- In the partial and unofficial counting, senatorial candidate Bong Revilla was included in the Magic 12
- The action star thanked the Filipinos who trusted and voted for him
- Many were dismayed and disappointed with the results
- In the partial and official counting as of May 14, Revilla slid to the 14th spot, replaced by Bam Aquino who trailed to the 12th spot
Senatorial candidate Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla Jr. expressed his gratitude to the people who believed and voted for him for senator. As of May 14, he made it to the Magic 12, according to the partial and unofficial counting of COMELEC.
In an a post of News 5, Revilla said, “Bagaman kailangan nating hintayin ang official count, nagpapasalamat po tayo sa lahat ng lumabas at bumoto at ipinakita na buhay na buhay ang demokrasya sa bansa.”
“Nagpapasalamat din po tayo sa mga nagbigay ng kanilang tiwala at suporta,” he added.
https://www.facebook.com/News5Everywhere/posts/1556183221205093
Despite the number of votes from the Filipinos, many were dismayed that he made it to the Magic 12. Netizens bombarded various social media sites with disappointments and raging sentiments. They even wrote dramatic messages just to prove their points and what they feel about it.
Some even mocked that he only earned the votes of many because of his ‘budots dance’ commercial on television. Many netizens bravely showed their disgust and even wished that a miracle will happen and Revilla will be replaced by their ‘bets’ who they think deserve to be part of the Magic 12.
More Filipinos voted Bong Revilla for dancing budots over JV Ejercito who is the principal author of Universal Healthcare Law: Free healthcare for All Filipinos. Can we rewind the election baka hindi nila alam? 👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻
— George Bedia-Anas (@gavers23) May 14, 2019
https://twitter.com/pbps1616/status/1128084448577081346
https://twitter.com/howlysh8t/status/1128262358520909825
Bong Revilla budots his way to 10th place
— ivan (@kobegales) May 14, 2019
https://twitter.com/gaaaymira/status/1128073533500739585
Netizens labeled Revilla as ‘criminal,’ ‘thief,’ ‘stealer,’ ‘corrupt.’ and ‘mandarambong’ after being arrested because of plunder and being involved in the pork-barrel scam. He faced numerous graft cases for alleged misuse of funds for bogus foundations. In 2018, he was acquitted and was granted the opportunity to vie for a senatorial position for the 2019 elections.
With the endorsement of Presidential daughter, Sarah Duterte, who was the leader of the political union Hugpong Ng Pagbabago, the actor was included in her 16-candidate slate for the Midterm Elections of May 2019. His inclusion in the senatorial slate was criticized by the opposition union ‘Tindig Pilipinas’ due to his involvement in the multi-billion-peso pork barrel scam. Even the current president, Rodrigo Duterte excluded Revilla in his own senatorial line up, along with Jinggoy Estrada.
Many were rooting for Bam Aquino or JV Ejercito to replace Revilla’s spot. And their wish was granted when COMELEC released the partial official tally of senatorial candidates as of May 14. Aquino is the lone candidate of Otso Diretso who made it to the Magic 12. He trailed the 12th spot kicking Revilla to the 14th spot. Ejercito is still 13th in the ranking.
Netizens who saw the latest partial and official result were delighted and hoped that Revilla will never make it to the top 12 again. Many were happy that Aquino found his spot in the Magic 12.
https://twitter.com/itsFROITV/status/1128438114739994624
https://twitter.com/obriiimiles/status/1128362760377487360
https://twitter.com/Patpatriick/status/1128342446415335424
https://twitter.com/habigcassandra_/status/1128330588857913346
Until now, Filipinos are waiting for the official tally that COMELEC will release.
