LOSING mayoral candidate Jose Gabriel "Pompee" La Viña broke his silence on Friday, May 17, after he lost his bid to reelected Mayor Oscar Moreno in the midterm elections.

In a statement he posted on his Facebook account, La Viña said he is thankful to those who believe in his "Bag-ong Cagayan" campaign.

"We honor all Kagay-anons who freely exercised their sovereign right to vote in the manner that the fathers of democracy and the framers of our constitution envisioned that to be. We are forever grateful to the almost 90,000 voters who dared to dream of a new Cagayan, our Bag-ong Cagayan. The dream lives on," La Viña said in a statement.

The Facebook post had 45 comments, 52 shares and more than 400 reactions as of 3 p.m., Sunday, May 19.

La Viña lost to Moreno by 68,338 votes. Moreno got a total of 159,172 votes while La Viña had 90,834 votes.

The former Agriculture undersecretary said he would spend quality time with his children after the election.

"Chill, sleep, quality time with my children. Look back with amazement and gratitude at our phenomenal campaign," La Viña said.

La Viña said he would likely stay in the city for good.

“CDO always and forever,” La Viña said when asked if he would stay in the city or go back to Manila after the election.