Mayor, vice mayor and councilors of Dumaguete proclaimed

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines — The city board of canvassers on Tuesday afternoon proclaimed re-electionist Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria and his running mate, Woodrow Maquiling, Sr. as the mayor and vice mayor of this capital city of Negros Oriental.

Also proclaimed were only the top seven winners for councilors, without their necessary rankings, pending the canvassing of election results of Clustered Precinct 39 in Barangay Cadawinonan, which was hampered by a faulty main memory card, according to acting city election officer Jerome Brillantes.

Sagarbarria and Maquiling, Sr. of the opposition Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) garnered insurmountable votes over their respective opponents, incumbent Vice-Mayor Alan Gel Cordova and incumbent Councilor Joe Kenneth Arbas, both of the LP, each of whom was reported to have earlier conceded.

The seven councilors who were proclaimed were Franklin Esmeña, Jr., Jose Vicente Imbo, Nilo Sayson, Rommel Erames, Antonio Remollo, Peter Catan and Manuel Arbon.

Vying for the last three slots for the City Council were Lani Ramon, Nelson Patrimonio, Dan Leon and Michael Bandal. Their victory into the magic 10 will be determined by the outcome of the canvassing of the five precincts under Cluster 39 in Cadawinonan, which has a total of over 900 voters.

Brillantes said the cluster was waiting for the arrival of a main memory card from Manila to be used in the counting of ballots to determine the other three winners for the city council positions. — (FREEMAN)