Romualdez gets another mandate as Tacloban mayor

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines – Mayor Alfred Romualdez (Nacionalista Party) once more got the mandate of Taclobanons, winning over Rep. Florencio “Bem” Noel of the An Waray party-list by some 6,720 votes.

This is Romualdez’s third term as mayor. The votes canvassed constituted 94 percent of the election returns from the city’s 138 barangays, according to lawyer Karen Cajipo, city election officer.

Romualdez was set to be proclaimed yesterday afternoon.

Independent candidate and councilor Jerry Yaokasin will be Romualdez’s vice mayor for the next three years. He won over incumbent Arvin Antoni who was Noel’s running mate under the Liberal Party.

Those who won for the city council were Cristina Gonzales-Romualdez (NP), lawyer Jerry Uy (LP), Edwin Chua (NP), Edward Chua (NP), Evangeline Esperas (LP), Erpe Dalisay (LP), Jom Bagulaya (LP), Willie Domingo (NP), Neil Glova (LP), and Elvie Galapon-Casal (LP).

In Leyte’s fourth district, with only the votes from two barangays still to be counted as of press time yesterday, Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez posted a 6,336 vote lead over challenger Ormoc City Mayor Eric Codilla.

She posted landslide victories in all towns in the fourth district, except in Isabel where she lost by 469 votes. In Palompon, she got 18,928 votes over Codilla’s 7,687.

Her husband, Richard Gomez, however, was losing to Codilla’s brother Edward by 2,088 votes in the Ormoc City mayoral race. So did her brother Matt who ran for mayor of Kananga town.

However, Gomez’s vice mayoral running mate, Leo Carmelo Locsin, was making it with 2,928 votes over Codilla’s bet Dennis Capuyan.

Four LP bets also landed in the top seven seats for the city council.

The official tabulation in Ormoc City, delayed by problems in transmission of the election results, was expected to be finished yesterday afternoon.

In the fifth district of Leyte, Rep. Jose Carlos Cari (LP) got his second term, along with his mother, Baybay City Mayor Carmen Cari and brother, Vice Mayor Michael Cari, together with their city council bets.

In Hilongos town, contractor Albert Villahermosa, a neophyte, routed Mayor Joy Emery Roble, scion of the Roble Shipping Lines who was gunning for his second term.

In Southern Leyte, Gov. Damian Mercado (NUP) was leading LP bet Marissa Lerias in the congressional race.

His brother, Rep. Roger Mercado, was also leading businessman Robert Castañares (LP) for the gubernatorial post.