Ex-Pampanga mayor wants rematch vs rival who unseated her by 27 votes in 2019

Maria Lourdes Lacson (left) shows her certificate of candidacy for mayor. (Photo from Malu Paras-Lacson’s Facebook page); Mayor Romulo Pecson (Photo from Mayor Romulo “Romy” Lacson’s Facebook page)

MABALACAT CITY, Pampanga—The former mayor of Magalang town in this province has filed her certificate of candidacy to have a rematch against the incumbent mayor who unseated her by a margin of only 27 votes in the 2019 elections.

Maria Lourdes Lacson, Magalang municipality’s mayor from 2016 to 2019, filed her candidacy for mayor under the Pineda clan’s Kapanalig at Kambilan ding Memalen Pampanga (Kambilan) political party on Oct. 4.

Incumbent Mayor Romulo Pecson will file his certificate of candidacy for reelection on Oct. 8.

Due to technical problems, it took the Commission on Elections four more days after the May 13, 2019 elections to finish counting the votes in Magalang and finally proclaimed Lacson as the new mayor after obtaining 27,166 votes over then-incumbent Mayor Lacson’s 27,139 votes.

Lacson’s running mate won the vice mayoral race while the eight winning councilors were split equally – four each from the camps of Pecson and Lacson.

In the 2016 elections, it was Lacson who unseated the then incumbent Mayor Pecson and became the town’s first female mayor of Magalang.

Lacson got 20,434 votes, while Pecson had 19,820. A third mayoral candidate, Pastor Joel Cunanan, was third with 4,627 votes.

Lacson is the executive assistant of Pampanga Gov. Dennis Pineda.

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