# 1953 Philippine Senate election

Elections for the members of the Senate were held on November 10, 1953, in the Philippines. Incumbent President Elpidio Quirino of the Liberal Party lost his opportunity to get a second full term as President of the Philippines to former Defense Secretary Ramon Magsaysay of the Nacionalista Party. Quirino's running mate, Senator Jose Yulo lost to Senator Carlos P. Garcia. Vice President Fernando Lopez did not run for re-election and ran for the Senate instead, in which he emerged as the candidate with the most votes. This was the first time that an elected president did not come from the Senate. To further compound the Liberal Party's woes, they also failed to win any seats in the Senate in this election.
The Citizens' Party and the Democratic Party caucused with the Nacionalistas to provide them the majority in the Senate.

## 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 1947; 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

All senators whose seats were up contested the election.

### Mid-term vacancy

* Emiliano Tria Tirona (Liberal), died on April 8, 1952

### Other changes

* Claro M. Recto (Nacionalista) won an electoral protest against Senator Teodoro de Vera (Liberal) in the Senate Electoral Tribunal. Recto was seated on April 3, 1953.

### Incumbents running elsewhere

These ran in the middle of their Senate terms. For those losing in their respective elections, they can still return to the Senate to serve out their term, while the winners will vacate their Senate seats, then it would have been contested in a special election concurrently with the next general election.
* Carlos P. Garcia (Nacionalista), ran for vice president and won

## Results

The Nacionalista Party won five seats contested in the election, with the Democratic Party winning two, and the Citizens' Party winning one.
Nacionalista Eulogio Rodriguez and Lorenzo Tañada of the Citizens' Party both defended their Senate seats. The four Liberal senators whose seats were up in this election were defeated: Camilo Osias, Geronima Pecson, Pablo Ángeles David and Vicente Madrigal. Felixberto Verano, who won a special election in 1951, was the sole Nacionalista defeat.
Three winners are neophyte Nacionalista senators: Alejo Mabanag, Edmundo B. Cea and Emmanuel Pelaez.
Incumbent vice president and Democrat Fernando Lopez returned to the Senate after serving from 1947 to 1949. Mariano Jesús Cuenco, who was defeated in the last election, made a comeback in the Senate, this time under the banner of the Nacionalistas.
Senator Carlos P. Garcia of the Nacionalistas was elected vice president in concurrent elections; his seat will be vacant until 1955 when it would have been contested in a special election.
| | 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 | Not up | Not up | Not up | Not up | CP | DP | DP | NP | NP | NP | NP | NP | 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
* ^ Vacancy

### Per candidate

| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Fernando Lopez | Democratic Party | 2,272,642 | 52.53 |
| | Lorenzo Tañada | Citizens' Party | 2,156,717 | 49.85 |
| | Eulogio Rodriguez | Nacionalista Party | 2,071,844 | 47.89 |
| | Emmanuel Pelaez | Nacionalista Party | 2,010,128 | 46.46 |
| | Edmundo B. Cea | Nacionalista Party | 1,961,705 | 45.34 |
| | Mariano Jesús Cuenco | Nacionalista Party | 1,853,247 | 42.83 |
| | Alejo Mabanag | Nacionalista Party | 1,846,190 | 42.67 |
| | Ruperto Kangleon | Democratic Party | 1,521,012 | 35.15 |
| | Geronima Pecson | Liberal Party | 1,349,163 | 31.18 |
| | Camilo Osías | Liberal Party | 1,324,567 | 30.61 |
| | Jose Figueroa | Liberal Party | 1,194,952 | 27.62 |
| | Vicente Madrigal | Liberal Party | 1,155,577 | 26.71 |
| | José Avelino | Liberal Party | 1,012,599 | 23.40 |
| | Jacinto O. Borja | Liberal Party | 968,841 | 22.39 |
| | Salipada Pendatun | Liberal Party | 945,755 | 21.86 |
| | Pablo Ángeles David | Liberal Party | 909,790 | 21.03 |
| | Felixberto Verano | Nacionalista Party | 59,782 | 1.38 |
| | Jose Maria Veloso | Nacionalista Party | 10,270 | 0.24 |
| | Alfredo Abcede | Federal Party | 5,365 | 0.12 |
| | Concepcion R. Lim de Planas | Independent | 4,439 | 0.10 |
| Total | Total | Total | 24,634,585 | 100.00 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 4,326,706 | – |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 5,603,231 | 77.22 |

### Per party

The seat vacated by the death of Emiliano Tria Tirona in 1952 was disputed in this election.
The Nacionalistas originally had 14 seats entering the 3rd Congress, but the election of Senator Carlos P. Garcia to the vice presidency meant that his seat is vacant until 1955, when it was contested in a special election two years later.
Seats :
| Party | Party | Votes | % | +/– | Up | Before | Won | After | +/− |
| | Nacionalista Party | 9,813,166 | 39.83 | −18.37 | 3 | 11 | 5 | 13 | +2 |
| | Liberal Party | 8,861,244 | 35.97 | −2.22 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 7 | −4 |
| | Democratic Party | 3,793,654 | 15.40 | New | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | New |
| | Citizens' Party | 2,156,717 | 8.75 | New | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| | Federal Party | 5,365 | 0.02 | New | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | Independent | 4,439 | 0.02 | −0.38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vacancy | Vacancy | | | | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | −1 |
| Total | Total | 24,634,585 | 100.00 | – | 8 | 24 | 8 | 24 | 0 |
| Total votes | Total votes | 4,326,706 | – | | | | | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 5,603,231 | 77.22 | | | | | | |
| 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
NP
39.83%
LP
35.97%
DP
15.40%
CP
8.75%
Others
0.04% :
Senate seats
NP
62.50%
LP
0.00%
DP
25.00%
CP
12.50%
Others
0.00% :

## Defeated incumbents

* Pablo Ángeles David (Liberal), retired from politics
* Vicente Madrigal (Liberal), retired from politics
* Camilo Osias (Liberal), ran in 1955 and lost, ran in 1961 and won
* Geronima Pecson (Liberal), ran in 1955 and lost
* Felixberto Verano (Nacionalista), retired from politics