Thursday, May 17, 2007
Pablo, son PJ claim victory in 2nd, 3rd districts
THE two Garcias running for congressional seats in Cebu both claimed victory yesterday over their opponents.
Lawyer Pablo John Garcia, brother of Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, said that based on their computation, he will lead by at least 15,000 votes over Provincial Board Member Estrella Yapha, who is seeking to replace her husband, Rep. Antonio Yapha Jr.
Pinoy Votes: Sun.Star Election 2007
For his part, former governor Pablo “Pabling” Garcia, Gwen’s father, projects a lead of 35,000 votes over his closest opponent, Board Member Carmiano Kintanar.
The Yapha camp has not lost hope.
In an interview, Rep. Antonio Yapha, a gubernatorial candidate and Estrella’s husband, said they will wait for the canvassing to end before they can say that they lost.
“Bisag labaw na siya, wa’a pa man mahuman ang canvassing (He may be leading, but the canvassing isn’t over yet),” said the congressman.
Kintanar, for his part, said he would like to wait until the canvassing is completed before he makes any conclusion.
“According to the trend, it is most likely that I will lose already. But I would like to wait for more information,” he said.
Edge
He will also set aside comments or complaints about the conduct of the elections in the 15-town second district, until he can get the data from his watchers.
Pabling, who served as third district congressman before three terms as Cebu governor, said he started the fight with an advantage, having the support of most mayors and barangay captains.
He further said that the results showed the people are “appreciative” of what he has achieved when he served as governor for nine years.
As of 6:30 last night, the Provincial Board of Canvassers was able to record votes from eight towns, four of them in the second district.
Pabling had 16,782 votes while Kintanar had 6,281 votes.
Another prominent congressional aspirant in the second district, former congressman Crisologo Abines, lagged in the race with 3,990 votes.
Bailiwick
The votes were from Alcantara, Samboan, Ronda and Malabuyoc.
In the third district, meanwhile, the Provincial Board of Canvassers has so far tallied votes from Aloguinsan.
In that town, Pablo John got 5,935 votes while Estrella Yapha garnered 2,912 votes.
The Capitol has yet to receive the certificates of canvass from other towns in the third district but Pablo John said One Cebu’s bailiwick within Yapha’s turf was able to deliver.
He said his group already counted 70 percent of the votes and so far, he got 66,178 over Estrella’s 48,216.
“It is safe to say that we won in the third district,” said Pablo John.
As for the official canvassing of results from all other towns and cities, Gwen is still leading the contest for the Capitol’s top post with 54,067 votes from eight towns canvassed as of 6:30 last night.
Rep. Yapha had 12,963 votes, while his running mate, Rep. Clavel Martinez, recorded 13,806 votes against Vice Gov. Gregorio Sanchez Jr.’s 43,736 votes. (JPM/With KNT)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (May 17, 2007 issue)
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