Espino posts huge lead in Pangasinan gubernatorial race

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan , Philippines  – Gov. Amado Espino Jr. trounced his opponent, second district Rep. Victor Agbayani, with a vote margin unprecedented in the province’s political history, garnering more than 70 percent of the total votes cast.

Espino, who was proclaimed winner yesterday by the provincial board of canvassers here, garnered 822,325 votes or 72.9 percent against Agbayani’s 296,177 votes or 26.1 percent.

The tally excluded election returns from Agno town which had yet to arrive as of press time.

“The people of Pangasinan have spoken. And their message is loud and clear: they want reform, they want development, they crave for real change,” Espino said.

 He said this was the same message Pangasinenses delivered when they elected him as governor for the first time in 2007.

Agbayani was a three-term governor and was elected congressman in 2007.

Espino won in all the 44 towns and three cities, excluding the chartered city of Dagupan whose residents do not vote for provincial officials.

Espino won heavily in his hometown of Bautista with 95.3 percent of the votes, and even got more votes than Agbayani in the latter’s hometown of Lingayen.

He said his landslide win “was a deafening and eloquent statement of your affirmation (to my programs).”

 “Let us leave behind the hurts and the ill feelings brought about by this just concluded, but necessary, electoral exercise,” he said.

Espino’s running mate, Mapandan Mayor Jose Ferdinand Calimlim, also posted a huge margin over his closest rival, former vice governor Oscar Lambino, Agbayani’s candidate. Calimlim got 616,599 votes against Lambino’s 382,328 votes.

Third district Rep. Ma. Rachel Arenas said she felt it was a double or even triple victory for her as she got record-breaking votes of 164,677 in her return bout against her previous opponent, lawyer Gallant Soriano, who got only 88,908 votes.

 “This is record-breaking in the history of the third district because I got that unprecedented margin of votes even in San Carlos City where they always say there’s a hometown decision for their congressional candidate,” she said. Soriano hails from vote-rich San Carlos City.

Aside from Arenas, three other women were elected for the first time in Congress, namely Georgina de Venecia, Carmen “Kimi” Cojuangco and Marlyn Primicias-Agabas in the fourth, fifth and sixth districts, respectively.

Retired police deputy director general Leopoldo Bataoil won in the second district, and former Bolinao mayor Jesus Celeste in the first district.

All the congressional winners were also proclaimed yesterday.