PHILIPPINES

LAST ELECTIONS

Also available: Archive of past election results for this chamber

Chamber:

Kapulungan Mga Kinatawan

Dates of election / renewal (from/to):

14 May 2007

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.

Background and outcome of elections:

The 2007 elections followed attempts by opposition members to impeach President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in July 2005 and in June 2006. Both attempts, concerning allegations of fraud and vote rigging in the 2004 presidential elections, were subsequently dismissed.

President Arroyo was sworn in in January 2001, replacing former president Joseph Estrada, who had been ousted by street protests against corruption. She implemented economic policies in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, cutting public spending and increasing the value-added tax (VAT). Under her presidency, the country achieved economic growth reaching seven per cent in 2007. However, price increases and unemployment reportedly frustrated the country's poor.

In December 2006, the country was divided over constitutional amendments that proposed to abolish the current US-style presidential system and introduce a parliamentary system. A draft constitution which provided for a unicameral parliament was severely criticized by the Senate. The House of Representatives subsequently agreed to "temporarily withdraw" the proposed constitutional amendments in order to "put an end to the historic divide" between the two chambers.

In the 2007 parliamentary elections, supporters of President Arroyo formed a coalition called TEAM Unity (Together Everyone Achieves More) that included the Speaker of the House of Representatives Mr. José de Venecia Jr. It criticized the impeachment moves of the past years, arguing they had destabilized the country and hampered the reforms started by President Arroyo.

The main opposition parties formed an electoral coalition called the "Genuine Opposition (GO)", which included three current or former Senate Presidents. The GO pledged to fight corruption and to alleviate poverty.

In the elections to the House of Representatives, turnout was estimated at 70 percent of the 45 million registered voters. Of 8 million citizens working abroad, only 504,122 registered to vote. In the elections to renew half the seats in the Senate, approximately 68 per cent of the 43 million registered voters cast their ballot.

The elections were marred by violence. According to the National Police, a total of 121 people were killed during the 2007 election period (from 14 January to 13 June), including 37 politicians. Due to irregularities, elections were repeated for one senatorial seat in Mindanao.

As in previous years, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) did not publish final election results for the House of Representatives. It was reported that the pro-presidential TEAM Unity coalition secured nearly 170 seats while the opposition GO won just over 40 seats. The remaining seats were distributed through a proportional representation system to party-list nominees proposed by indigenous groups. Most nominees subsequently joined TEAM Unity, giving it around 190 seats in the 240-member House of Representatives. Only four pro-presidential candidates were elected to the Senate, where the GO coalition took an overall majority.

The newly-elected House of Representatives and the Senate were convened on 23 July. The House re-elected Mr. Venecia of the majority coalition as its Speaker for a fifth consecutive term, making him the longest-serving Speaker in the country's post-war history. The Senate re-elected Mr. Manny Villar (Nationalist Party) as its President.

On 5 February 2008, Mr. de Venecia lost his position as speaker in a vote of 174 against 35, with 16 abstentions. Mr. Prospero Nograles Jr. of Davao City was elected as the new Speaker of the House of Representatives.

*The Commission on Elections did not publish the election results for the House of Representatives. The statistics below have been calculated on the basis of information available from the website of the House of Representatives.

The Composition of the House of Representatives
TEAM Unity (168 seats)
Kampi and its allies 46
LDP 3
Lankas-CMD and its allies 89
NPC and its allies 28
PSDP 2

Party nominees: 25 (most of them subsequently joined the TEAM Unity)

Genuine Opposition (GO) 44
UNO and its allies 5
LP and its allies 23
NP and its allies 9
PMP and its allies 4
PDP - LABAN 3

Others: 3

STATISTICS


Round no 1 (14 May 2007): Election results
Number of registered electors		45'000'000
Voters		70%
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes



Round no 1: Distribution of votes

Political Group	Candidates	Votes	%

Round no 1: Distribution of seats

Political Group

Total

Comments:

Source: House of Representatives (13.11.2007, 01.01.2008)

Distribution of seats according to sex:

Men:

191

Women:

Percent of women:

20.42

Distribution of seats according to age:

Distribution of seats according to profession:

Also available: Archive of past election results for this chamber

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