Perez headed for defeat

Batangas City — Former Justice Secretary Hernando "Nani" Perez, the administration party’s gubernatorial candidate in Batangas, appears headed for defeat.

Based on the canvassing of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) of election returns from 31 of Batangas’ 34 towns and cities at 4 p.m. yesterday, the Liberal Party’s gubernatorial bet, Sto. Tomas Mayor Armand Sanchez, topped the race with 265,493 votes.

Trailing behind Sanchez were former Nasugbu mayor Charito Apacible of the Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino with 215,466 votes, and Perez with 167,372.

On the other hand, Reporma’s Nicomedes Hernandez got 33,057 votes; Marcos Mandanas, 19,355; and Arturo Atienza, 1,841.

Sanchez got tremendous support from voters in the third and fourth districts, and Apacible from the first and second districts.

Apacible, however, claimed that she was cheated in the towns of Lemery and Sto. Tomas and Tanauan City.

She did not elaborate. "I will just leave the matter to my lawyers," she said.

In the vice gubernatorial race, Richard "Ricky" Recto, brother of Sen. Ralph Recto and Perez’s running mate, so far garnered the highest number of votes with 215,001; followed by Angelito Dimacuha, Sanchez’s running mate, with 185,920; Meynard Sabili, 115,910; and Edgar Mendoza, 102,486.