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PHILIPPINES
Kapulungan Ng Mga Kinatawan (House of Representatives)
ELECTIONS IN 2010

Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module

A historical Archive of past election results for this chamber can be found on a separate page

Parliament name (generic / translated) Kongreso / Congress
Structure of parliament Bicameral
Chamber name (generic / translated) Kapulungan Ng Mga Kinatawan / House of Representatives
Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) Senado / Senate
BACKGROUND
Dates of election / renewal (from/to) 10 May 2010
Purpose of elections Elections were held for all the seats in the House of Representatives on the normal expiry of the members' term of office.
The May 2010 parliamentary elections were held concurrently with the presidential polls. At stake were 280 seats in the House of Representatives (up from 269 see note) and half of the Senate seats (12).

In the previous elections held in May 2007 TEAM Unity (Together Everyone Achieves More) - a coalition formed by supporters of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo - took nearly 170 of the 240 seats in the House of Representatives. The coalition included President Arroyo's Lakas-Kampi-CMD and the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC). An electoral coalition called the "Genuine Opposition" (GO) took 44 seats. The GO included the Liberal Party (LP) and the Nationalist Party. Most of the 25 party nominees proposed by indigenous groups subsequently joined TEAM Unity. Only four pro-presidential candidates were elected to the Senate where the GO coalition took an overall majority.

Since she was elected in 2004 President Arroyo had been seeking Charter (constitutional) change known locally as "Cha-Cha". These changes aim at transforming the country's system of government from the current presidential system to a parliamentary one. Her opponents accused her of eying the Speaker's post and trying to return to power as Prime Minister once the constitutional changes were adopted. She had risen from being the country's Vice-President to President in January 2001 after the then President Joseph Estrada was impeached on allegations of corruption.

Ms. Arroyo was constitutionally barred from seeking a second consecutive term in 2010. Instead she ran for a seat in the House of Representatives. She pledged to continue the Charter change. Former first lady Imelda Marcos - whose late husband Ferdinand Marcos served as President between 1969 and 1986 having imposed martial law in 1972 - was also vying for a House seat. Ms. Marcos had been elected to the House in 1995.

The media focused on the presidential polls placing the parliamentary polls on the back burner.

President Arroyo endorsed Mr. Gilberto Teodoro of her Lakas-Kampi-CMD party as her successor. The Lakas-Kampi-CMD led a coalition with two small parties: the KABACA and the SARRO. The coalition pledged to work towards a "dynamic and progressive Philippines" by alleviating poverty and providing better infrastructure.

The Lakas-Kampi-CMD coalition was challenged by the NP-NPC coalition. The NP leader former Senate President Manny Villar was also running for the presidency. Mr. Villar a property tycoon focused on his rags-to-riches story but his image was reportedly tarnished by corruption allegations. Former actor and president Joseph Estrada was also running. He had been jailed in 2001 for corruption but was pardoned by President Arroyo later the same year. He reportedly remained popular thanks to his heroic gangster movies.

Senator Benigno Aquino III - Mr. Teodoro's cousin and son of charismatic former President Corazon Aquino who passed away in August 2009 - ran for the presidency on a Liberal Party (LP) ticket. The LP of former Speaker and Quezon City Mayor Mr. Feliciano Belmonte Jr. was in coalition with the KKK (Kapayapaan Katarungan Kaunlaran). The LP coalition promised to lead a transparent administration. Mr. Aquino vowed to open an investigation into past allegations of corruption against President Arroyo. His running mate Senator Manuel Roxas II publicly criticized President Arroyo's bid for a House seat arguing that she was seeking protection from prosecution.

Mr. Aquino accused the government of supporting the candidature of Mr. Villar reportedly a close ally of President Arroyo so he would keep quiet on issues confronting the current administration such as corruption scandals. As the only post-war parliamentarian to have presided over both Houses of Congress Mr. Villar criticized Mr. Aquino for not having passed a single law after serving three terms in the House and one term in the Senate.

Many members of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD party reportedly supported either Mr. Aquino or Mr. Villar. In early April Albay Governor Joey Salceda - one of President Arroyo's top economic advisers - announced that he would support Mr. Aquino.

73.42 per cent of the 50 million registered voters turned out for the polls.

As in the past the elections were marred by violence resulting in the death of over 90 people. They included the 57 victims of a mass killing in November 2009 in Mindanao. Over 30 more people were killed during the election campaign and at least 12 others died on polling day as a result of political violence. Four municipalities in Mindanao declared that polling could not take place after poll workers reported harassment and death threats. The election commission accepted the declaration and announced that it would organize special elections there.

Technical problems with new automated voting machines that were being used for the first time were reported in several polling stations.

No major international organizations sent observer missions. The People's International Observers' Mission 2010 (PIOM) comprising 86 foreign observers from 11 countries - Argentina Australia Canada China France Germany Denmark Japan New Zealand the United Kingdom and the United States - monitored the polls. They noted several irregularities and criticized the lack of secrecy in certain precincts.

The final results for the House of Representatives gave 119 seats to the LP 45 to the Lakas-Kampi-CMD coalition and 22 to the NP-NPC coalition. The remainder went to small parties. In the Senate the LP and the NP-NPC coalition won three seats each. The Lakas-Kampi-CMD and the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (Force of the Filipino Masses) of outgoing Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile took two seats each while the People's Reform Party (PRP) took one seat. The remaining seat went to an independent candidate. Both President Arroyo and Ms. Marcos were elected to the House of Representatives.

In the presidential elections Mr. Aquino was elected with over 40 per cent of the votes.

Supporters of Mr. Aquino formed the Conscience and Reform (CORE) coalition in the House of Representatives in a bid to prevent Ms. Arroyo from obtaining the speakership.

The newly-elected House of Representatives and the Senate were convened on 26 July. The House elected Mr. Feliciano R. Belmonte Jr. (LP) as its new Speaker. The Senate re-elected Mr. Juan Ponce Enrile of the Force of the Filipino Masses (Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino PMP) as its President.

Note: The number of party nominees has been increased to 52.
STATISTICS
Voter turnout
Round no 110 May 2010
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes
50'723'733
37'243'529 (73.42%)

33'858'638
Notes
Distribution of seats
Round no 1
Political Group Total
Liberal Party (LP) 119
Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats - Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Lakas-Kampi-CMD) 45
Nationalist Party (NP) 22
Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (Force of the Filipino Masses PMP) 5
Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Laban (Philippine Democratic Party-People's Power PDP-Laban) 2
Independents 1
Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) 1
Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (New Society Movement KBL) 1
Lapiang Manggagawa (Philippine Labour and Peasant Party) 1
Distribution of seats according to sex
Men
Women
Percent of women
218
62
22.14%
Distribution of seats according to age
Distribution of seats according to profession
Comments
Source: IPU Group (14.07.2010 12.01.2011 14.01.2012)

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