2010 Philippine Senate election

Philippine Senate elections are via pluraity block voting, with the entire country as an at-large "district". Each voter has 12 votes, and can vote for up to 12 candidates. Seats up were the seats last contested in 2004. ==Retiring and term-limited incumbents==

Three senators are voluntarily retiring from the Senate at the end of their current term (two ran for president, and another for vice president; all lost), while two other senators are term-limited by the Constitution of the Philippines after serving two consecutive terms. • Rodolfo Biazon (Liberal) • :Term-limited in 2010, ran for House representative from Muntinlupa's at-large district and won. • Dick Gordon (Bagumbayan–VNP) • :Ran for President and lost. Ran for senator in 2013 and lost; ran again in 2016 and won. • Jamby Madrigal (Independent) • :Ran for President and lost. Ran for senator in 2013 and lost. • Nene Pimentel (PDP–Laban) • :Term-limited in 2010. Pimentel subsequently retired from politics. • Mar Roxas (Liberal) • :Ran for vice president and lost. Ran for president in 2016 and lost; ran for senator in 2019 and still lost. ==Campaign==

The candidates had varied campaign strategies, but Liberal and Nacionalista candidates relied on TV advertisements for exposure. Celebrities also endorsed candidates, notably Kris Aquino for Tito Sotto and Sharon Cuneta for Neric Acosta. As a callback to the successful "VOT FOR D CHAMMP" and "MaS PARA SA KiDZ Mo" campaign slogan of the People Power Coalition and TEAM Unity during the 2001, and 2007. respectively. the Liberals used the "SLAMAT LORRRD" acronym to easily convey their senatorial line-up. On April 18, ABS-CBN held the Harapan (Face-Off) senatorial debates at La Consolacion College – Manila. Adel Tamano scored the highest rating amongst the candidates who participated, followed by Neric Acosta and Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, while Francisco Tatad rated poorly. Actors Bong Revilla (born Ramon Revilla Jr.), who changed his legal name to his screen name "Bong Revilla" prior to the campaign period, and Jinggoy Estrada, together with Miriam Defensor Santiago consistently topped the poll surveys from Social Weather Stations and Pulse Asia. On the other hand, while all incumbent senators who are running appeared safe to retain their seats, it appeared that no party will win a majority of the 12 seats being contested. ==Candidates==

On December 15, 2009, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) released the approved list of candidates for the Senate elections. On January 14, 2010, the COMELEC approved four more candidates for the Senate, reaching a total of 61. These are the candidates that were listed on the ballot, with order determined by surname. The tickets are as advertised by the coalition; these are unrecognized by the COMELEC but is extensively used by the media. The COMELEC does list the political parties of the candidates on the ballot. One has twelve votes for senator, with one vote for every candidate. A voter can distribute one's vote to any ticket as one seems fit. One can vote less than the twelve candidates from any ticket (open list), although the coalitions encourage voters to vote "12–0" (if applicable). A voter who had voted for more than twelve candidates will have his ballot spoiled, invalidating the rest of that voter's votes in the senate election. A candidate may be included in more than one ticket; a party, if it has not enough candidates to complete a 12-candidate ticket, can invite guest candidates from other parties. These guest candidates can choose to acknowledge their inclusion in other tickets and are not bound to follow the policies of the tickets that adopted them. ==Opinion polls==

:Note: Tables only include confirmed candidates by the COMELEC. The following are results of surveys taken after candidates were confirmed by the COMELEC. ==Results==

Incumbents, former senators, and candidates whose other family members that had Senate experience performed well. All six incumbents who ran held their seats, four former senators also won, and the two neophyte senators, Bongbong Marcos and TG Guingona had their fathers (Ferdinand Marcos and Teofisto Guingona Jr., respectively) previously served at the Senate. Among the six winning incumbents, three had family members that previously served in the Senate: Bong Revilla (son of Ramon Revilla Sr.), Jinggoy Estrada (son of Joseph Estrada) and Pia Cayetano (daughter of Rene Cayetano; her brother, Alan Peter Cayetano, won in 2007). The other winning incumbents are Miriam Defensor Santiago, Lito Lapid, and Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile. The four former winning senators also had a family member with Senate experience: Ralph Recto (grandson of Claro M. Recto), Tito Sotto (grandson of Vicente Sotto) and Sergio Osmeña III (grandson of Sergio Osmeña and son of Sergio Osmeña Jr.). The other returning senator is Franklin Drilon. Only one former senator ran and lost: Francisco Tatad; candidates with no prior Senate experience but had family members that previously served in the Senate but lost are Ruffy Biazon (son of outgoing Senator Rodolfo Biazon), Sonia Roco (wife of Raul Roco), Adel Tamano (son of Mamintal Tamano) and Susan Ople (daughter of Blas Ople). The election of Benigno Aquino III as President of the Philippines in concurrent elections means that his Senate seat will be vacant until June 30, 2013. Key: • ‡ Seats up • + Gained by a party from another party • √ Held by the incumbent • * Held by the same party with a new senator • ^ Vacancy Per candidate Per coalition Per party With the election of Benigno Aquino III as president, there were only 23 seats in the Senate's chamber for the 15th Congress of the Philippines. There were calls to let the 13th placed candidate, Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, to be proclaimed in lieu of Aquino leaving the Senate but neither her campaign nor the Liberal Party petitioned the commission on the matter. Aquino's vacated seat won't be contested in a special election as special elections for Senate vacancies can only be scheduled on the next scheduled election; that seat would be up for the 2013 election. Unofficial results Several organizations released unofficial tallies when the commission's first preliminary tally was yet to be released. Seats won per party Tally ==Aftermath==

With the lineup for the 15th Congress becoming apparent, senator-elect Miriam Defensor-Santiago (PRP) commented that her ally Manuel Villar has the numbers to retake the Senate Presidency. Villar resigned from the senate presidency just prior to the election period and Juan Ponce Enrile (PMP) became the new senate president. Jockeying for the position then began with Francis Pangilinan (Liberal) announcing his intention to be senate president, citing the need for a "friendly" Senate for the Benigno Aquino III administration. The Liberals still have to agree on a candidate, as Ponce Enrile earlier said that he will not seek the post. The Liberals apparently narrowed down their candidates to former Senate President Franklin Drilon and Pangilinan, with Villar as the Nacionalista bloc's candidate. Independent senator Francis Escudero remarked that some senators are conducting exploratory talks on who they will field for the post of Senate President. In July 2010, the Liberal Party announced that Pangilinan will be the candidate for the Senate presidency. Pangilinan will lead in seeking alliances with other senators and said that he will not seek an alliance with the Nacionalista Party. Perceived voting blocs in the Senate: Recognizing that he can't secure the required 13 votes to win the Senate Presidency, Pangilinan has withdrawn his bid on July 25. The Liberals will now support Enrile for the Senate Presidency. Election for Senate President With Loren Legarda nominating Enrile, he won the Senate Presidency with a vote of 17–3, defeated Alan Peter Cayetano, who was nominated by Joker Arroyo with 4 absent senators: Cayetano became the Minority Floor Leader instead. ==Defeated incumbents==

All incumbents who defended their seats won. ==References==