Elections for the members of the Senate were held on November 10, 1953, in the Philippines. Incumbent President Elpidio Quirino of the Liberal Party lost his opportunity to get a second full term as President of the Philippines to former Defense Secretary Ramon Magsaysay of the Nacionalista Party. Quirino's running mate, SenatorJose Yulo lost to SenatorCarlos P. Garcia. Vice PresidentFernando Lopez did not run for re-election and ran for the Senate instead, in which he emerged as the candidate with the most votes. This was the first time that an elected president did not come from the Senate. To further compound the Liberal Party's woes, they also failed to win any seats in the Senate in this election.
The Citizens' Party and the Democratic Party caucused with the Nacionalistas to provide them the majority in the 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 1947; 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 senators whose seats were up contested the election.
Mid-term vacancy
Emiliano Tria Tirona (Liberal), died on April 8, 1952
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.
Incumbent vice president and Democrat Fernando Lopez returned to the Senate after serving from 1947 to 1949. Mariano Jesús Cuenco, who was defeated in the last election, made a comeback in the Senate, this time under the banner of the Nacionalistas.
Senator Carlos P. Garcia of the Nacionalistas was elected vice president in concurrent elections; his seat will be vacant until 1955 when it would have been contested in a special election.
The seat vacated by the death of Emiliano Tria Tirona in 1952 was disputed in this election.
The Nacionalistas originally had 14 seats entering the 3rd Congress, but the election of Senator Carlos P. Garcia to the vice presidency meant that his seat is vacant until 1955, when it was contested in a special election two years later.
