# 1955 Philippine Senate election

A senatorial election in the Philippines was held on November 8, 1955. This was a midterm election, the date when the winners took office falling halfway through President Ramon Magsaysay's four-year term.

## 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 1949; each voter has eight votes and can vote up to eight names, of which the eight candidates with the most votes winning the election.
There was a separate special election held for the vacant seat of Senator Carlos P. Garcia after he won as Vice President in 1953. This is under first-past-the-post. The winner shall then serve for the remainder of Garcia's Senate term.

## Summary

Since Magsaysay was very popular midway through his term, there were 10 candidates who ran under the Nacionalista banner. His adoptive Nacionalista Party continued to grow in strength with the absorption of their erstwhile coalition partner, the Democratic Party; but a pillar of the NP could not hide his opposition to the president. Senator Claro M. Recto, one of those who actively sought the adoption of the former Defense Secretary into the NP fold in 1953, had grown critical of Magsaysay, calling him a “banana dictator” and “American puppet,” among other unflattering names. In retaliation, Magsaysay refused the inclusion of Recto into the NP Senate slate of 1955, prompting the Batangueño leader to seek support for his candidacy with the Liberals.
Though Lorenzo Tañada of the NCP had cooperated with the NP in 1953, Recto became the first “guest candidate” in Philippine electoral history, when he was included in the Liberal Party lineup but did not resign his membership as a Nacionalista.

## Retiring incumbents

* Tomas Cabili (Liberal)
* Justiniano Montano (Liberal), ran for House representative from Cavite's at-large district in 1957 and won

### Mid-term vacancies

* Esteban Abada (Liberal), died on December 17, 1954
* Carlos P. Garcia (Nacionalista), elected vice president, left office on December 30, 1953

## Results

The Nacionalista Party won all eight seats contested in the general election, and won the one seat contested in the special election.
Nacionalistas Quintin Paredes, Claro M. Recto, Lorenzo Sumulong both defended their Senate seats. Paredes and Sumulong were former Liberals who ran as Nacionalistas in this election. The two Liberal senators who defended their seats were defeated: Enrique Magalona and Macario Peralta Jr.
Five winners are neophyte Nacionalista senators: Decoroso Rosales, Domocao Alonto, Francisco "Soc" Rodrigo, Pacita Madrigal-Warns, and Pedro Sabido. Madrigal-Warns became the only woman in the Senate.
| | 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 | NP | NP | NP | NP | 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 (general election)

| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Pacita Madrigal-Warns | Nacionalista Party | 2,544,716 | 50.43 |
| | Lorenzo Sumulong | Nacionalista Party | 2,250,780 | 44.60 |
| | Quintin Paredes | Nacionalista Party | 2,171,415 | 43.03 |
| | Soc Rodrigo | Nacionalista Party | 2,132,094 | 42.25 |
| | Pedro Sabido | Nacionalista Party | 1,821,098 | 36.09 |
| | Claro M. Recto | Nacionalista Party | 1,716,984 | 34.02 |
| | Domocao Alonto | Nacionalista Party | 1,619,109 | 32.08 |
| | Decoroso Rosales | Nacionalista Party | 1,600,255 | 31.71 |
| | Diosdado Macapagal | Liberal Party | 1,454,200 | 28.82 |
| | Juan Chioco | Nacionalista Party | 1,452,693 | 28.79 |
| | Camilo Osías | Liberal Party | 1,388,137 | 27.51 |
| | Geronima Pecson | Liberal Party | 1,340,800 | 26.57 |
| | Macario Peralta Jr. | Liberal Party | 1,207,495 | 23.93 |
| | Enrique Magalona | Liberal Party | 1,086,054 | 21.52 |
| | Pio Pedrosa | Liberal Party | 919,302 | 18.22 |
| | William Chiongbian | Liberal Party | 884,077 | 17.52 |
| | Alfredo Abcede | Federal Party | 22,769 | 0.45 |
| | Concepcion R. Lim de Planas | Nacionalista Party | 10,245 | 0.20 |
| | Vicente A. Rafael | Independent | 4,551 | 0.09 |
| | Filemon Blay | Independent | 1,179 | 0.02 |
| | Praxedes Floro | Independent | 1,081 | 0.02 |
| Total | Total | Total | 25,629,034 | 100.00 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 5,046,488 | – |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 6,487,061 | 77.79 |
* ↑ Guest candidate of the Liberal Party

### Special election

One seat was up for election to fill its vacancy created by Carlos P. Garcia's election as vice president in 1953. Unlike the regular election, this is held under the first past the post system.
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Roseller T. Lim | Nacionalista Party | 1,102,979 | 61.40 |
| | Simeon Toribio | Liberal Party | 688,913 | 38.35 |
| | Avelino P. Garcia | Independent | 4,378 | 0.24 |
| Total | Total | Total | 1,796,270 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 1,796,270 | 35.59 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 3,250,218 | 64.41 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 5,046,488 | – |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 6,487,061 | 77.79 |

### Per party

This includes the result of the special election.
Seats :
| Party | Party | Votes | % | +/– | Up | Before | Won | After | +/− |
| | Nacionalista Party | 18,422,368 | 67.18 | +27.35 | 3 | 17 | 9 | 23 | +6 |
| | Liberal Party | 8,968,978 | 32.71 | −3.26 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | −4 |
| | Federal Party | 22,769 | 0.08 | +0.06 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | Independent | 6,811 | 0.02 | +0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | Citizens Party | | | | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Vacant | Vacant | | | | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | −1 |
| Total | Total | 27,420,926 | 100.00 | – | 9 | 24 | 9 | 24 | 0 |
| Total votes | Total votes | 5,046,488 | – | | | | | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 6,487,061 | 77.79 | | | | | | |
| 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
67.18%
LP
32.71%
Others
0.10% :
Senate seats
NP
100.0%
LP
0.0%
Others
0.0% :

## Defeated incumbents

* Enrique Magalona (Liberal) retired from politics
* Macario Peralta Jr. (Liberal) appointed Secretary of National Defense in 1962