Mother, son win Lanao Sur top posts

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – The mother-and-son tandem that sought the two top posts in Lanao del Sur won the May 9 elections and were proclaimed on Saturday.

The provincial board of canvassers proclaimed Soraya Alonto Adiong, 72, and her 51-year-old son, Mamintal Adiong Jr., as elected governor and vice governor of Lanao del Sur, respectively, in a ceremony held at the provincial capitol in Marawi City.

Adiong’s son is the outgoing governor, whose third and last term will end on June 30, the same day he will relinquish his post to his mother and assume as vice governor.

Two other sons of Adiong, Ansaruddin, 47, and Zia, 36, were reelected as congressman in the province’s first district and member of the regional legislative assembly of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), respectively.

Marawi City, capital of Lanao del Sur, has a new chief executive, mayor-elect Majul Gandamra, a lawyer and incumbent member of the regional legislative assembly.

During the campaign period, the Adiongs vowed to help the city rise should Gandamra win.

The Adiongs and Gandamra belong to the Liberal Party, whose figurehead in the autonomous region, Gov. Mujiv Hataman, also won a second term.

Governor-elect Adiong garnered 193,420 votes, while her rival Fahad Salic, outgoing mayor of Marawi, got 117,496 votes, according to poll results.

Incoming Vice Gov. Adiong Jr., got 259,590 votes, defeating Mohammad Abinal, who received 66,166 votes.

Gandamra defeated Solitario Ali by a margin of 270 votes. He got 21,684 votes while Ali, 21,414.

Gandamra was proclaimed on Saturday morning by the board of canvassers.