Biron concedes Iloilo governorship to incumbent Defensor

Iloilo Representative Ferjenel Biron photo from congress.gov.ph

ILOILO CITY—Iloilo Representative Ferjenel Biron of the United Nationalist Alliance has conceded defeat to re-electionist Governor Arthur Defensor of the ruling Liberal Party in Iloilo’s gubernatorial race.

“I congratulate Gov. Art Defensor Sr. for his victory. I wish him all the best. We respect the decision of the Ilonggo electorate. We thank our leaders and supporters all over the province who risked their lives and limbs for our cause of bringing real change in Iloilo. We fought a principled fight and ran a reform-driven race. It is time to unite for the betterment of our beloved province of Iloilo. Thank you and Good bye! God bless us all,” Biron said in a post on his Facebook account at 11:47 a.m. Tuesday.

Defensor dominated the count in the first 16 towns that transmitted the results of their voting early Tuesday morning.

Results from the 16 towns transmitted to the Provincial Board of Canvassers (PBOC) showed that Defensor won in 13 towns, while his close rival, outgoing Fourth District Congressman Ferjenel Biron won in the three towns.

Defensor dominated in the towns of Barotac Viejo, Guimbal, Pavia, Badiangan, Banate, Tubungan, Zarraga, Mina, Tigbauan and San Miguel while Biron got higher votes in the towns of Pototan, Lemery, Batad, San Rafael and Anilao.

Partial and official results showed that Defensor garnered 137,801 votes while Biron had 88,236.

Independent candidate Serapio Camposano  got only 1,045 in 16 towns.

Jessie Suarez, Iloilo provincial Commission of Elections (Comelec) officer, said the delay in the transmission of election returns was due to heavy rains in some areas of the province and some malfunctioning precinct count optical scan machines.