Tesdaman’s sister in tie-breaker for Bocaue mayor

Senatorial candidate Joel ‘Tesdaman’ Villanueva (center) raises the hand of his sister, Eleanor ‘Joni JJV,’ who is tied with ‘Kuya’ Jim Valerio (left) in the mayoralty race in Bocaue, Bulacan. The Comelec is expected to resort to the drawing of lots to break the tie. SCREENGRAB FROM THE SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS OF JIM VALERIO AND JONI VILLANUEVA

BOCAUE, Bulacan, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) asked this town’s two mayoralty candidates to draw lots on Tuesday, after they garnered the same number of votes in Monday’s election.

Independent candidate Jim Valerio and Eleanor “Joni JJV” Villanueva of the Liberal Party both got 16,694 votes based on the unofficial result of the Comelec-GMA Mirror Server as of 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

Valerio was a former provincial administrator under Gov. Wilhemino Sy-Alvarado while Villanueva is the daughter of religious leader Eddie Villanueva and sister of senatorial candidate Joel Villanueva and incumbent Mayor Jon-Jon Villanueva Jr.

Drawing lots to resolve ties is allowed by Comelec Resolution No. 183.