# Comelec proclaims the Philippines' winning Senate Magic 12
*Event date: 2025-05-17*
By IO Digest Desk
The Commission on Elections began proclaiming the winning Senate Magic 12 on May 17, 2025, at Manila Hotel Tent City, in what the supplied Inquirer report says was the earliest proclamation period in the poll body's history. The ceremony came only three days after the May 12 elections, after Comelec finished canvassing 175 certificates of canvass and produced the official tally used to determine the winners.
All 12 winning senators were present at the venue, and the order of proclamation followed the ranking of the vote count in reverse. Imee Marcos, who placed 12th with 13,339,227 votes, was called first. Bong Go, who led the field with 27,121,073 votes, was called last. The ceremony therefore had a symbolic structure: the final seat was named first, while the frontrunner walked up at the end.
The top of the list reflected a mixed political map. Bam Aquino finished second with 20,971,899 votes, followed by Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa with 20,773,946. Erwin Tulfo placed fourth with 17,118,881, Kiko Pangilinan fifth with 15,343,229 and Rodante Marcoleta sixth with 15,250,723. Panfilo Lacson, Tito Sotto, Pia Cayetano, Camille Villar and Lito Lapid rounded out the rest of the proclaimed winners in that order.
One notable absence was Pangilinan, who did not attend because he was in the United States for the graduation of his daughter Frankie. That detail mattered because it was one of the few moments in an otherwise highly choreographed event in which the personal lives of the winning candidates briefly interrupted the formal political pageantry.
The article also shows how Comelec turned the proclamation into a record-setting administrative feat. Finishing the official canvass in three days made it the fastest tally in the body's history. Comelec also logged the highest voter turnout for a midterm election in Philippine history at 82.20 percent, underscoring the scale of public participation in the vote that produced the Magic 12.
Coalition politics ran through the result. The report says the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas slate won the most seats, although Camille Villar also had support from the opposition-backed DuterTen coalition associated with Vice President Sara Duterte. The article therefore captures a Philippine Senate race in which alliances were complicated, candidate labels overlapped and campaign blocs crossed lines that used to be clearer.
The proclamation matters because it closes the election formally and gives the next Senate its cast of winners. But it also confirms how narrow, how competitive and how politically charged the midterm race was. In a legislature that will help shape the next phase of the Marcos administration, the final count is both an administrative milestone and a preview of the power struggles to come.
The speed of the canvass and proclamation is politically useful to all sides because it reduces the space for rumors and keeps the focus on the official result. It also means the next Senate begins its term with a clearly defined set of winners, even if the coalitions around them are fluid. In a crowded political environment, that administrative certainty is itself a major story. The proclamation also locks in the result before the arguments over coalition labels can grow any wider.
