Kalayaan mayor, Ate Vi, Singsons win

MANILA, Philippines - The mayor of Kalayaan Island in the West Philippine Sea was given a fresh mandate by a majority of the 288 registered voters there.

“According to the report we got from the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Mayor (Eugenio) Bito-onon, after emerging as a winner in last Monday’s mayoralty contest, was proclaimed mayor of Kalayaan,” 1st Lt. Cheryl Tindog, spokesperson for the Western Command field monitoring, said.

However, there was delay in the transmittal of election results to the Comelec provincial office in Puerto Princesa City because of telecommunications signal problem.

Puerto Princesa City-based businessman Noel Osorio and Rosendo Mantes, a retired soldier, were Bito-onon’s opponents.

Bito-onon earlier expressed concern to The STAR that he may be replaced as Kalayaan mayor, citing massive vote-buying, with one candidate reportedly offering as much as P5,000.

A fifth class municipality, Kalayaan’s seat of government is in Pagasa Island. It is composed of seven islands and two reefs.

Formerly a military garrison until it was gradually converted into a civilian community, Kalayaan town continues to host Filipino soldiers deployed there to defend the country’s territorial sovereignty.

Voting in the island town, which was over in six hours, was said to be the fastest in the country’s election history. Polls opened at 7 a.m. and closed at 1 p.m. 

Ilocos Sur winners

Meanwhile, in Ilocos Sur, the sons of Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson, Ryan Luis and Ronald, were proclaimed governor and congressman in the first district, respectively.

Tagudin Mayor Roque Verzosa, the Liberal Party’s candidate for governor, earlier filed a disqualification case against the Singson brothers. 

Also proclaimed were former deputy speaker Eric Singson as representative of the second district and re-electionist Vice Gov. Deogracias Victor Savellano. 

Second district board members Anika Zaragoza, Joselle Geronilla, Robert Tudayan, Pablito Sanidad and Jaime Singson were also proclaimed.     

The board of canvassers headed by Alipio Castillo, provincial election supervisor, proceeded with the proclamation of the winning candidates after deciding that it is “statistically improbable” for the results of voting in five towns that were yet to be canvassed to wipe out their leads even if all the votes were to be counted in their opponents’ favor.  

Ate Vi wins big in Batangas

In Batangas, Vilma Santos-Recto was proclaimed governor after a landslide win against her opponents, Marcos Mandanas and Prexedes Bustamante.

Santos, now on her last term as governor of Batangas, garnered 902,827 votes against Mandanas’ 50,888.

Santos’ running mate, vice governor Mark Leviste, garnered 530,389 votes, way ahead of his rival, broadcaster Rommel Arguelles. 

Jalosjos clan: wins and losses

In Dapitan, the sister of former congressman Romeo Jalosjos, Nene, was proclaimed mayor.

Nene received 10,510 votes against Mayor Agapito Cardino’s 9,710  votes.

Jalosjos’ son Bullet, who is seeking a congressional seat in the first district of Zamboanga del Sur, is also winning with 30,359 votes compared to administration bet Vicente Balisado’s 29,048 votes. 

But Jalosjos’ brother, Gov. Rommel Jr., garnered only 113,616 votes compared to Wilter Palma’s 118,575 votes. Palma was proclaimed governor of Zamboanga Sibugay Tuesday midnight.

In Zamboanga del Norte, Cesar Jalosjos, a younger brother, is a far second to former Dipolog mayor Evelyn Tang-Uy with 71,315 votes in the latest count. Uy got 150,981 votes.

The camp of Gov. Antonio Cerilles, who ran for re-election unopposed, is winning in Zamboanga del Sur. 

Cerilles’ wife Aurora is leading with 64,826 votes against Cat Jalojos with only 36,967 votes for representative of the second district. 

Re-electionist 1st district Rep. Victor Yu, a partymate of Cerilles, garnered 120,656 votes compared to Pagadian City Mayor Sammy Co’s 81,961 votes. –  With Teddy Molina, Arnell Ozaeta, Roel Pareño