MANILA, Philippines (First published at 8:02 p.m. on May 14) — A successful Senate comeback is set for former senator and actor Lito Lapid — a feat that he previously said would not be possible without the help of his appearance on the top-rated TV drama "Ang Probinsyano."
The final and official results from the Commission on Elections showed 16,965,464 voters supported Lapid’s Senate bid, placing him at the 7th spot in the winners’ circle.
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He was first elected as a senator in 2004. In 2010, former president and now-House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed the Free Legal Assistance Act of 2010, which was authored by Lapid.
In a Feb. 22, 2019 story by The STAR, Lapid acknowledged that his appearance on "Ang Probinsyano" partly boosted his Senate bid.
READ: Probinsyano helping Lito Lapid
“When I go around the palengke (market) area, the people keep on shouting, ‘Si Cardo, si Cardo!’ looking for Coco (as the cop Cardo). Then, they asked, ‘Bakit namatay ka sa Probinsyano (Why did you die on Ang Probinsyano)?’ The show is helping me a lot,” he said.
When asked about his advocacy when he filed his certificate of candidacy last year, Lapid replied that he would just be repeating what he had said when he ran for office before. — Ian Nicolas Cigaral
Editor's note: We have updated this story to reflect the final and official results.