1955 Philippine Senate election

1955 Philippine general election

← 1953 November 8, 1955 1957 →
8 (of the 24) seats in the Senate and 1 mid-term vacancy 13 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Eulogio Rodriguez Diosdado Macapagal (lost) Party Nacionalista Liberal Seats before 17 (3 up) 4 (4 up) Seats won 9 0 Seats after 23 0 Seat change 6 4 Popular vote 18,422,368 8,968,978 Percentage 67.18 32.71 Swing 27.35 3.26
Senate President before election Eulogio Rodriguez Nacionalista Elected Senate President Eulogio Rodriguez Nacionalista

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A senatorial election in the Philippines was held on November 8, 1955. This was a midterm election, the date when the winners took office falling halfway through President Ramon Magsaysay's four-year term.

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 last contested in 1949; each voter has eight votes and can vote up to eight names, of which the eight candidates with the most votes winning the election.

There was a separate special election held for the vacant seat of Senator Carlos P. Garcia after he won as Vice President in 1953. This is under first-past-the-post. The winner shall then serve for the remainder of Garcia's Senate term.

Since Magsaysay was very popular midway through his term, there were 10 candidates who ran under the Nacionalista banner. His adoptive Nacionalista Party continued to grow in strength with the absorption of their erstwhile coalition partner, the Democratic Party; but a pillar of the NP could not hide his opposition to the president. Senator Claro M. Recto, one of those who actively sought the adoption of the former Defense Secretary into the NP fold in 1953, had grown critical of Magsaysay, calling him a “banana dictator” and “American puppet,” among other unflattering names. In retaliation, Magsaysay refused the inclusion of Recto into the NP Senate slate of 1955, prompting the Batangueño leader to seek support for his candidacy with the Liberals.

Though Lorenzo Tañada of the NCP had cooperated with the NP in 1953, Recto became the first “guest candidate” in Philippine electoral history, when he was included in the Liberal Party lineup but did not resign his membership as a Nacionalista.^[1]

1. Tomas Cabili
2. Justiniano Montano

1. Esteban Abada (Liberal), died on December 17, 1954
2. Carlos P. Garcia (Nacionalista), elected vice president, left office on December 30, 1953

The Nacionalista Party won all eight seats contested in the general election, and won the one seat contested in the special election.

Nacionalistas Quintin Paredes, Claro M. Recto, Lorenzo Sumulong both defended their Senate seats. Paredes and Sumulong were former Liberals who ran as Nacionalistas in this election. The two Liberal senators who defended their seats were defeated: Enrique Magalona and Macario Peralta Jr.

Five winners are neophyte Nacionalista senators: Decoroso Rosales, Domocao Alonto, Francisco "Soc" Rodrigo, Pacita Madrigal-Warns, and Pedro Sabido. Madrigal-Warns became the only woman in the Senate.

Key:

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

One seat was up for election to fill its vacancy created by Carlos P. Garcia's election as vice president in 1953. Unlike the regular election, this is held under the first past the post system.

This includes the result of the special election.

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats
					Up	Before	Won	After	+/−
	Nacionalista Party	18,422,368	67.18	+27.35	3	17	9	23	+6
	Liberal Party	8,968,978	32.71	−3.26	4	4	0	0	−4
	Federal Party	22,769	0.08	+0.06	0	0	0	0	0
	Independent	6,811	0.02	+0.01	0	0	0	0	0
	Citizens Party				0	1	0	1	0
Vacant					2	1	0	0	−1
Total		27,420,926	100.00	–	9	24	9	24	0
Total votes		5,046,488	–
Registered voters/turnout		6,487,061	77.79
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. ISBN 9780199249596. & Julio Teehankee. "Electoral Politics in the Philippines" (PDF). quezon.ph.

• Enrique Magalona (Liberal) retired from politics
• Macario Peralta Jr. (Liberal) appointed Secretary of National Defense in 1962

• Also held on this day:
  • 1955 Philippine House of Representatives special elections
  • 1955 Philippine local elections

• Commission on Elections
• 3rd Congress of the Philippines

• Official website of the Commission on Elections