MANILA, Philippines — Actor Robin Padilla and radio host Raffy Tulfo were among high-profile celebrities victorious in the 2022 national and local elections, with the two among the frontrunners in the race for senatorship.
Padilla was the surprise frontrunner among the incoming senator candidates with over 26 million votes based on unofficial partial results, despite the actor’s steady rise in the polling ranks in recent months.
The actor ran in the Senate of the ruling Partido Demokratieko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) party under Energy Minister Alfonso Cusi’s faction and is currently the party’s only candidate in the Magic 12. At the last minute, Padilla was also included in the UniTeam list by Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte-Carpio.
Padilla’s late father, Roy, was also an actor and politician, served as governor of Camarines Norte under the leadership of former President Corazon Aquino, and was four-time mayor of Jose Panganiban in the province.
Related: Robin Padilla leads a list of senators dominated by politicians
Tulfo was the perceived top candidate according to election polls, but unofficial partial results put him in third place with 23 million votes behind Padilla and former Senator Loren Legarda.
The radio personality ran as an independent but was included on Senator Manny Pacquiao’s list of senators. His son Ralph is running for Congressman in Quezon City’s 2nd District, his wife Jocelyn is running as a second candidate for re-election to Congress under the ACT-CIS party list (currently leading the party list race), and his brother Erwin – also a radio station – it is the fourth candidate of ACT-CIS.
Beauty queens, young actors in the local races
A number of celebrities are winning their respective races at the local level, the most notable being actor Arjo Atayde, who is leading the race for the House of Representatives seat in Quezon City’s First Circuit with twice as many votes as his closest competitor, the incumbent Congressman Onyx Crisologo .
Fellow actor and Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Edition Plus winner Ejay Falcon faces a two-horse race for lieutenant governor of Oriental Mindoro, leading just ahead of incumbent Antonio Perez Jr. Falcon is the running mate for incumbent governor Bonz Dolor, who currently leading the race for governors.
Former ‘Goin’ Bulilit’ star Nash Aguas is set to become a councilor in Cavite City’s lonely district as he is currently runner-up in that race surrounded by his Lakas CMD partymates, while Leren Mae Bautista is currently the 2019 Binibining Pilipinas Globe Leading the City Council race for Los Baños, Laguna, followed by their Bigkis partymates Marlo Alipon and Jonsi Siytiap.
TV actor and current Manila Third Ward Representative Yul Servo is poised to become the city’s new vice mayor, succeeding fellow campaigner Honey Lacuna, who is expected to win the mayoralty.
Related: Celebs running for office are a comeback trend for 2022
Actress and politician Lucy Torres, meanwhile, appears to be succeeding her husband Richard as mayor of Ormoc City in Leyte (Richard is running for the Leyte Fourth Ward congressional seat), while actor Javi Benitez is dominating the mayoral election of Victoria’s City in Negros Occidental.
Some personalities are also nominated in party lists, such as actress Karla Estrada, third candidate from Tingog, which is currently a front runner, and OWWA Administrator Mocha Uson – first candidate from Mothers for Change.
It remains to be seen how many seats will be allotted to the triumphant party lists, meaning Uson’s fellow candidate and former Binibining Pilipinas Globe Michele Gumabao will have to wait for the final official tally, as does Miss Universe Philippines Organization national director Shamcey Supsup-Lee who is the first candidate of ARTE.
TIED TOGETHER: ABS-CBN respects Karla Estrada’s decision to stand as a representative on the party list that voted against the right to vote
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