Four-cornered fight mayoralty race

THE mayoralty race for the 2013 elections will be a four-cornered fight in Zamboanga City.

Four candidates have filed their certificate of candidacies (COCs) during the five-day period set by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for the filing of candidacy.

Comelec records showed the four candidates for mayor are deputy house speaker and first district Representative Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar, Liberal Party (LP); second district Representative Erico Basilio Fabian, Nacionalista Party (NP); former Zamboanga del Norte Representative Romeo Jalosjos, United Nationalist Alliance (UNA); and Alberto Cajayon, Lakas-CMD.

It will be a five-cornered fight in this city’s first and second congressional districts as five in each district have filed their COCs.

In the first district, the candidates are Mayor Celso Lobregat, Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP); former priest Crisanto Dela Cruz, UNA; Chrisler Cabarrubias, Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP); Cesar Climaco Jr., Independent; and Abdurahman Tagayan, Independent.

Climaco, who is a physician by profession, is the son of the late Mayor Cesar Climaco, who was assassinated in 1984.

The candidates in the second congressional district are former Vice Mayor Jose Manuel Dalipe, UNA; Councilor Lilia Nuño, Independent; Jose Lobregat, Adelante Zamboanga Party (AZaP); Francisco Enesando, Partido ng Manggagawa; and former vice mayor Abelardo Climaco Jr., Independent.

Lobregat is the younger brother of the incumbent Mayor Lobregat.

For the position of vice-mayor, it will be a four-cornered fight and the candidates are: reelectionist Cesar Iturralde, LDP; former Dapitan City Councilor Mercy Arquiza-Fernandez, UNA; former city councilor Luis Climaco, NP; and Alexander Francisco, Independent.

Meanwhile, there were 26 candidates who filed their COCs for city councilors in this city’s first district and 31 in the second district.