LP, UNA, NPC race for top 3 posts in Catanduanes

VIRAC, Catanduanes— Former foes have embraced as allies and former allies are now rivals after the reshuffling of forces in Catanduanes politics as shown in the certificates of candidacy (COCs) for the 2016 local elections last week.

Voters will see three-cornered contests for House representative, governor and vice governor as the Liberal Party (LP), United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) and Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) all fielded bets for the top posts.

Undefeated in five consecutive elections, Vice Gov. Jose “Bong” Teves Jr. (NPC) tries to maintain his spotless record against former Gov. Joseph “Boboy” Cua (UNA) and incumbent Gov. Araceli Wong of the LP in the gubernatorial race.

For the lone House seat, incumbent Rep. Cesar Sarmiento (LP) is hoping to approximate or even surpass his record-breaking 101,000-vote haul in his second term win in 2013. He had beaten Wong in the 2010 congressional race.

He is up against independent Leandro Verceles Jr., a former governor who lost badly to Sarmiento in 2013, and businessman-contractor Hector Sanchez (UNA), who failed in his reelection bid for governor in 2001 after his camp allegedly distributed millions of fake P500 bills to its candidates and supporters on the eve of the polls.

Verceles and Teves, who has won as Baras mayor for three terms and vice governor for two terms, helped Wong win the governorship in 2013 against Cua. On the other hand, Sarmiento lost to Sanchez in the gubernatorial race in 1998 before eventually serving one term as vice governor from 2001 to 2004.

Another three-cornered fight is the race for vice governor, with incumbent Board Member Jorge Reyes (LP), who topped the Sangguniang Panlalawigan race in 2013, going up against Virac Councilor and ex-officio Board Member Shirley Abundo (NPC) and San Andres Vice Mayor Leo Mendoza (UNA).

Nine candidates each are competing for the four seats of the East and West districts of the provincial board.

In the capital town of Virac, former longtime mayor Jose “Cito” Alberto II has apparently recovered from the illness that he had blamed for his withdrawal in late 2012 that paved the way for the election of his wife, the Dinalupihan, Bataan, native Flerida Antonio, the following year. Now 67 years old, he has served as Virac mayor for 18 of the past 21 years.

Alberto, the NPC  candidate for mayor, is up against First Catanduanes Electric Cooperative Inc. general manager engineer Samuel Laynes (independent), Wong confidante Larry Que (independent), lawyer Sinforoso Sarmiento of UNA, businessman Robert Maullon (independent) and 2013 runner-up Manuel Tablizo (independent).