No star-struck voters for Annabelle, Shalani

MANILA, Philippines - Several famous personalities, including talent manager Annabelle Rama and Valenzuela Councilor Shalani Soledad-Romulo, lost their bid for a congressional seat, results yesterday from the Commission on Elections (Comelec)’s transparency server showed.

Soledad-Romulo lost by 3,000 votes to re-electionist congressman Magtanggol Gunigundo, who received 57,430 votes and was proclaimed winner.

The tally of election results as of 4 p.m. showed that Rama got only 35,842 votes while her opponent, veteran lawmaker Raul del Mar, got 134,180 votes.

Rama lost in her own precinct in Barangay Zapatera in clustered precinct 271, where she garnered only 69 votes as against del Mar’s 174 votes.

In her Twitter account, Rama congratulated Del Mar, but said it is not the end of her political career. “I shall return, Di pa tapos ang adhikain. Serbisyo dili negosyo (advocacy not yet through, service not business),” she said in Cebuano.

In Ormoc City, Richard Gomez, who ran for mayor, lost by 2,088 votes to Edward Codilla. Codilla is the brother of the incumbent mayor Eric Codilla, whom Richard’s wife, Lucy Torres-Gomez, beat as representative of the fourth district of Leyte.

Christopher de Leon, got only 20,831 votes based on partial official tally as of 7 p.m. as against the 63,385 votes of his closest rival Raneo Abu, for congressman of the second district of Batangas.

Joey Marquez, a former mayor of Parañaque, got only 39,381 votes with 82 percent of the election returns counted.

Jukebox queen Imelda Papin also failed in her congressional bid in the lone district of San Jose del Monte City, Bulacan with only 23, 393 votes.

Actor Rez Cortez also lost the congressional race in the fifth district of Camarines Sur, ending up third with only 11,704 votes.

Meanwhile, celebrity bets who are poised for victory include comedienne Angelica Jones (board member, Laguna’s 3rd district); ER Ejercito (governor, Laguna); Jolo Revilla (vice governor, Cavite); Vilma Santos (governor, Batangas); and singer Roselle Nava (councilor, Parañaque’s second district).

As of 6:26 p.m., partial and official results showed that Jones got 61,598 votes; Ejercito, 413,552; Revilla, 394, 147; Santos-Recto, 659,456; and Nava, 42,699. – With Jessa Chrisna Marie Agua, Arnell Ozaeta