GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews / 1 Nov)—The husband of City Mayor Lorelie Pacquiao, former city councilor and OFW Family Partylist Rep. Aberto “Bobby” Pacquiao, is reportedly eyeing a return to the city council following a landslide win as barangay chair in Monday’s Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.
Bobby Pacquiao. Photo from his Facebook page
Bobby was proclaimed Tuesday morning as barangay chairperson-elect of their home village Labangal here with 17,873 votes over lone rival Ramon Ciocon, who only mustered 1,241 votes. The couple’s daughter Graziel was also reelected as the village’s top councilor.
Lawyer Franklin Gacal Jr., city administrator, said Bobby will take a shot next at the presidency of the city’s Liga ng mga Barangay.
He said the former professional boxer, a younger brother of boxing icon and former Senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao, will have the backing of 17 of the 26 newly-elected barangay chairpersons in the city who are reportedly allied with the Pacquiao camp.
“Because of this, barangay chairperson-elect Bobby Pacquiao is already secure as the next Liga ng mga Barangay president and will sit as city councilor,” Gacal said in a Facebook post Tuesday.
Aside from Labangal, Gacal said their allies under the People’s Champ Movement (PCM) won in Barangays Fatima, Calumpang, Mabuhay, City Heights, Apopong, Bula, Dadiangas West, Lagao, Bawing, Buayan, Baluan, Tinagacan, Katangawan, Ligaya, and Batomelong.
Candidates linked to the camp of former City Mayor Ronnel Rivera won in Barangays Dadiangas South, Dadiangas North, Dadiangas East, San Jose, Upper Labay and Tambler. An unaligned bet took Barangay Olympog.
Gacal claimed that the results of Monday’s election were proof that local residents were satisfied with the leadership of Mayor Lorelie Pacquiao and PCM, a regional political party founded by former Senator Pacquiao.
Bobby first entered the local political arena in 2013, winning as councilor of Labangal under the slate led by his wife Lorelie. He placed second in the city council race in 2016 and landed a seat in the House of Representatives in 2019 as the first nominee of the OFW Family Partylist.
After winning her second term as barangay chair of Labangal in 2018, Lorelie was elected president of the city’s Liga ng mga Barangay and served as ex-officio city councilor until winning the mayoralty race in the May 2022 elections.
Another younger brother of the former Senator, former two-term Sarangani representative and incumbent Gov. Rogelio Pacquiao, entered politics as chair of barangay Apopong here from 2007 to 2015, and served as Liga ng mga Barangay president and ex-officio city councilor from 2013 to 2015. (Allen V. Estabillo / MindaNews)
