Arroyo’s cabalen deliver the votes

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — With some 94 percent of election returns tabulated in this province, the National Movement for Free Elections-Pastoral Parish Council for Responsible Voting (Namfrel-PPCRV) disclosed yesterday that President Arroyo has posted a huge lead over her closest rival, Fernando Poe Jr.

Figures from 5,114 of the total 5,458 precincts in Pampanga showed Mrs. Arroyo with 602,332 votes against Poe’s 82,706. Evangelist Eddie Villanueva had 33,768 votes, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, 20,095, and former Sen. Raul Roco, 15,356.

Rowena Biduya, provincial officer of the Namfrel-PPCRV, said the President’s son, Vice Gov. Mikey Arroyo, was winning in the second district congressional race with 135,745 votes. His only rival, Porac Vice Mayor Rey Lapid, had 24,879 votes.

While the figures for the national level still had to be fully completed as of afternoon yesterday, the tabulation of election returns at the city and municipal levels have been finished and made final, except for the towns of Sasmuan and Apalit where the counting was interrupted by complaints from losing candidates, Binuya said.

The Namfrel-PPCRV tabulations also showed Lakas-CMD gubernatorial bet Mark Lapid, son of senatorial candidate Gov. Lito Lapid, chalking up a huge lead with 318,829 votes over his closest rival Rep. Juan Pablo Bondoc (fourth district) who had 161,731.

Trailing them were gubernatorial aspirants Rep. Zenaida Ducut (second district) with 120,734 votes, and Arrono Clark Field, with 2,126 votes.

For vice governor, Mark’s running mate, basketball coach Joseller "Yeng" Guiao, had a wide margin over his rivals.

Guiao garnered 308,017 votes against provincial board member Edna David’s 137,340. Former vice governor Clayton Olalia had 75,119 votes, and movie actor Roy Vinzons, 1,130.

In the senatorial race, outgoing Gov. Lito Lapid topped the provincial count with 558,370 votes. The others in the Pampangueños’ top 12 were Bong Revilla, Mar Roxas, Richard Gordon, Pia Cayetano, Rodolfo Biazon, Robert Barbers, Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Orlando Mercado, Robert Jaworski, John Osmeña and Aquilino Pimentel.

In the three other congressional districts of Pampanga, Namfrel-PPCRV tabulations showed the following:

• 92,454 votes for incumbent Rep. Francis Nepomuceno versus rival Janet Lazatin’s 69,874 in the first district;

• 73,854 votes for San Fernando Mayor Reynaldo Aquino versus rival Eric Domingo’s 47,248 in the third district; and

• 83,059 votes for Anna Bondoc-York versus closest rival Rene Maglanque’s 43,668 in the fourth district. — With Ric Sapnu