Substitute bet of disqualified San Pedro mayor wins

SAN PEDRO, Laguna, Philippines—Lourdes Cataquiz, wife of embattled Mayor Calixto Cataquiz, was proclaimed winner in the mayoral race here.

This came amid a last-minute substitution of the wife to Calixto, who was disqualified by Commission on Elections (Comelec) a few days before Monday’s polls.

The disqualification order was based on the 2011 graft conviction of Calixto, a member of the Nacionalista Party.

Lourdes, 65, was a former vice mayor of this town. She beat incumbent Vice Mayor Norvic Solidum of the Liberal Party (LP) with a wide margin of 26,338 votes.

Lourdes’ runningmate, Raffy Campos, also won, garnering 37,211 votes against LP’s Nina Almoro, who got 32,713 votes.

The winners were proclaimed around 5 a.m. Tuesday by the municipal board of canvassers chaired by San Pedro Election Officer Aizel Jagmis.