Enrile son is losing; Danding son, too

In what could be one of the biggest political upsets in the history of Pangasinan province, Gov. Amado Espino Jr. and his son, Board Member Amado Espino III, trounced former Rep. Mark Cojuangco and his wife, reelectionist Rep. Kimi Cojuangco, in Monday’s elections.

The young Espino defeated Mark Cojuangco in the gubernatorial race while his father beat Kimi Cojuangco for representative in the fifth congressional district.

In Cagayan province, former three-term Rep. Juan “Jack” Ponce Enrile Jr., son of outgoing Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, was losing to Board Member Ramon Nolasco in the second congressional district fight.

It would be the first time in more than 40 years that no member of the Enrile family would be holding an elective position.

In La Union province, the old guard lost to neophyte politicians, with two sons of outgoing Gov. Manuel Ortega beating their uncles.

In Zambales province, former Gov. Amor Deloso ended the reign of reelectionist Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. in an apparent election upset. Deloso defeated Ebdane, who was seeking his third term, in their third rematch.

In Nueva Ecija province, the political battleground of the Umali and Joson families, Rep. Czarina Umali edged former Rep. Rodolfo Antonino to become the province’s first female governor.

However, Umali’s husband, outgoing Gov. Aurelio Umali, lost to Rossana “Ria” Vergara in the third congressional district race. Vergara is the wife of reelected Cabanatuan Mayor Julius Cesar Vergara.

In Pampanga province, reelectionist Representatives Oscar Rodriguez (third district) and Joseller Guiao (first district) were defeated by former Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr. and Carmelo Lazatin II, respectively.

In Angeles City, movie actor and outgoing Sen. Manuel “Lito” Lapid lost the mayoral contest to third-term Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan.

In Abra province, the Bernos-Valera clan is emerging as the new political kingpin after scoring key victories against former allies, the Bersamins headed by outgoing Gov. Eustaquio Bersamin.

Unofficial election returns showed Rep. Maria Jocelyn Bernos leading Ruby Bersamin, wife of the outgoing governor, in the gubernatorial race.

Governor Bersamin lost his bid for mayor of Bangued, the capital town, to Bernos’ father, incumbent Mayor Dominic Valera.

Visayas

Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., a stalwart of the Liberal Party (LP), and his wife, Yvonne Angeli, suffered major defeats in the elections.

Tupas lost to Mayor Christine Garin (National Unity Party) of Guimbal, Iloilo province, in the vice gubernatorial race. It was Garin’s first time to run for a provincial position.

Garin had 472,371 votes while Tupas got 311,604, or a margin of 160,767, based on 99.13 percent of precincts processed.

The Tupas and Garin families were traditional rivals but allied under a coalition to support LP standard-bearer Mar Roxas and Camarines Sur. Rep. Leni Robredo. But the alliance has been strained due the selection of Tupas as candidate for vice governor.

Tupas’ younger brother, Vice Gov. Raul Tupas (Nationalist People’s Coalition), defeated Yvonne Angeli (LP) for representative of fifth district.

The contest was closely watched in the province after the Tupas clan failed to stop an intrafamily electoral match. Raul garnered 111,816 votes while his sister-in-law had 76,842, or a margin of 34,974.

In Aklan province, former Gov. Carlito Marquez (United Nationalist Alliance) won in the congressional race against reelectionist Rep. Teodorico Haresco Jr. (Nacionalista Party). Marquez had 134,479 votes against Haresco’s 122,624, based on 97.85 percent of the precincts processed.

In Eastern Samar province, Rep. Ben Evardone of the lone congressional district and Gov. Conrado Nicart Jr. won their reelection bids in landslide fashion. Both were proclaimed about 4 a.m. on Wednesday by the provincial board of canvassers.

Evardone (LP) garnered 132,109 votes against former Mayor Annaliz Gonzales Kwan of Guiuan town, who had 94,388, or a margin of 37,721 votes. He also defeated here in the 2013 elections.

Nicart defeated former Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan (NP) by more than 54,000 votes. Nicart received 135,261 votes while Libanan, who was once a congressman of the province, had 80,351.

In Leyte, former beauty queen Yedda Marie Romualdez will be the new representative in the first congressional district. She was proclaimed winner by the provincial board of canvassers on Tuesday afternoon, accompanied by her husband, outgoing Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.

This is the first elective post for Romualdez, who was crowned Binibining Pilipinas-International in 1996 and a nurse by profession. She won by a landslide with 147,477 votes while her opponent, lawyer Fiel Clemencio, received 51,550.

As part of her campaign promise, the elected congresswoman said she would focus on building health facilities, among others, across her district, which covers the towns of Palo, Tanauan, Babatngon, San Miguel, Santa Fe, Alangalang, Tolosa and Tacloban City.

In Cebu, a municipal mayor refused to concede to a retired police general who foiled his reelection bid by a mere seven votes.

Mayor Augusto Corro of Daanbantayan town in the northern tip of Cebu said he could not accept his loss to Vicente Loot, who retired from the police service last year. Loot (One Cebu-UNA) got 20,412 votes against Corro (LP), who garnered 20,405.

“There’s really (something) wrong here,” Corro said. He asked his lawyers to consolidate the documents to be used in filing charges against Loot whom he accused of harassing his supporters.

During his proclamation on Tuesday, Loot denied Corro’s charge, saying he was a neophyte politician. Reports from Melvin Gascon, Gabriel Cardinoza and Leoncio Balbin Jr., Inquirer Northern Luzon; and Armand Galang and Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon; and Joey A. Gabieta, Nestor P. Burgos Jr. and Jhunnex Napallacan, Inquirer Visayas