ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews / 15 May) – The City Board of Canvassers (CBOC) has partially proclaimed late Tuesday the winners of the local election here. They are mostly from the administration’s Liberal Party-Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino-Adelante Zamboanga Party (LP-LDP-AZaP) coalition.
Proclaimed as mayor-elect is House Deputy Speaker and first district Rep. Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar, who defeated her former party mate second district Rep. Erico Basilio Fabian, by a margin of 143,239 votes. Salazar, who is on her second term of office as representative, garnered 172,439 votes while Fabian, who is on his last term of office as representative, gathered only 29,200.
Fabian, a Nacionalista Party (NP) stalwart, ran under the locally-organized political party Fuerza Zamboanga (FZ).
Salazar’s running mate, incumbent Vice Mayor Cesar Iturralde, also won by garnering 100,430 votes. Iturralde is tailed by Fabian’s running mate, former Councilor Luis Climaco, with 66,784 votes.
Incumbent Mayor Celso Lobregat, also of the LP-LDP-AZaP coalition, was proclaimed winner in the congressional race in the first district, beating former priest Cristanto dela Cruz. Lobregat garnered 42,826 votes while Dela Cruz, 32,342.
But Lobregat’s younger brother Jomar failed to make it as second district representative as he lost to incumbent and second term Councilor Lilia Nuño by a margin of 5,563 votes. Nuño reaped a total of 33,475 votes as against Jomar’s 27,912 votes.
Meanwhile, the CBOC has only proclaimed the top three councilors in the first district and the top five in the second district.
This as the remaining uncanvassed ballots, which represents three percent of the total number of registered voters who actually voted, may still affect the standing of the rest of the candidates for councilors.
Proclaimed winners in the first district were Melchor Sadain (FZ), 55,984 votes; Rogelio Valesco, Jr. (LDP), 53,979; and Cesar “Jawo” Jimenez Jr. (Independent), 52,873. All of them are incumbent councilors.
In the second district, proclaimed were Roel Natividad (LP), 53,968 votes; Benjamin Guingona IV (LDP), 44,696; Miguel Alavar (AZaP), 43,955; Eduardo Saavedra (LDP), 42,792; and Juan Climaco Elago (UNA), 42,653.
Alavar and Saavedra are incumbent councilors while Natividad and Elago were former councilors. Guingona is a newcomer.
The CBOC has resumed the canvassing of votes Wednesday afternoon and is set to proclaim the rest of the winners early Thursday.
