By Haidee V. Eugenio
Variety Assistant Editor

INDEPENDENT senatorial candidate Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan — the husband of “megastar” actress Sharon Cuneta — took the lead in the partial unofficial tally of the National Movement for Free Elections, or Namfrel, in the absentee voting for the Philippine midterm election here in the CNMI.
Only 21 percent or 1,811 of the 8,514 Filipino voters in the CNMI had cast their absentee ballots by the close of the elections at 5 p.m. on Monday.
Pangilinan got 1,467 or 81 percent of the 1,811 votes cast by absentee voters in the CNMI, according to local Namfrel chairman Paul Madriaga.
Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III received 1,334 votes, while another opposition candidate, Loren Legarda, had 1,332 votes.
As of yesterday afternoon, Legarda was leading the general race based on Philippine media reports.
Senate President Manuel Villar ranked fourth with 1,203 votes while Francis Escudero got 1,194 votes in the CNMI. Both are with the opposition.
Ralph Recto, who is married to actress Vilma Santos, got 1,150 votes; Taguig-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano got 1,077 votes; Sen. Joker Arroyo got 1,033 votes; Sen. Panfilo Lacson got 1,022 votes; and former Sen. Gregorio Honasan got 819 votes.
Cayetano and Lacson are with the opposition. Recto and Arroyo are on the pro-administration ticket while Honasan is an independent candidate.
Opposition candidate Sonia Roco and Edgardo Angara of the administration slate completed the top 12 list based on Namfrel’s partial unofficial tally with 731 and 725 votes.
Philippine Consul General Wilfredo DL. Maximo closed the polls at 5 p.m. Monday.
Madriaga said the counting started at 8 p.m. Monday with 10 Namfrel volunteers doing the quick count up to 2 a.m. Tuesday.
After 2 a.m., 10 other Namfrel volunteers conducted a tally up to 8 a.m. Tuesday and by Tuesday afternoon, Namfrel forwarded the partial unofficial tally to Manila.
“We are still preparing the report for the result of the party-list representative polls,” said Madriaga.
The canvassing of votes, however, has yet to start because the paraphernalia needed to do this has yet to arrive on Saipan, according to Madriaga.
“In general, the conduct of the elections in the CNMI was very orderly and peaceful compared to the voting in the Philippines. The voting and the counting were orderly here,” he added.
While the voter turnout in the CNMI was only 21 percent, Maximo said compared to other countries where Philippine absentee voting was held, the CNMI “didn’t do very badly” and that other places had “ a more dismal” voter turnout.
During the 2004 presidential elections, 69 percent of the over 7,000 registered Filipino voters in the CNMI cast their votes.
Philippine government officials in the CNMI say the low voter turnout could be attributed to many nonresident workers having already left the islands, the non-participation of Filipinos who are on Tinian and Rota, and the less exciting midterm elections compared to a presidential election.