1971 Philippine Senate election

← 1969 November 8, 1971 1978 (parliamentary) →
8 (of the 24) seats in the Senate 13 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Gil Puyat Gerardo Roxas Party Nacionalista Liberal Seats before 17 6 Seats after 16 8 Seat change 1 2 Popular vote 24,819,175 33,469,677 Percentage 42.6% 57.4% Swing 18.2% 18.3%
Senate President before election Gil Puyat Nacionalista Elected Senate President Gil Puyat Nacionalista

A senatorial election was held on November 8, 1971 in the Philippines. The opposition Liberal Party won five seats in the Philippine Senate while three seats were won by the Nacionalista Party, the administration party; this was seen as a consequence of the Plaza Miranda bombing on August 21, 1971, which wounded all of the Liberal Party's candidates and almost took the lives of John Henry Osmeña and Jovito Salonga. Their terms as senators were cut short as a result of the declaration of martial law by President Ferdinand Marcos on September 23, 1972.

Due to the ratification of a new constitution in 1973, the Senate was abolished and the unicameral parliamentary Batasang Pambansa was instituted. In 1987, a new constitution was approved that reverted to the presidential and bicameral legislative system. This means that this would be the last election for the Senate until the 1987 election.

Retiring incumbents

Liberal Party

1. Sergio Osmeña Jr.

Nacionalista Party

1. Wenceslao Lagumbay

Nationalist Citizens' Party

1. Lorenzo Tañada Sr.

Results

The Liberal Party won five seats, while the Nacionalista Party won three.

Two Liberal incumbents successfully defended their seats: Genaro Magsaysay and Jovito Salonga, while Alejandro Almendras and Eva Estrada Kalaw of the Nacionalistas successfully defended their seats, as well.

The other four winners are neophyte senators: Eddie Ilarde, Ramon Mitra Jr., and John Henry Osmeña of the Liberals, and Ernesto Maceda of the Nacionalistas.

Nacionalista Senator Dominador Aytona lost his reelection bid.

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Key:

• ‡ Seats up
• + Gained by a party from another party
• √ Held by the incumbent
• * Held by the same party with a new senator

Per candidate

Per party

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats
					Up	Before	Won	After	+/−
	Liberal Party	33,469,677	57.42	+18.29	3	6	5	8	+2
	Nacionalista Party	24,819,175	42.58	−18.23	4	17	3	16	−1
	Nationalist Citizens' Party				1	1	0	0	−1
Total		58,288,852	100.00	–	8	24	8	24	0
Total votes		9,419,568	–
Registered voters/turnout		11,661,909	80.77
Source: Dieter Nohlen; Florian Grotz; Christof Hartmann; Graham Hassall; Soliman M. Santos (15 November 2001). Elections in Asia and the Pacific: A Data Handbook: Volume II: South East Asia, East Asia, and the South Pacific. ISBN 9780199249596. & Julio Teehankee. "Electoral Politics in the Philippines" (PDF). quezon.ph.