2011 Ilocos Sur's 1st congressional district special election

A special election for Ilocos Sur's 1st district seat in the House of Representatives of the Philippines was held on May 28, 2011. The special election was called after incumbent representative Ronald Singson resigned on March 7, 2011, after being convicted of drug possession by the Wan Chai District Court in Hong Kong. Vigan vice mayor Ryan Luis Singson, the former representative's brother, won the election and shall serve the remainder of his brother's term which will end on June 30, 2013.

Electoral system
Each congressional district of the Philippines sends one representative to the House of Representatives. An election to the seat is via first-past-the-post, in which the candidate with the most votes, whether or not one has a majority, wins the seat. Based on Republic Act (RA) No. 6645, in order for a special election to take place, the seat must be vacated, the relevant chamber notifies the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) the existence of a vacancy, then the COMELEC schedules the special election. There is a dispute in the procedure as a subsequent law, RA No. 7166, supposedly amended the procedure, bypassing the need for official communication from the relevant chamber of the vacancy. The COMELEC has always waited on official communication from the relevant chamber before scheduling a special election.

Meanwhile, according to RA No. 8295, should only one candidate file to run in the special election, the COMELEC will declare that candidate as the winner and will no longer hold the election.

Background
Incumbent representative Ronald Singson of Lakas Kampi CMD won the general election on May 10, 2010. His term began on June 30, but he was arrested in Hong Kong on July 11, a few days before the 15th Congress convened, for trafficking of illegal drugs. Singson was convicted on a lesser charge of drug possession on February 25, 2011, and resigned the next month, which was accepted by the Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr.

The Commission on Elections set the election on May 28, 2011, Saturday. The period for the filing of certificates of candidacy was from May 9 to 13, and the campaign period would be from May 14 to 26. Unlike the general election, the special election will be conducted manually.

Campaign
Initial speculation on the candidates centered on incumbent governor and Ronald's father Chavit Singson and his political opponent Efren Rafanan of the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) as the elder Singson defeated Rafanan in the 2010 gubernatorial election. President Benigno Aquino III's Liberal Party screened potential candidates as Trandy Baterina, the younger Singson's congressional opponent in 2010 was no longer interested in running. Meanwhile, Singson's local party Biled selected Vigan vice mayor Ryan Singson, Chavit's son and Ronald's brother as their candidate. On mid-May, Baterina filed his certificate of candidacy as the Liberal Party's candidate, accompanied by his father Ben, and Rafanan.

The Liberal Party was split in the election: the Liberals endorsed Baterina, but their Ilocos Sur chair, Francisco Ranches Jr., personally backed Singson; he added that Baterina would be running as an independent candidate as the party nomination was not submitted to the commission on time. Rafanan, Baterina's campaign manager, countered that they got the party nomination and submitted it to the commission on time. At the eve of the election, both candidates' campaigns claim they have the endorsement of the Liberal Party.

These were the candidates:


 * Trandy Baterina (Liberal), lawyer
 * Ryan Luis Singson (Biled), vice mayor of Vigan

Results
The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) reported that the election was peaceful but there were reports of rampant vote-buying and barangay officials were entering the polling precincts. The PPCRV reported that the reason for the peacefulness was that the people already knew who will win, while refusing to name which campaign was buying votes. Chairman Sixto Brillantes, whose commission targeted an election turnout between 55 and 60%, was worried on the turnout, but noted that the election was honest and orderly. Initial figures pointed to a turnout of between 55 and 65%; the low turnout was blamed on the number of disputed posts (1), as opposed in a general election where families voted together. Another reason was that voters had not been given "incentives" to vote, such as free gasoline.

Meanwhile, the National Citizen's Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) reported inclement weather as a reason behind low voter turnout. NAMFREL also noted rampant vote buying, citing observations from its volunteers in Vigan that barangay representatives, supposedly non-partisan, were handing cash in exchange for votes, with ₱3,000 being given to barangay captains, ₱2000 to kagawads, and, ₱250 to heads of families, calling such as money-politics and condemning it. After the conduct of the special polls, NAMFREL also released a parallel count with Singson in the lead.

Representative-elect Singson was sworn into office on May 30 at the House of Representatives with his family and Manny Pacquiao with him at the rostrum. Singson said that they have no national political affiliation yet.