Francis Zamora, who has been proclaimed as San Juan mayor, flashes a thumbs-up sign at the San Juan Knights Gymnasium. (Photo by EDWIN BACASMAS / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
Updated to add quotes
MANILA, Philippines — Francis Zamora loosened the Estrada clan’s 50-year grip of San Juan City when he was proclaimed mayor at 11:08 p.m. Monday.
Based on the results from the City Board of Canvassers, Zamora, running under the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), led the mayoralty race with 35,060 votes, while his opponent, Janella Ejercito Estrada, running under the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP), garnered 24,813 votes.
Even before the official proclamation, supporters of Zamora gathered outside San Juan Gymnasium, where the City Board of Canvassers tallied votes across the city, in celebration of their bet’s impending victory.
Zamora’s father, three-term Rep. Ronaldo Zamora, said his son would bring about the change that their constituents had been longing for years.
“Sa tingin ko nagsalita na ang San Juan at malinaw na malinaw ang sinasabi nila. Basically, they’re saying they wanted change, and we will provide that change with Francis as mayor and with me continuing as a congressman,” the older Zamora told reporters.
[I think the people of San Juan have spoken and what they’re saying is very clear. Basically, they’re saying they wanted change, and we will provide that change with Francis as mayor and with me continuing as a congressman.]
The first transmission of votes came in at 6:42 p.m. with Zamora leading by almost 8,000 votes.
LOOK: Partial results for San Juan mayor as of 6:42 pm | @inquirerdotnet
Janella Ejercito Estrada (PMP) – 17,514
Francis Zamora (PDP-Laban) – 25,011 pic.twitter.com/svyEdig8lu— Christia Ramos (@christiaramos_) May 13, 2019
Zamora arrived at the gymnasium with his family and supporters in tow at around 8:50 p.m.
San Juan residents in red shirts filled the place as they waited for the official proclamation which came less than three hours later.
“Ito na po ang pagbabagong hinihintay namin sa mahabang panahon at ito po nakamit na natin. Nagsalita na po ang mga mamamayan ng San Juan. Gusto nilang baguhin ang sistema. Gusto nilang baguhin ang pamamalakad, gustong baguhin ang liderato, at ito na po yun,” Zamora told reporters.
[This is the change that for so long we have been waiting for and we have achieved it. The citizens of San Juan have spoken. They want to change the system. They want to change the way things are run, the leadership, and this is it.]
Lawyer Maria Donnah Guia Lerona-Camitan, one of Zamora’s legal consultants, said they had asked the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Project Management Office (PMO) to lower the threshold for proclamation.
“Kasi di ba nag-96 percent na ng transmission. So now, as of the filing of nung motion, [meron pang] four [clustered precincts] na hindi pa nata-transmitt. So under the rules kasi ng Comelec Resolution 10485, pwede na kaming mag-move for early proclamation,” Camitan said.
“Provided na yung pumalo na ng 90 percent, tapos provided also na yung lead ni Francis, tapos as oppose to vis-a-vis the untransmitted sobra sobra na. Kumbaga, kahit kunyari na lang na nag-zero siya dun sa apat na natitira, panalo pa rin siya, parang ganun,” she added.
Instead of an early proclamation, the city Board of Canvassers opted to have the remaining results from four precincts transmitted for a 100 percent transmission of votes as waiting for the Comelec’s response would take longer.
(Editors: Katherine G. Adraneda, Alexander T. Magno, Abe Cerojano)