Nueva Vizcaya’s Padilla, Agbayani routing perennial rivals

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya — Rep. Carlos Padilla (LDP) and Gov. Rodolfo Agbayani (NPC-Lakas-NUCD) have been assured of final terms by trouncing their perennial rivals by wide margins for the province’s congressional and gubernatorial posts.

As of 3 p.m., partial unofficial results gathered by the provincial election management action center showed that Padilla obtained 59,593 votes against perennial rival lawyer Ernesto Salunat’s (Lakas-NUCD) 21,209.

In the governorship race, Agbayani got 68,982 votes against perennial rival Larry Palafox (LP) who got only 2,317 votes.

Meanwhile, the opposition’s Puwersa ng Masa (PnM) trounced their counterparts from the administration’s People Power Coalition, 9-4.

Popular broadcast journalist Noli de Castro, adopted candidate of PnM, leads the pack followed by former police chief Panfilo Lacson, Sen. Gregorio Honasan, former First Lady Loi Estrada, Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, former Executive Secretary Edgardo Angara and Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, former Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado and former Press Secretary Ricardo Puno.

The last three slots were to Sen. Juan Flavier, former House Speaker Manuel Villar and Sen. Ramon Magsaysay. — Charlie Lagasca