Physician becomes Quezon’s first female governor

Quezon Rep. Helen Tan made history by being elected the first female governor of her province. (Photo from her Facebook page)

LUCENA CITY, Quezon, Philippines — Quezon Rep. Helen Tan (NPC) made history on Wednesday afternoon when she became the first woman governor of the province after being officially proclaimed the winner in the gubernatorial contest in the May 9 elections.

The final election results from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) showed that Tan, a medical doctor, received 790,739 votes in the province’s two cities and 39 municipalities.

Tan, serving her last term as Congress representative of the province’s Fourth District, dealt a blow to the reelection bid of Gov. Danilo Suarez (Lakas-CMD), who only garnered 320,395 votes.

Suarez, who was gunning for his second term, is a veteran politician and once served as minority leader in Congress during his 18 years as a lawmaker. He was elected as governor in 2019 after his son, David, ended his nine-year service as the provincial chief executive in 2010.

Quezon has a voting population of 1,424,023, but only 1,221,506 voters participated in the elections — a voter turnout of 85.77%.

Tan’s running mate, former Lucena City Councilor Anacleto Alcala III (NPC), was also officially proclaimed as the vice governor-elect.

Alcala listed 665,570 votes over his nearest rival and Suarez tandem, Betty Nantes, who only got 283,588 in the official count.

Suarez has expressed his congratulations to Tan and other election winners for their

He urged the provincial government employees to do their best under the new governor.

The Comelec also proclaimed Helen’s son, Mike (NPC), as the incoming congressman to replace his mother. Mike clobbered his main rival, former board member Rhodora Tan (Lakas), a Suarez ally.

Former Board Member Reynante Arogancia (NPC) was also proclaimed as the elected Third District representative in Congress after beating his former political ally, Rep. Aleta Suarez, Danilo’s wife.

However, Suarez’s son, David, survived the clan’s election debacle after he again defeated former Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala in the congressional race in the Second District. Alcala, Anacleto’s uncle, also lost to David in the 2019 election.

Rep. Mark Enverga (NPC) from the First District successfully defended his post against his main rival Techie Dator (KBL).

With the ascension of Tan as the province chief executive, she is expected to consolidate her control in the political landscape of Quezon in future electoral battles.

Aside from her son, Mike, Arogancia and Enverga both look at Tan as their political leader.

On Wednesday, the Comelec has also proclaimed Gov. Hermilando Mandanas and Vice Gov. Mark Leviste as reelected officials of Batangas province, the provincial government public information office (PIO) said on Facebook.

In Laguna, Gov. Ramil Hernandez and Vice Gov. Karen Agapay both retained their seats, the Laguna PIO also announced on social media.

Reelectionist Cavite Gov. Juanito Victor Remulla has also retained his position. His running-mate, former Tagaytay City Councilor Athena Tolentino, was also proclaimed the new vice governor.

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