Arlene “Kaka” Bag-ao
BUTUAN CITY — After ruling the island province of Dinagat for 12 years, the political dynasty established by the Ecleo family suffered a debacle after Dinagat Islands Rep. Arlene “Kaka” Bag-ao defeated Benglen Ecleo for the gubernatorial seat in the just concluded elections.
After previously defeating two members of the Ecleo clan during her two-term stint as district representative of Dinagat Islands, the human rights lawyer further solidified her reputation as the “dragon slayer” when she defeated Ecleo, the incumbent vice governor.
Bag-ao, the only gubernatorial candidate of the Liberal Party in northeastern Mindanao, garnered 29,869 votes against Ecleo’s 26,843.
As the family’s matriarch, Glenda Ecleo, had reached her three-term limit after serving as governor since 2010, the family passed the political seat to her son, the incumbent vice governor, who ran under the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan.
In 2012, Bag-ao was appointed as the legislative liaison officer of Dinagat district when Rep. Ruben Ecleo Jr. was removed from the House of Representatives after he was convicted of graft and was linked to the murder of his wife in Cebu City.
In 2013, Bag-ao was elected Dinagat representative after she trounced Dinagat municipal mayor, Gwendolyn Ecleo, earning her the moniker “dragon slayer” for successfully defeating a member of the Ecleo clan.
She was reelected as representative, defeating former Gov. Jade Ecleo.