2013 Marinduque local elections

Local elections were held in Marinduque on May 13, 2013, as part of the 2013 general election. Voters selected candidates for all local positions: a town mayor, vice mayor and town councilors, as well as members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, a vice-governor, a governor and a representative for the lone district of Marinduque in the House of Representatives.

In this election, a number of provincial-level officials sought reelection, including incumbent governor Carmencita Reyes and incumbent congressman Lord Allan Jay Velasco.

Background

Congressional election

Incumbent congressman Lord Allan Jay Velasco, who was first elected in the 2010 election, is running for a second term. Although he ran under the Lakas–CMD ticket in 2010, for this election he is running under the National Unity Party (NUP). His challenger is Regina Ongsiako Reyes, the daughter of incumbent governor Carmencita Reyes, running under the Liberal Party.

However, Reyes was ordered disqualified by the First Division of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) over her citizenship status. In its ruling, the Comelec cited the Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003, claiming that Reyes was still an American citizen and she had failed to renounce her citizenship. In addition, the ruling notes that Reyes did not submit sufficient evidence that she had been resident in Marinduque for at least one year, citing documents which point to her term as Provincial Administrator.^[1] The ruling was affirmed by the Comelec en banc on May 14, 2013.^[2] But Commission on Election Chairman Sixto Brillantes in his dissenting opinion pointed that the evidence presented by Velasco's camp is a double hearsay and inadmissible since it was never sworn nor authenticated by the issuing officer and it was taken in an internet blog of unknown blogger.

Despite this, Reyes continued to sit as representative of Marinduque, with the Reyes camp claiming that it is the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET), and not the Comelec or the Supreme Court, that should have jurisdiction over the case. On September 11, 2014, Gabriela Representative Luzviminda Ilagan said that the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal voting 4-3 finally decided that they (HRET members) will uphold the exclusivity of jurisdiction over any protest or contest in the result of election of any House of Representatives members. With this development, the Commission's and the Supreme Court's respective decisions will be no longer in effect. Thus, Representative Regina Ongsiako Reyes was the seating Congresswoman of the Lone District of Marinduque but did not finish her 3-year term as she was later removed from her post and replaced by Velasco in February 2016.

Gubernatorial election

Incumbent governor Carmencita Reyes is running for a second term, having assumed the governorship after defeating then-incumbent Jose Antonio Carrion in the 2010 election, alongside her running mate, vice governor Antonio Uy Jr. Although she was a guest candidate of the Liberal Party the previous election, having run as a member of the party-list group Bigkis Pinoy, for this election she is running as the Liberal Party candidate. Reyes' running mate is doctor Romulo Bacorro.

Uy has since left the Liberal Party and has decided to run for governor under the NUP, the party of Congressman Velasco. However, he does not have a running mate; instead, the NUP is endorsing Melecio Go of the Nacionalista Party for the position of vice governor. Go is currently a member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for the province's first district, and was elected in 2010 as an independent.

Carrion was seeking to retake his seat after losing the previous election to Reyes. Though he ran under the Lakas–CMD ticket in 2010, for this election he is running under the banner of the Nationalist People's Coalition. His running mate is Jose Alvarez, who previously sat as a member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for the province's first district.

Results

Provincial elections

Parties are as stated in their certificate of candidacies.

Gubernatorial election

Carmencita Reyes is the incumbent.

Marinduque gubernatorial election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Carmencita Reyes	53,869	54.74
	NUP	Antonio Uy Jr.	25,836	26.25
	NPC	Jose Antonio Carrion	18,706	19.01
Majority			28,033	28.49%
Total votes			98,411	100.00
	Liberal hold

Vice gubernatorial election

Incumbent Antonio Uy Jr. is running for governor

Marinduque Vice-Gubernatorial Election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Romulo Bacorro	35,597	52.96
	Nacionalista	Melecio Go	24,537	36.50
	NPC	Jose Alvarez	7,084	10.54
Total votes			84,132	100.00
	Liberal gain from NUP

Congressional election

Lord Allan Jay Velasco is the incumbent.

Philippine House of Representatives election at Marinduque
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Regina Ongsiako Reyes	52,209	51.90%
	NUP	Lord Allan Jay Velasco	48,396	48.10%
Margin of victory			3,813	3.79%
Rejected ballots
Turnout
Total votes			100,605	100.00
	Liberal gain from NUP

Despite being disqualified by the Comelec en banc, Regina Ongsiako Reyes was proclaimed anyway by the Provincial Board of Canvassers on May 15, 2013, although the camp of Lord Allan Jay Velasco attempted to stop the proclamation. Edwin Villa, the provincial election supervisor and head of Marinduque's Provincial Board of Canvassers, has since been replaced by Val Mendoza, the provincial election supervisor of Romblon, although it is unclear whether Mendoza assumed the position. Villa has since gone into hiding.^[2]

Provincial Board elections

1st District

Sangunniang Panlalawigan districts of Marinduque. Areas shown in red represent the first district; blue represent second district.

Municipality: Boac, Mogpog, Gasan

Marinduque 1st District Sangguniang Panlalawigan election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	George Aliño II	22,213	19.33
	NUP	Adeline Angeles	20,042	17.44
	Liberal	Mark Anthony Seño	19,190	16.70
	Liberal	Theresa Caballes	18,803	16.36

	Liberal	Sebastian Mandalihan	15,988	13.91
	Liberal	Robert Opis	13,592	11.83
	NPC	Cesaria Zoleta	5,095	4.43
Total votes

2nd District

Municipality: Sta. Cruz, Torrijos, Buenavista

Marinduque 2nd District Sangguniang Panlalawigan election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Juan Fernandez Jr.	17,129	19.89
	Liberal	Harold Red	14,759	17.14
	NUP	Amelia Aguirre	13,027	15.13
	Liberal	Norma Ricohermoso	10,929	12.69

	Liberal	Epifania Rosas	10,434	12.12
	NUP	Benjo Buenviaje	7,613	8.84
	NUP	Aristeo Lecaroz	7,244	8.41
	NUP	Acio Revilla	4,976	5.78
Total votes

Municipal elections

Parties are as stated in their certificate of candidacies.

Boac

Roberto Madla is the incumbent.

Boac Mayoralty election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	NUP	Roberto Madla	13,129	59.71
	Liberal	Allan Nepomuceno	7,868	35.80
	Independent	Joven Labay	986	4.49
Total votes
	NUP hold

Dante Marquez is the incumbent.

Boac Vice-Mayoralty election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Dante Marquez	8,499	40.00
	NUP	Wilson Mabute	5,675	26.71
	Independent	Dave Daniel Larga	3,314	15.60
	Independent	Louisito Majaba	3,060	14.40
	Independent	Romeo De La Santa	699	3.29
Total votes
	Liberal hold

Mogpog

Senen Livelo Jr. is the incumbent.

Mogpog Mayoralty election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Senen Livelo Jr.	9,337	62.79
	NUP	Jonathan Garcia	5,534	37.21
Majority			3,803	23.48%
Valid ballots			14,871	91.80
Invalid or blank votes			1,328	8.20
Total votes			16,199	100
	Liberal hold

Incumbent vice-mayor Sebastian Mandalihan is term limited and running for provincial board membership.

Mogpog Vice-Mayoralty election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Rolando Mantala	4,028	28.22
	Liberal	Florito Molbog	3,858	27.03
	NUP	Melanio Maac	2,814	19.72
	Independent	Ruben Tan	2,477	17.36
	Independent	Monchito Lusterio	1,095	7.67
Majority			170	1.05%
Valid ballots			14,272	88.10
Invalid or blank votes			1,927	11.90
Total votes			16,199	100
	Independent gain from Liberal

Gasan

Victoria L. Lim is the incumbent.

Gasan Mayoralty election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	NUP	Victoria L. Lim	8,086	50.44
	Liberal	Rolando Tolentino	7,943	49.56
Valid ballots			16,029	100
	NUP hold

Incumbent vice-mayor Servillano M. Balitaan is term-limited and is running for municipal councilor.

Gasan Vice-Mayoralty election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	NUP	Yudel Sosa	5,199	34.86
	Independent	Ulysses Iturralde	4,356	29.20
	Liberal	Florante Saet	4,035	27.05
	NPC	Jose Maria Sore	1,326	8.89
Valid ballots			14,916	100
	NUP gain from NPC

Sta. Cruz

Percival Morales is the incumbent.

Sta. Cruz Mayoralty election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Wilfredo Red	7,278	54.68
	NUP	Percival Morales	6,031	45.32
Total votes
	Liberal gain from NUP

Ishmael Lim is the incumbent.

Sta. Cruz Vice-Mayoralty election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Ishmael Lim	7,265	57.99
	NUP	Dennis Morales	5,262	42.01
Total votes
	Liberal hold

Torrijos

Gil Briones is the incumbent.

Torrijos Mayoralty election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Lakas	Gil Briones	7,186	62.03
	NUP	Rolly Villar	4,399	37.97
Total votes
	Lakas hold

Roberto Macdon is the incumbent.

Torrijos Vice-Mayoralty election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Roberto Macdon	7,284	66.87
	Independent	Preny Estrada	3,609	33.13
Total votes
	Liberal hold

Buenavista

Incumbent Russel S. Madrigal is running unopposed.

Buenavista Mayoralty election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	NUP	Russel S. Madrigal	6,843	100.00
	NUP hold

Incumbent Montano Saguid is running unoppposed.

Buenavista Vice-Mayoralty election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Montano Saguid	5,585	100.00
	Liberal hold

References

^ "US citizenship mars candidate's bid in Marinduque". ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs. April 3, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
^ ^a ^b Cinco, Maricar (May 17, 2013). "Comelec rules with finality: LP Marinduque bet disqualified". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc. Retrieved May 19, 2013.

External links

[reyes2-1] "US citizenship mars candidate's bid in Marinduque". ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs. April 3, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2013.

[enbanc-2] Cinco, Maricar (May 17, 2013). "Comelec rules with finality: LP Marinduque bet disqualified". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc. Retrieved May 19, 2013.

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