1994 Rizal's 1st congressional district special election

A special election was held for Rizal's 1st district seat to the House of Representatives of the Philippines on March 7, 1994. Gilberto Duavit won the special election to serve the final 14 months of former representative Manuel Sanchez's term.

1994 special election at Rizal's 1st legislative district

March 7, 1994

Candidate Gilberto Duavit Sr. Francisco Sumulong Rogelio Sanchez Silvestre Party NPC Lakas Liberal Popular vote 59,987 38,953 29,035 Percentage 46.46% 30.17% 22.49%   Candidate Eduardo Inlayo Rosendo Balinas Jr. Elmer Panotes Party Independent Independent Independent Popular vote 729 270 144 Percentage 0.56% 0.21% 0.11%

Representative before election Manuel Sanchez Lakas Representative-elect Gilberto Duavit NPC

Background

Incumbent representative Manuel Sanchez was unseated after the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal ruled that he is an American citizen. A special election was then called, scheduled for March 7, 1994. Six candidates participated including Rogelio Sanchez Silvestre, Sanchez's nephew, former House majority leader Francisco Sumulong, former assemblyman Gilberto Duavit, Sr. of the opposition Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC), and three independent candidates: chess grandmaster Rosendo Balinas Jr., lawyer Eduardo Inlayo and peasant leader Elmer Panotes.[1]

Sumulong previously served as representative but gave up his seat to run unsuccessfully in the 1992 Senate election. Sumulong was supported by presidents Corazon Aquino and Fidel Ramos. Duavit was supported by Rizal governor Casimiro Ynares and vice president Joseph Estrada, while Silvestre was backed by former Senate President Jovito Salonga and other Liberal Party stalwarts.[1]

Cainta and Taytay were expected to provide the swing votes as neither of the candidates are from those two municipalities, and that many residents there were immigrants from other parts of the country. Turnout was expected to be low as no holiday was declared on election day.[1]

Result

1994 special election at Rizal's 1st legislative district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	NPC	Gilberto Duavit	59,987	46.46
	Lakas	Francisco Sumulong	38,953	30.17
	Liberal	Rogelio Sanchez Silvestre	29,035	22.49
	Independent	Eduardo Inlayo	729	0.56
	Independent	Rosendo Balinas Jr.	270	0.21
	Independent	Elmer Panotes	144	0.11
Total votes			129,118	100.00
Turnout				36.93
	NPC gain from Lakas

Duavit won over former Francisco Sumulong by 21,034 votes. The low turnout of 37% was blamed on Rizal's traffic problems, and the inability of employees and students to cast their votes when they reside outside the district during the workweek/school week.[2]

After his election victory, a member of the Duavit family has served as representative of Rizal's 1st district up to the current 18th Congress.

References

1. Antonio Macapagal (1994-03-07). "354,000 to cast ballot in Rizal special polls". Manila Standard. p. 5.
2. Arnold Atadero and Antonio Macapagal (1994-03-09). "Duavit wins, Sumulong concedes". Manila Standard. p. 3.