Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone | PHOTO: Gov. Ben P. Evardone’s Facebook page
TACLOBAN CITY — Gov. Ben Evardone of Eastern Samar is now the longest serving governor of the province after he was reelected to the post.
Evardone was proclaimed by the members of the provincial board of canvassers on Tuesday (May 10) garnering 211,554 votes, a far cry from the 21,440 votes obtained by his opponent Petronilo Abuyen, Jr. and former bishop Alfredo Hobayan’s 6,000 votes.
Also elected were his vice governor, Maricar Sison, and all his slate on the provincial board.
Evardone first served as governor of the province from 2004 to 2010. He then ran for congressman of the lone congressional district of the province from 2010 until 2019, a post currently occupied by an ally, Ma. Fe Abunda, who was reelected for her second term.
As he expressed his gratitude to the electorate of the province for giving him another fresh mandate, Evardone vowed to continue to implement programs and projects that will benefit the people of the province.
This year’s elections also saw the election of his son, Ralph Vincent, as a member of the council of their town in Sulat which reelected mayor, Javier Zacate, is a cousin of the governor.
Zacate’s wife, Gigi, and daughter Sofia Isabelle, also won council seats. Zacate’s brother, Dondon, was elected as vice mayor.
Another cousin of the governor, Benjamin Evardone, was also reelected as mayor of Jipapad town while nephew, Roland Boie Evardone, and cousin, Ronaldo Evardone, were elected as mayor and vice mayor of Arteche town, respectively.
Another nephew, Philip Evardone, Jr., was elected as a provincial board member.
Evardone extended his support to Vice President Leni Robredo, who ran for president in the 2022 polls.
Robredo garnered 123,868 votes while rival Ferdinand Marcos Jr. obtained 107,415 votes in Eastern Samar.