Garcia-Yulo wins Moises Padilla mayoralty race

Moises Padilla Vice Mayor Ella Garcia-Yulo is now incoming mayor after defeating incumbent Mayor Magdaleno “Magsie” Peña. Photo by Carla P. Gomez, Inquirer Visayas

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – Moises Padilla town mayoral candidate who was imprisoned on what she called trumped-up charges and whose relatives were killed about a month before the polls emerged victorious in Monday’s elections.

Moises Padilla Vice Mayor Ella Garcia-Yulo won a landslide victory over incumbent Mayor Magdaleno “Magsie” Peña whom she accused of being behind the ambush that killed her brother, Mark Garcia and nephew, Councilor Michael Garcia last April 25.

Based on final results from the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Yulo got 65 percent of the total votes or 13,056 while Peña received 5,493 votes.

Of the more than 26,000 registered voters in the town, 20,274 cast their votes on Monday.

Yulo’s running mate, Ian Villaflor, also had an overwhelming win with 13,612 while his opponent Antonio Suatengco only had 3,714 votes.

Yulo said her win was bittersweet as she lost two family members during the campaign period.

On May 6, the Comelec placed Moises Padilla under its control after a private armed group ambushed Yulo’s campaign convoy on April 25 that left her brother and nephew dead.

Yulo blamed Peña for the ambush but the mayor denied being behind it.

President Rodrigo Duterte visited Moises Padilla on May 8 and promised Yulo that justice would be given her slain kin and the residents would be free to vote in the town.

The President, who also met with Peña during his Moises Padilla visit, ordered him to do his part to ensure peaceful elections in the town. Peña said he replied, “Consider it done sir. You’re the boss.”

Yulo and her husband were released from detention in early April after they were granted bail for illegal possession of explosive charges.

The couple was arrested in December 2017 at a police checkpoint for her supposed possession of firearms, explosives, and drugs.

Yulo has maintained that the charges were trumped up and politically motivated. /cbb