Catholic priest fails in Masbate gubernatorial race

LEGAZPI CITY—Catholic priest Fr. Leo Casas failed in his attempt to provide alternative politics to the island-province of Masbate long dominated by two political clans, as he trailed far, far behind his two opponents in the gubernatorial race won by the incumbent, Gov. Rizalina Seachon-Lanete.

Lanete (Nationalist People’s Coalition) garnered 77, 222 votes against her closest opponent, second district Rep. Antonio Kho (Lakas), who got 60,355 votes, according to the official tally from the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Casas, while running as a candidate of the administration’s Liberal Party, only got 14,743 votes, less than 10 percent of the 186,407 total numbers of voters who actually voted in the gubernatorial race.

A fourth candidate, Romeo Alburo (Kilusang Bagong Lipunan) received 1,877 votes.

In the first district congressional race, LP’s bet Ricardo Butalid was also heavily traunched by his opponent Maria Vida “Marvi” Espinosa Bravo (National Unity Party). Butalid only garnered 7,612 votes against Espinosa-Bravo’s 12,370 votes. Espinosa-Bravo is the wife of the district’s outgoing Rep. Narciso Bravo Jr.

In the second congressional district, it was a tight race won by Olga Kho (Lakas), a former governor of Masbate who will now be replacing her husband, Antonio, who lost in the gubernatorial race.

Olga’s opponent, Darius Tuason (Nationalist People’s Coalition), got 23,018 votes.

In the third district, Rep. Scott Davies Lanete (NPC), the governor’s son, won a reelection with 33,820 votes against Mac John Seachon (LP), who got 28,300 votes and independent candidate Ricardo Yanson, who got 1,498 votes.