# 1971 Philippine Senate election

A senatorial election was held on November 8, 1971 in the Philippines. The opposition Liberal Party won five seats in the Philippine Senate while three seats were won by the Nacionalista Party, the administration party; this was seen as a consequence of the Plaza Miranda bombing on August 21, 1971, which wounded all of the Liberal Party's candidates and almost took the lives of John Henry Osmeña and Jovito Salonga. Their terms as senators were cut short as a result of the declaration of martial law by President Ferdinand Marcos on September 23, 1972.
Due to the ratification of a new constitution in 1973, the Senate was abolished and the unicameral parliamentary Batasang Pambansa was instituted. In 1987, a new constitution was approved that reverted to the presidential and bicameral legislative system. This means that this would be the last election for the Senate until the 1987 election.

## Electoral system

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 1965; each voter has eight votes and can vote up to eight names, of which the eight candidates with the most votes winning the election.

## Retiring incumbents

* Wenceslao Lagumbay (Nacionalista), ran for governor of Laguna in 1980 and lost, ran for member of parliament from Laguna's at-large district in 1984 and won
* Sergio Osmeña Jr. (Liberal), retired from politics
* Lorenzo Tañada (NCP), retired from electoral politics

## Results

The Liberal Party won five seats, while the Nacionalista Party won three.
Two Liberal incumbents successfully defended their seats: Genaro Magsaysay and Jovito Salonga, while Alejandro Almendras and Eva Estrada Kalaw of the Nacionalistas successfully defended their seats, as well.
The other four winners are neophyte senators: Eddie Ilarde, Ramon Mitra Jr., and John Henry Osmeña of the Liberals, and Ernesto Maceda of the Nacionalistas.
Nacionalista Senator Dominador Aytona lost his reelection bid.
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| Before election | | | | ‡ | ‡ | ‡ | ‡ | ‡ | ‡ | ‡ | ‡ | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Election result | Not up | Not up | Not up | LP | LP | LP | LP | LP | NP | NP | NP | Not up | Not up | Not up | Not up | Not up | Not up | Not up | Not up | Not up | Not up | Not up | Not up | Not up |
| After election | | | | √ | √ | * | + | + | * | * | * | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Key:
* ‡ Seats up
* + Gained by a party from another party
* √ Held by the incumbent
* * Held by the same party with a new senator

### Per candidate

| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Jovito Salonga | Liberal Party | 5,620,272 | 59.67 |
| | Genaro Magsaysay | Liberal Party | 4,756,376 | 50.49 |
| | John Henry Osmeña | Liberal Party | 4,668,092 | 49.56 |
| | Eddie Ilarde | Liberal Party | 4,548,069 | 48.28 |
| | Eva Estrada-Kalaw | Nacionalista Party | 4,464,367 | 47.39 |
| | Ramon Mitra Jr. | Liberal Party | 3,916,833 | 41.58 |
| | Ernesto Maceda | Nacionalista Party | 3,592,559 | 38.14 |
| | Alejandro Almendras | Nacionalista Party | 3,427,985 | 36.39 |
| | Manuel Elizalde | Nacionalista Party | 3,407,276 | 36.17 |
| | Melanio Singson | Liberal Party | 3,130,332 | 33.23 |
| | Dominador Aytona | Nacionalista Party | 3,119,995 | 33.12 |
| | Juan Ponce Enrile | Nacionalista Party | 3,044,461 | 32.32 |
| | Salipada Pendatun | Liberal Party | 2,885,336 | 30.63 |
| | Blas Ople | Nacionalista Party | 2,654,067 | 28.18 |
| | Leonila Garcia | Nacionalista Party | 2,473,684 | 26.26 |
| | Cipriano Primicias Jr. | Nacionalista Party | 2,099,148 | 22.28 |
| Total | Total | Total | 57,808,852 | 100.00 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 9,419,568 | – |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 11,661,909 | 80.77 |
* ↑ Guest candidate of the Liberal Party

### Per party

Seats :
| Party | Party | Votes | % | +/– | Up | Before | Won | After | +/− |
| | Liberal Party | 33,469,677 | 57.42 | +16.07 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 8 | +2 |
| | Nacionalista Party | 24,819,175 | 42.58 | −16.00 | 4 | 17 | 3 | 16 | −1 |
| | Nationalist Citizens' Party | | | | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | −1 |
| Total | Total | 58,288,852 | 100.00 | – | 8 | 24 | 8 | 24 | 0 |
| Total votes | Total votes | 9,419,568 | – | | | | | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 11,661,909 | 80.77 | | | | | | |
| 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. ||||||||||
Vote share
LP
57.42%
NP
42.58% :
Senate seats
LP
62.50%
NP
37.50% :

## Defeated incumbents

* Dominador Aytona (Nacionalista), retired from politics