MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) may proclaim the winning senators and party-list groups on Saturday, a poll official said Friday.

"Our target is tomorrow," Comelec Commissioner Armand Velasco told ABS-CBN's Umagang Kay Ganda when asked when they will proclaim the winners in the senatorial and party-list races.

The Comelec had said that it may make a partial proclamation by Friday, but Velasco said that it was being delayed because they are strictly following the process required by law.

He said that the Election Automation Law requires the "ladderized type" of the votes' movement before the Comelec can proclaim winners in the senatorial and party-list races.

Velasco said that even if the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines directly transmit results to the central server, they would still have to wait for the delivery of election returns and certificates of canvass (COCs) from the provinces.

"The municipal and the provincial levels have to be completed first before the [proclamation for the winning] national [candidates]," the poll commissioner said.

He said that there was a proposal to amend the process, allowing the Comelec to make proclamations right after the PCOS machines' transmission to the central server, but it was not passed.

Velasco said they are expecting to receive a majority of all the COCs by Saturday. As of Thursday, the Comelec has already received 20% of the results, he added.

As of 9:04 p.m. Thursday, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting has received results from 68,737 clustered precincts of 89.88% of the 76,475 total precincts.

Results for the Senate race:

Velasco said 6 to 7 senatorial candidates may be already proclaimed.