HANNAH L. TORREGOZA

Reelected Senator Joker Arroyo yesterday lamented the lack of quorum at the House of Representatives where he was eagerly waiting for the ratification of the Lower Chamber’s version of the Human Rights Compensation Bill.

Arroyo admitted this was one of the reasons why he did not attend the proclamation of the 10 senators by the Comelec Wednesday night at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

"Besides, it’s not a requirement. My presence is not necessary," Arroyo told reporters in an interview.

In fact, even before the proclamation, Arroyo was reluctant to attend the proclamation, saying it would be a "bittersweet proclamation without Recto."

"It’s just like a FAMAS awards night with the Comelec officials there presenting these candidates," Arroyo said.

According to Arroyo, the Human Rights Compensation Bill, which seeks payments for human rights victims, needs to be prioritized.

"It’s frustrating for us who pushed for this bill. We worked hard for this. It took us six years to craft it," he stressed.

The administration senator observed that while there were many in the Senate who pushed for the bill, no one is lobbying for its swift passage in at the Lower Chamber.

The bill had weathered fierce legislative debates, first in the 12th Congress then in the 13th Congress.

Arroyo expressed his suspicion: "It’s been certified urgent by Malacañang. But now the National Security Council or Malacañang seems to be opposing it. Whatever they do with the right hand they do with the left hand."

Arroyo said he is willing to give up the chairmanship of the Blue Ribbon Committee to Sen. Panfilo Lacson.

Meanwhile, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsble Voting (PPCRV) yesterday urged the Comelec to hold special elections in Maguindanao.

In an interview over Church-run Radio Veritas, PPCRV chairperson Henrietta De Villa said that in the event the Comelec declares a failure of elections in Maguindanao, it is best "to just repeat the whole election process for both the local and national positions."

The country’s former Ambassador to Vatican is convinced that the holding of special elections in the province is right because nobody actually saw the actual canvassing of votes in Maguindanao, where Team Unity candidates reportedly got a 12-0 sweep.

"The public should witness the canvassing of votes so that the people will not speculate that the canvassing is being manipulated or not," De Villa said.

The PPCRV will provide at least 1,500 volunteers to monitor the conduct of the special elections. (with a report by Leslie Ann Aquino)

Buhay, Bayan Muna and CIBAC lead party-list race

By E. T. SUAREZ

Buhay Hayaang Yumabong (Buhay), Bayan Muna and Citizens Battle Against Crime (CIBAC) continued to pull away in the party-list elections, according to latest canvass of the Commission on Elections.

But other sectoral organizations newly accredited by the poll body to participate in this year’s polls are making strong showing, such that if the trend of the canvass continues, they could be entitled to party-list seats in the House of Representatives.

Buhay, a party-list group led by former Chairman Roy V. Señeres of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC), has already obtained more than 1,000,000 votes, closely followed by Bayan and CIBAC.

Buhay’s No. 1 nominee is incumbent party-list Rep. Christian Señeres.

Surpringly, however, new sectoral groups such as Senior Citizens, Abono and Kapatiran ng mga Kulong na Walang Sala (KAKUSA) are getting more votes than expected.

Senior Citizens’ Secretary General Godofredo V. Arquiza credited the strong support that his group received from the voting public to its advocacy to abolish the Expanded Value Added Tax.

"EVAT causes too much economic hardship to the poor and ordinary income earners such that they campaigned against Sen. Ralph Recto for authoring such repressive measure," Arquiza said.

Arquiza, along with prominent election lawyers Francisco B. Sibayan, Ernesto Verdejo and Raul A. Casipit of Sibayan Associates, expressed confidence that the Comelec headed by Chairman Benjamin S. Abalos, Sr. will apply correctly and justly the party-list law with respect to the results of the last elections.

Sibayan, Arquiza, Verdejo and Casipit said the people have no reason to doubt the ability of the Comelec under the leadership of Abalos to follow the law on party-list polls.

They appealed to the Comelec for speedy canvass of party-list votes so the winners could be proclaimed without delay.