Allies Of President Aquino Take Lead In Philippine Elections: Nine Senatorial Candidates In Administration’s Slate Expected To Win

Voters in the recently concluded Philippine elections have strengthened the hand of their current president to advance his political agenda. The allies of incumbent Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III is poised to take control of the Senate, according to early unofficial electoral returns, reports the New York Times.

President Aquino was not up for re-election in the vote on Monday. He has three years remaining in his six-year term and is not allowed by Philippine law to run again. The midterm elections, however, was seen as absolutely necessary in consolidating his power over the unwieldy Philippine legislature to advance his anticorruption and economic-growth program and to influence the choice of his successor.

The Philppines has one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, and international organizations and ratings agencies have credited President Aquino’s policies for that success, according to the Times.

“This victory in the Senate means he will not be a lame-duck president,” said Ramon C. Casiple, the executive director of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform. “He can use his popularity and control of the government to pursue his agenda and affect the 2016 presidential election.”

At stake in the recently concluded Philippine elections were 12 of the 24 Senate seats and all 229 seats in the House of Representatives. The election also covered 18,000 local political posts, as well as provincial governors.

With 69 percent of the vote counted, nine pro-administration Senate candidates were ahead in the race. Their victory would increase the number of the incumbent President’s allies in the chamber to 13 from 4 and give them the power to choose the next Senate President.

Final Senate results were expected by late Wednesday, but delays in the transmission of official results from precincts have forced the country’s Commission of Elections to delay the counting of votes until Thursday. According to Philippines newspaper, The Philippine Star, announcement of election winners could be as late as Friday.

A contention of President Aquino’s opponents against him is that although the economy has expanded, job growth has been flat and poverty levels have yet to improved. His critics also say that corruption remain rampant, especially low-level graft that most directly affects the poor.

In campaign rallies for his political allies, the president responded that in the final half of his term, his government would focus on extending the benefits of economic prosperity to the country’s poor and on continuing to crack down on corruption.

The shift in power in the Senate would give President Aquino extraordinary control over the government, according to Casiple. His allies’ gain in the Senate would be complemented by the traditional control that the administration normally possesses over the House of Representatives.

Though the results of many races have yet to be proclaimed Tuesday, party alliances are not as important in the House, said Casiple. Representatives from the House rely on the national government for money to finance projects for their districts, giving the administration significant leverage over the chamber.

In addition to his expected control of both houses of Congress, the president is seen as having great influence over the judiciary as well. Last year, President Aquino led a successful effort to oust the chief justice of the Supreme Court for his failure to disclose assets, allowing him to appoint the current leader of the court.