Ate Vi wins as Batangas congresswoman

BATANGAS, Philippines – Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos-Recto has won the election as congresswoman of the newly created sixth district of Batangas.

Santos-Recto garnered 83,492 votes against Bernadette Sabili’s 60,472 votes.

Allan Enriquez, Commission on Elections provincial election supervisor and chairman of the board of provincial canvassers, proclaimed Santos-Recto on Tuesday.

“Maybe I did well during my term as a governor and mayor of Lipa so Lipeños elected me again,” she said.

Santos-Recto started her political career when she ran for mayor of Lipa City in 1998. She served for three terms. 

She has been governor since 2007.

Santos-Recto said she would focus on the approval of laws that would help the youth and women.

Former governor and congressman Hermilando Mandanas will take over as Batangas governor.

Mandanas defeated Vice Gov. Mark Leviste, Rep. Mark Llandro Mendoza and Agap party-list Rep. Nicanor Briones.

First female gov

In Nueva Ecija, third district Rep. Czarina Umali, wife of Gov. Aurelio Umali, was elected governor.

Umali garnered 574,818 votes against former fourth district congressman Rodolfo Antonino’s 354,860 votes. She was proclaimed on Wednesday night.

Antonino, father of Rep. Magnolia Antonino-Nadres, lost to Umali even in the known bailiwicks of their family.

Umali’s running-mate Vice Gov. Jose Gay Padiernos won the vice gubernatorial race with 671,949 votes. 

Umali is Nueva Ecija’s first female governor.

The first female candidate for governor in Nueva Ecija the late Viriginia Custodio-Perez ran in 1995.

Julita Lorenzo-Villareal and Manuela Joson tried their luck in 2004 and 2013, respectively.

LP bets

Meanwhile, the Liberal Party (LP) dominated the local elections in Central Luzon.

Data from the Regional Election Monitoring and Assistance Center at Camp Olivas showed that 10 LP candidates won the gubernatorial, vice gubernatorial and congressional elections, seven from the Nationalist People’s Coalition, five from the National Unity Party,  two from local parties, two from the  Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino and one each from the Nacionalista Party,  United Nationalist Alliance and Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats.

The winning candidates in Pampanga were also proclaimed on Wednesday.

Among those proclaimed were reelectionist Gov. Lilia Pineda, Vice Gov. Dennis Pineda and Reps. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Jonjon Lazatin, Aurelio Gonzales Jr. and Rimpy Bondoc.

Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan, who defeated Sen. Lito Lapid in the mayoral race in Angeles City, was also proclaimed. – With Manny Galvez, Ric Sapnu, Ding Cervantes