A senatorial election was held on November 8, 1971 in the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. The opposition

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

won five seats in the

Philippine Senate The Senate of the Philippines () is the upper house of Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the House of Representatives as the lower house. The Senate is composed of 24 senators who are elected at-large (the country f ...

while three seats were won by the

Nacionalista Party The Nacionalista Party (Filipino language, Filipino and Spanish language in the Philippines, Spanish: ''Partido Nacionalista''; , NP) is a political party in the Philippines which is the oldest existing party in the country and in Southeast Asi ...

, the administration party; this was seen as a consequence of the

Plaza Miranda bombing The Plaza Miranda bombing () occurred during a political rally of the Liberal Party at Plaza Miranda, Quiapo district, Manila, the Philippines on August 21, 1971. It caused nine deaths and injured 95 others, including many prominent Liberal P ...

on August 21, 1971, which wounded all of the Liberal Party's candidates and almost took the lives of

John Henry Osmeña John Henry Renner Osmeña (January 17, 1935 – February 2, 2021), also known as Sonny Osmeña or simply John Osmeña, was the grandson of Philippines, Philippine President of the Philippines, President Sergio Osmeña. He served as a senator of ...

and

Jovito Salonga Jovito Reyes Salonga, Knights of Rizal, KGCR (; June 22, 1920 – March 10, 2016) also called "Ka Jovy," was a Filipino people, Filipino lawyer and politician, as well as a leading opposition leader during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos from th ...

. Their terms as senators were cut short as a result of the declaration of

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

on September 23, 1972. Due to the ratification of a new constitution in 1973, the Senate was abolished and the

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

parliamentary

Batasang Pambansa The Batasang Pambansa Complex, or simply the Batasan (), is the seat of the House of Representatives of the Philippines. It is located along the Batasan Road in Batasan Hills, Quezon City. The complex was initially the home of the Batasang Pa ...

was instituted. In 1987, a new constitution was approved that reverted to the presidential and

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate Deliberative assembly, assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate ...

legislative system. This means that this would be the last election for the Senate until the 1987 election.

Electoral system

Philippine Senate elections Elections to the Senate of the Philippines are done via plurality-at-large voting; a voter can vote for up to twelve candidates, with the twelve candidates with the highest number of votes being elected. The 24-member Senate uses staggered elect ...

are held via

plurality block voting Plurality block voting is a type of block voting method for multi-winner elections. Each voter may cast as many votes as the number of seats to be filled. The candidates with the most votes are elected. The usual result when the candidates div ...

with

staggered elections Staggered elections are elections where only some of the places in an elected body are up for election at the same time. For example, United States senators have a six-year term, but they are not all elected at the same time. Rather, elections ...

, with the country as an

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather tha ...

district. The Senate has 24 seats, of which 8 seats are up every 2 years. The eight seats up were last contested in 1965; each voter has eight votes and can vote up to eight names, of which the eight candidates with the most votes winning the election.

Retiring incumbents

Wenceslao Lagumbay Wenceslao Rancap Lagumbay (September 28, 1913 – September 3, 1995), was a Filipino politician. Early life and career Lagumbay was born in Longos (now Kalayaan), Laguna to Eufemio Lagumbay, a municipal councilor, and Maria Rancap on 28 Sep ...

(

Nacionalista The Nacionalista Party (Filipino language, Filipino and Spanish language in the Philippines, Spanish: ''Partido Nacionalista''; , NP) is a political party in the Philippines which is the oldest existing party in the country and in Southeast Asi ...

), ran for

governor of Laguna The governor of Laguna () is the highest political office in the province of Laguna (province), Laguna, Philippines. The governor holds office at the Laguna Provincial Capitol in Santa Cruz, Laguna and alternatively at the Laguna Provincial Capi ...

in 1980 and lost, ran for member of parliament from Laguna's at-large district in 1984 and won #

Sergio Osmeña Jr. Sergio "Serging" Veloso Osmeña Jr. (December 4, 1916 – March 26, 1984) was a Filipino politician who served as a Senator of the Philippines, and ran against Ferdinand Marcos in the 1969 Philippine Presidential election. He was the son of Se ...

(

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

), retired from politics #

Lorenzo Tañada Lorenzo Martinez "Ka Tanny" Tañada Sr. (, August 10, 1898 – May 28, 1992) was a Filipino statesman, lawyer, human and civil rights defender, and national athlete. He is often referred to as the "Grand Old Man of Philippine Politics." He s ...

( NCP), retired from electoral politics

Results

The

won five seats, while the

won three. Two Liberal incumbents successfully defended their seats:

Genaro Magsaysay Genaro del Fierro Magsaysay (19 September 1924 – 25 December 1978) was a Filipino lawyer and politician. Early life and education He was born in Castillejos, Zambales on 19 September 1924 to Exequiel Magsaysay y de los Santos and Perfecta d ...

and

, while

Alejandro Almendras Alejandro "Landring" Durano Almendras Sr. (27 February 1919 – 4 August 1995) was a Filipino politician and businessman who served as Senator of the Philippines from 1959 to 1972. He also served as governor of the then-undivided Davao province ...

and

Eva Estrada Kalaw Eva Estrada Kalaw ( Evangelina Reynada Estrada; June 16, 1920 – May 25, 2017) was a Filipina politician who served as a senator in the Senate of the Philippines from 1965 to 1972 during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos. She was one of the ke ...

of the Nacionalistas successfully defended their seats, as well. The other four winners are neophyte senators:

Eddie Ilarde Edgar Ubalde Ilarde (August 25, 1934 – August 4, 2020) was a Filipino radio and television host. On radio and television, he hosted programs such as ''Kahapon Lamang'', '' Student Canteen'' and ''Darigold Jamboree''. His first position as a ...

, Ramon Mitra Jr., and

of the Liberals, and

Ernesto Maceda Ernesto Madarang "Ernie" Maceda Sr. (March 26, 1935 – June 20, 2016) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, and columnist who served as a Senator of the Philippines from 1971 to 1972 and again from 1987 to 1998. He served as Senate President fro ...

of the Nacionalistas. Nacionalista Senator

Dominador Aytona Dominador Rosauro Aytona (23 May 1918 – 26 September 2017) was a Filipino politician and lawyer. Aytona was a native of Libon, Albay, born to Jose Ataviado Aytona and Vivencia Cerdon Rosauro. He attended the Albay Training Department and the ...

lost his reelection bid. Key: * ‡ Seats up * + Gained by a party from another party * √ Held by the incumbent * * Held by the same party with a new senator

Per candidate

Per party

Defeated incumbents

(

), retired from politics

References

External links

Official website of the Commission on Elections
{{Philippine elections

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

1971 elections in the Philippines