Despite his death, Roy Señeres picks up presidential votes

MANILA, Philippines – Despite his death earlier this year, some citizens still chose Roy Señeres as their preferred presidential candidate in the May 9 elections.

The late Señeres picked up 22,726 votes with 87.05% precincts reporting as of early Tuesday morning, May 10.

A former ambassador to the United Arab Emirates and OFW party-list representative, Señeres passed away on February 8 after suffering from diabetes and being confined in the hospital for more than a month.

Señeres withdrew from the presidential race just a few days before his passing, and his family filed a motion with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to remove his name from the ballot following his death.

This was to make sure no one from his party, the Partido ng Manggagawa at Magsasaka (PMM), would take his place.

However, the Comelec decided to keep Señeres’ name on the ballot, as the issue between Señeres’ family and his party remained unresolved at the time of ballot printing.

Señeres’ main platform was to end contractualization, which he called “unconstitutional” when he filed his candidacy.

With just about 15% of electoral precincts yet to report, Rodrigo Duterte holds an overwhelming lead with 38.6% of votes for president, almost 7 million more votes than his nearest challenger, Manuel Roxas II.

The race for vice president remains much closer however with Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr statistically tied with Camarines Sur Representative Leni Robredo. – Rappler.com