1949 Philippine Senate election

1949 Philippine Senate election

← 1947 November 8, 1949 1951 →
8 (of the 24) seats in the Senate 13 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Mariano Jesús Cuenco Carlos P. Garcia Party Liberal Nacionalista Seats before 12 (2 up) 8 (4 up) Seats won 8 0 Seats after 17 4 Seat change 5 4 Popular vote 12,782,449 8,900,568 Percentage 52.52 36.57 Swing 2.20 8.47
Senate President before election Mariano Jesús Cuenco Liberal Elected Senate President Mariano Jesús Cuenco Liberal

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Elections for the members of the Senate were held on November 8, 1949 in the Philippines.

While President Elpidio Quirino won a full term as President of the Philippines after the death of President Manuel Roxas in 1948, and his running mate, Senator Fernando Lopez won as Vice President, their Liberal Party won all of the contested seats in the Senate. Despite factions created in the administration party, Quirino won a satisfactory vote from the public.

It was the only time in Philippine history where the duly elected president, vice president and senators all came from the same party, the Liberal Party.

Carlos P. Romulo and Marvin M. Gray, publisher of the Manila Evening News, accuse Quirino in their book The Magsaysay Story (The John Day Company, 1956, updated - with an additional chapter on Magsaysay's death - re-edition by Pocket Books, Special Student Edition, SP-18, December 1957) of widespread fraud and intimidation of the opposition by military action, calling it the "dirty election".

Philippine Senate elections are held via plurality block voting with staggered elections, with the country as an at-large district. The Senate has 24 seats, of which 8 seats are up every 2 years. The eight seats up were won by the 9th to 16th placed candidates in 1946; each voter has eight votes and can vote up to eight names, of which the eight candidates with the most votes winning the election.

1. Prospero Sanidad

1. Ramon Diokno

1. Fernando Lopez (Liberal), elected as vice president, left office on December 30, 1949

The Liberal Party wing led by President Elpidio Quirino (the "Quirinistas") won all 8 seats, shutting out the wing led by former Senate President Jose Avelino (the "Avelinistas"), and the Nacionalista Party.

Two incumbents, Tomas Cabili and Enrique Magalona of the Quirinistas defended their seats, while four incumbents, Avelinistas Olegario Clarin and Salipada Pendatun, and Alejo Mabanag and Jose O. Vera of the Nacionalistas lost their seats.

Newcomers include Esteban Abada, Teodoro de Vera, Justianiano Montano, Quinttin Paredes, Macario Peralta Jr. and Lorenzo Sumulong, all Quirinistas.

Senator Fernando Lopez ran and won in concurrent vice presidential elections. He left office in December 30, 1949, when his vice presidential term started.

Key:

• ‡ Seats up
• *+Gained by a party from another party
• √ Held by the incumbent
• * Held by the same party with a new senator
• ^ Vacancy

The Liberals originally had 19 seats entering the 2nd Congress, but the election of Senator Fernando Lopez to the vice presidency meant that his seat is vacant until 1951, when it was contested in a special election.

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats
					Up	Before	Won	After	+/−
	Liberal Party (Quirino wing)	12,782,449	52.52	−2.20	2	12	8	17	+5
	Nacionalista Party	8,900,568	36.57	−8.47	4	8	0	4	−4
	Liberal Party (Avelino wing)	2,649,512	10.89	New	2	3	0	1	−2
	Independent	4,123	0.02	New	0	0	0	0	0
	Popular Front				0	1	0	1	0
Vacancy					0	0	0	1	+1
Total		24,336,652	100.00	–	8	24	8	24	0
Total votes		3,579,917	–
Registered voters/turnout		5,135,814	69.70
Source: Dieter Nohlen; Florian Grotz; Christof Hartmann; Graham Hassall; Soliman M. Santos (15 November 2001). Elections in Asia and the Pacific: A Data Handbook: Volume II: South East Asia, East Asia, and the South Pacific. OUP Oxford. ISBN 9780199249596. & Julio Teehankee. "Electoral Politics in the Philippines" (PDF). quezon.ph.

• Olegario Clarin (Liberal–Avelino wing) retired from politics
• Alejo Mabanag (Nacionalista) ran in 1953 and won
• Salipada Pendatun (Liberal–Avelino wing) ran in 1953 and lost, ran for House representative from Cotabato in 1957 and won
• Jose O. Vera (Nacionalista) retired from politics

• Commission on Elections
• 2nd Congress of the Philippines

• The Philippine Presidency Project
• Official website of the Commission on Elections