# 1959 Philippine Senate election

A senatorial election was held on November 10, 1959 in the Philippines. The 1959 elections were known as the 1959 Philippine midterm elections as the date when the elected officials take office falls halfway through President Carlos P. Garcia's four-year term.
The Liberal Party continued chipping away from the Nacionalista Party's dominance in the Senate, winning two more seats, although the Nacionalistas still possessed 19 out of 24 seats in the chamber.

## 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 1953; 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

No incumbents retired on this election.

### Mid-term vacancies

* Ruperto Kangleon (Democratic), died on February 28, 1958
* Alejo Mabanag (Nacionalista), appointed Secretary of Justice on July 14, 1959

## Results

The Nacionalista Party won five seats contested in the election, while the Liberal Party won two, and the Nationalist Citizens' Party won one.
Lorenzo Tañada of the Nationalist Citizens' Party and Nacionalistas Mariano Jesús Cuenco, Fernando Lopez, and Eulogio Rodriguez defended their Senate seats. Lopez was originally from the Democratic Party, and ran as a Nacionalista on this election.
The two winning Liberals are neophyte senators: Estanislao Fernandez and Ferdinand Marcos. Also entering the Senate for the first time are Nacionalistas Alejandro Almendras and Genaro Magsaysay.
Incumbent Nacionalista senators Edmundo B. Cea and Emmanuel Pelaez both lost.
| | 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 | LP | LP | NCP | NP | NP | 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 | 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 | % |
| | Ferdinand Marcos | Liberal Party | 2,661,153 | 41.62 |
| | Genaro Magsaysay | Nacionalista Party | 2,457,218 | 38.43 |
| | Fernando Lopez | Nacionalista Party | 2,366,166 | 37.01 |
| | Estanislao Fernandez | Liberal Party | 2,071,865 | 32.40 |
| | Mariano Jesús Cuenco | Nacionalista Party | 2,046,842 | 32.01 |
| | Eulogio Rodriguez | Nacionalista Party | 2,037,682 | 31.87 |
| | Lorenzo Tañada | Nationalist Citizens' Party | 2,029,200 | 31.74 |
| | Alejandro Almendras | Nacionalista Party | 1,857,782 | 29.06 |
| | Edmundo B. Cea | Nacionalista Party | 1,764,436 | 27.60 |
| | Emmanuel Pelaez | Party for Philippine Progress | 1,734,330 | 27.13 |
| | Raul Manglapus | Party for Philippine Progress | 1,651,097 | 25.82 |
| | Juan Pajo | Nacionalista Party | 1,623,637 | 25.39 |
| | Manuel Manahan | Party for Philippine Progress | 1,512,512 | 23.66 |
| | Sofronio Quimson | Nacionalista Party | 1,272,525 | 19.90 |
| | Cornelio Villareal | Liberal Party | 1,266,826 | 19.81 |
| | Terry Adevoso | Liberal Party | 1,035,147 | 16.19 |
| | Jacinto Borja | Liberal Party | 1,021,281 | 15.97 |
| | Jesus Vargas | Party for Philippine Progress | 1,001,981 | 15.67 |
| | Esmeraldo Eco | Liberal Party | 947,261 | 14.82 |
| | Duma Sinsuat | Liberal Party | 687,622 | 10.75 |
| | Narciso Pimentel Jr. | Party for Philippine Progress | 621,915 | 9.73 |
| | Osmundo Mondoñedo | Party for Philippine Progress | 537,729 | 8.41 |
| | Alfredo Abcede | Federal Party | 27,383 | 0.43 |
| | Valentin Festejo | Independent | 3,263 | 0.05 |
| | Gualberto Cruz | Independent | 2,801 | 0.04 |
| | Narciso J. Alegre | New Party | 2,596 | 0.04 |
| | Emilio Alcutse Aninao | Independent | 2,379 | 0.04 |
| | Natalio M. Beltran Jr. | Cooperative Democratic Party | 2,286 | 0.04 |
| | Gregorio Llanza | Independent | 1,727 | 0.03 |
| | Consuelo Fa Alvear | Independent | 1,268 | 0.02 |
| | Isaac Eceta | Independent | 1,209 | 0.02 |
| | Chenchay Reyes Juta | Independent | 1,048 | 0.02 |
| Total | Total | Total | 34,252,167 | 100.00 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 6,393,724 | – |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 7,822,472 | 81.74 |

### Per party

Seats :
| Party | Party | Votes | % | +/– | Up | Before | Won | After | +/− |
| | Nacionalista Party | 15,426,288 | 45.04 | −2.86 | 4 | 19 | 5 | 19 | 0 |
| | Liberal Party | 9,691,155 | 28.29 | −3.82 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | +2 |
| | Progressive Party | 7,059,564 | 20.61 | +8.36 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | −1 |
| | Nationalist Citizens' Party | 2,029,200 | 5.92 | −1.11 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| | Federal Party | 27,383 | 0.08 | +0.08 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | New Party | 2,596 | 0.01 | New | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | Cooperative Democratic Party | 2,286 | 0.01 | New | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | Independent | 13,695 | 0.04 | −0.44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vacancy | Vacancy | | | | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | −2 |
| Total | Total | 34,252,167 | 100.00 | – | 8 | 24 | 8 | 24 | 0 |
| Total votes | Total votes | 6,393,724 | – | | | | | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 7,822,472 | 81.74 | | | | | | |
| 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
45.04%
LP
28.29%
PPP
20.61%
NCP
5.92%
Others
0.14% :
Senate seats
NP
62.50%
LP
25.00%
PPP
0.00%
NCP
12.50%
Others
0.00% :

## Defeated incumbents

* Edmundo B. Cea (Nacionalista) retired from politics
* Emmanuel Pelaez (Progressive) ran for Vice President of the Philippines in 1961 and won