Legarda beats Javier for Antique House seat

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — Sen. Loren Legarda is set to become the next representative of Antique in the House, as results from 17 of the province’s 18 towns on Tuesday indicate that she has defeated former Antique Gov. Exequiel Javier.

Legarda garnered 189,453 votes while Javier had 63,617 votes.

Reelectionist Gov. Rhodora Cadiao, who is allied with Legarda, also won against Javier’s son, Antique Rep. Paolo Javier, marking the first time in decades that the Javiers would not hold any major post in the province.

Cadiao’s running mate, Vice Gov. Edgar Denosta, was reelected, defeating Jonathan Tan and Rony Molina.

Legarda’s allies were also expected to win eight of 10 seats in the provincial board.

‘Overwhelmed’

“I am overwhelmed and I am inspired. I am also excited to work more for Antique,” Legarda told the Inquirer in a telephone interview.

She admitted that she had the “jitters” when she decided to run for representative. She said some of her colleagues were discouraging her to engage in a one-on-one electoral contest, which they perceived to be more taxing than running for a seat in the Senate.

“This is a win for change,” Legarda said.

She said she would focus on improving health services and tap the province’s rich natural resources to provide livelihood opportunities for Antiqueños.

Born in Malabon City, Legarda established residency at Barangay Mag-aba in Pandan town on Jan. 1, 2018.

Her maternal grandmother, Carmen Gella-Bautista, hailed from Pandan and her great-granduncle, Vicente Gella, served as governor of the province from 1919 to 1922.

Exequiel Javier dominated Antique’s politics from 1987 to 2016, when he lost to Cadio in the gubernatorial race.

He served as representative of the province for six terms, from 1987 to 1998 and from 2001 to 2010. He was elected governor from 1998 to 2001 and from 2010 to 2016.—Nestor P. Burgos Jr.