JEDDAH, 16 May 2007 — Filipinos in Saudi Arabia almost totally rejected President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s candidates in the senatorial race, an unofficial final count of votes cast in the Kingdom showed yesterday.

A quick count by the poll watchdog National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) showed eight candidates of the Genuine Opposition (GO) making it to the “Magic 12,” as against only three from Arroyo’s Team Unity ticket.

Francis Pangilinan, who ran as an independent, completed the 12 slots, garnering 12,186 and placing No. 2 behind GO’s Francis Escudero, who had 12,209 votes.

The 3rd to 6th places were captured by Benigno Aquino III, (11,800), Loren Legarda (11,642), Manuel Villar (11,539), and Panfilo Lacson (10,837), all of the opposition ticket.

Joker Arroyo of Team Unity was 7th with 10,292 votes, followed by partymate Ralph Recto, who got 9,784 votes.

Three more GO candidates took 9th to 11th places, with Allan Peter Cayetano getting 9,624 votes, Sonia Roco with 7,262 votes and detained navy officer Antonio Trillanes with 7,260 votes. Wrapping up the 12th place was Team Unity’s Michael Defensor with 7,151 votes.

Of the three administration candidates who made it to the Magic 12, only Defensor is considered a die-hard supporter of President Arroyo. Joker Arroyo and Recto, both re-electionists, are known critics of the president’s policies, particularly on her attempts to rewrite the Philippine Constitution to extend her own term and that of lawmakers and impose an iron-fist rule.

A total of 17,091 votes were cast in the three polling centers — the embassy in Riyadh, the consulate in Jeddah, and the International Philippine School in Alkhobar (IPSA).

Of the total, 7,522 voted in Riyadh, 5,267 in Jeddah and 4,302 in Alkhobar.

Consul General Pendosina Lomondot said the results of the polling in Jeddah will be brought to Riyadh today to be canvassed along with the results from the two other centers.

Namfrel-Saudi Arabia made an impressive showing in in this year’s poll, assigning three watchers in every precinct. Its volunteers are also active members of community organizations in the Kingdom, some of them involved in giving succor to distressed Filipinos and others providing livelihood trainings to fellow OFWs.

Leading the Namfrel teams were Duane Sta. Ana in Alkhobar, Rodel Yap in Riyadh, and Fred Castolome in Jeddah. The overall coordinator in the Kingdom is Ronnie Abeto. (From reports of Ronald Concha in Jeddah, Dinan Arana in Alkhobar and Chris Lavina in Riyadh).