# 1961 Philippine Senate election

A senatorial election was held on November 14, 1961 in the Philippines. The two candidates of the Progressive Party, guest candidates of the Liberal Party, topped the election, while the Liberals themselves won four seats cutting the Nacionalista Party's majority to 13 seats in the 24-seat Philippine 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 1955; 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 incumbents defended their seats in this election.

### Mid-term vacancies

* Claro M. Recto (Nacionalista), died on October 2, 1960

### 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.
* Gil Puyat (Nacionalista), ran for vice president and lost

## Results

The Liberal Party won four seats contested in the election, while the Nacionalista Party and the Progressive Party won two each.
Lorenzo Sumulong was the sole Nacionalista to successfully defend his seat. Liberal Francisco Soc Rodrigo, who originally was a Nacionalista, was the other senator to defend his seat.
Two Liberals are neophyte senators: Gaudencio Antonino and Maria Kalaw Katigbak. Also entering the Senate for the first time are Progressives Manuel Manahan and Raul Manglapus. Camilo Osias, who last served in the Senate in 1953, won back a Senate seat as a Liberal.
Incumbent Nacionalista senators Decoroso Rosales, Domocao Alonto, Pacita Madrigal-Warns, Pedro Sabido, and Quintin Paredes all 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 | Not up | Not up | LP | LP | LP | LP | PPP | PPP | 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 |
| 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 | % |
| | Raul Manglapus | Party for Philippine Progress | 3,489,658 | 51.78 |
| | Manuel Manahan | Party for Philippine Progress | 3,088,040 | 45.82 |
| | Lorenzo Sumulong | Nacionalista Party | 2,817,228 | 41.81 |
| | Soc Rodrigo | Liberal Party | 2,710,322 | 40.22 |
| | Gaudencio Antonino | Liberal Party | 2,636,420 | 39.12 |
| | Camilo Osías | Liberal Party | 2,634,783 | 39.10 |
| | Maria Kalaw Katigbak | Liberal Party | 2,546,147 | 37.78 |
| | Jose Roy | Nacionalista Party | 2,443,110 | 36.25 |
| | Tecla San Andres Ziga | Liberal Party | 2,318,518 | 34.41 |
| | Quintin Paredes | Nacionalista Party | 2,206,064 | 32.74 |
| | Pacita Madrigal-Gonzales | Nacionalista Party | 2,172,260 | 32.24 |
| | Cesar Climaco | Liberal Party | 2,142,741 | 31.80 |
| | Domocao Alonto | Nacionalista Party | 1,877,698 | 27.86 |
| | Decoroso Rosales | Nacionalista Party | 1,863,560 | 27.65 |
| | Pedro Sabido | Nacionalista Party | 1,746,698 | 25.92 |
| | Angel Castaño | Nacionalista Party | 1,734,247 | 25.74 |
| | Jose E. Romero | Nacionalista Party | 973,612 | 14.45 |
| | Agustin Marking | Independent | 127,820 | 1.90 |
| | Francisco Ofemaria | Independent | 41,084 | 0.61 |
| | Ernesto Hidalgo | Independent | 1,878 | 0.03 |
| | Leon Javinez Sr. | Independent | 339 | 0.01 |
| | Jose Briones | Independent | 141 | 0.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | 39,572,368 | 100.00 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 6,738,805 | – |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 8,483,568 | 79.43 |
* 1 2 Guest candidate of the Liberal Party

### Per party

Seats :
| Party | Party | Votes | % | +/– | Up | Before | Won | After | +/− |
| | Nacionalista Party | 17,834,477 | 45.07 | +0.03 | 6 | 17 | 2 | 13 | −4 |
| | Liberal Party | 14,988,931 | 37.88 | +9.58 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 8 | +3 |
| | Party for Philippine Progress | 6,577,698 | 16.62 | −3.99 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | New |
| | Independent | 171,262 | 0.43 | +0.39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | Nationalist Citizens' Party | | | | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Vacancy | Vacancy | | | | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | −1 |
| Total | Total | 39,572,368 | 100.00 | – | 8 | 24 | 8 | 24 | 0 |
| Total votes | Total votes | 6,738,805 | – | | | | | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 8,483,568 | 79.43 | | | | | | |
| 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. OUP Oxford. ISBN 9780199249596. & Julio Teehankee. "Electoral Politics in the Philippines" (PDF). quezon.ph. ||||||||||
Vote share
NP
45.07%
LP
37.88%
PPP
16.62%
Others
0.43% :
Senate seats
NP
25.00%
LP
50.00%
PPP
25.00%
Others
0.00% :

## Defeated incumbents

* Domocao Alonto (Nacionalista) ran as delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1970 and won
* Pacita Madrigal-Warns (Nacionalista) retired from politics
* Pedro Sabido (Nacionalista) retired from politics
* Quintin Paredes (Nacionalista) retired from politics
* Decoroso Rosales (Nacionalista) ran as delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1970 and won