Teen wins P’sinan barangay race

SAN CARLOS CITY, Pangasinan , Philippines   â€“ An 18-year-old student who ran for barangay chairman of Palaming in this city may be one of the youngest winners in the Oct. 28 polls.

Kevin George Calugay, who turned 18 last Feb. 21, is a third-year medical technology student at the St. Louis University in Baguio City.

Calugay got more than 600 votes, or a margin of more than 300 votes over his closest rival, incumbent barangay chairman Arthur Magalong, whose bid for a third term failed.

Calugay, a former Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) chairman of his village, told The STAR yesterday that he would remedy his absence from his barangay by delegating the tasks to the seven village councilors, based on the committees that would be assigned to them.

He said his father, George, would attend to his constituents’ needs in his behalf. He said his dad did not join the elections as he is still in government service.

Even before the elections, he told his constituents that should he win the elections, his father would help him serve the people.

He said he would use modern technology to reach out and know their problems and would personally attend to them every weekend.

 â€œI know this would be difficult but I will strive to do my best,” Calugay said.

The youngest village chief said it was the people who pushed him to run as he has done many things for their barangay.

He admitted that it was his father who inspired him to seek an elective post.

Only two of the barangay councilors who won in the elections are allied with Calugay, but he said this does not worry him since the rest have vowed to cooperate with him for the sake of their barangay. 

Coin toss settles tie

In Butuan City, a coin toss settled the poll results in three barangays for councilors who got the same number of votes.

The coin toss was held the other day at the office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in the city and was led by election officer Ernie Palanan.

Representatives from the Department of the Interior and Local Government, city poll canvassers, teachers and personnel from the Philippine Information Agency witnessed the event.

In Barangay Baan Riverside, bets Sweden Cruzado and Frederick Plaza tied at seventh place for the position of village councilor and agreed to a coin toss after they got 698 votes each. Cruzado won the coin toss.

In Barangay Masao, a tie between Ruth del Valle and Elizabeth Visaya for the number four position of kagawad was settled in another coin toss. Del Valle bagged the fourth place and Bisaya the fifth after the coin toss.

The same thing happened in Barangay New Society between Monib Manalocon Nagamora and Tarhata Moldes Unda, who tied for the last place. Nagamora won the coin toss.

– With Ben Serrano