The Eastern Samar Community Blog

City of Borongan – The recent barangay elections showed that people favored new leadership as most serving punong barangays failed to capitalize on their incumbency to regain command of their bailiwicks. Only 15 of the 38 incumbents who run again for the position of punong barangay were able to return to their positions.

Twenty-three incumbents did not vie for the same position. Three of them have completed their three terms in office, five opted to run for barangay kagawad, two had their spouses run for their vacated office, and one had his wife run for barangay kagawad. The rest simply rested from politics.

Poblacion

The punong barangays in the main poblacion area are all new. Punong Barangays Carlos Cargando, Edgar Amoyo and Flora Alido, the incumbent ABC President, of Barangays A, B and C respectively, opted to give way to new candidates while Punong Barangays Felino Cargando and Nestor Solayao of Barangays D1 and F respectively chose to run for barangay kagawads instead. The new chairmen of the above barangays are Joselito Villarino (A), Arnulfo Arma (B), Jose Bula (C), Joselito Operario (D1) and Nelson Salazar (F). Punong Barangay Rodito Capito, a former ABC President, lost to a candidate with the same surname, Annabelle Capito, in Barangay D2; PB Sonny Badiola of Brgy. E lost to Erlinda Langomes, a former punong barangay whom Badiola defeated in 2002; PB Helena Bagas lost to Gil Estrobo, her former strong supporter in Brgy. G; and PB Zenaida Bejar lost to Glenn Escoto, in Brgy. H.

In the extension barangays of the poblacion, meaning the barangays which are contiguous to the poblacion but are not usually considered as part of the main poblacion, the incumbents had different lucks.

The women punong barangays who run the three barangays just south of the main pobalcion retained their seats. Punong Barangay Lilia Arceño of Bato lost in only one precinct but won considerably in the other precincts of their barangay. Punong Barangay Teresa Alconaba of Barangay Alang-alang proved to be a formidable incumbent against her challengers. Punong Barangay Rosita Colico on the other hand got saved by a technicality. Punong Barangay Alex Apigo of Barangay Campesao, a barangay to the west of the poblacion, had no sweat winning as his strongest rival mistakenly filed a Certificate of Candidacy for the position of Barangay Kagawad. Incumbent Carpio Sabas of Barangay Balud failed to retain his seat, garnering votes good only for a far third place among four candidates in their barangay. Anecito Godino edged his closest rival to become the new chairman of Balud.

The same fate fell on Punong Barangay Magpili of Barangay Songco who lost to the former chairman of their barangay, Antonio Baria, whom he has beaten in 2002 when they ran against each other only.

This time Magpili ran with two other candidates from the same area of their barangay while Baria got a solid support from his area of Songco. Sabang South incumbent Punong Barangay Glenda Avizo gave way to her husband, Rene Avizo, who won while Sabang North incumbent Punong Barangay Enrico Villero gave way to one of his kagawads who lost the race to Juan Tuñacao.

Loom and Northwest Area

PB Romeo Ganaba of San Gabriel was the lone incumbent to have retained his seat in the Loom area of the city. PB Rodrigo Costuna lost to Esteban Ambil in San Jose while PB Fidel Apura lost to Alberto Algo in Siha.

On the other hand, incumbents Amador Artiga and Michaela Arre of Sohutan and Calico-an respectively decided to run for kagawads instead of attempting of getting reelected. Sohutan’s new chair is Celestino Capito while Calico-an has Jumel Manlapaz. In the northwest area, PB Julito Delmonte was able to retain his seat in San Andres, same with PB Edwin Castillo of San Mateo. PB Leonardo Fabula of Calingatngan lost to Jesus Cardona while PB Nilda Baybin lost to Panfilo Catalo in Surok.

Southern Barangays and Panalugon Area

Only PB Edelina Beros of Lalawigan and PB Gregorio Ador of Camada were able to retain their positions. PB Eliseo Ana of Can-abong lost to Maria Fe Apura; PB Juanito Alconaba of Cabong got beaten by Rogelio Basada; PB Felimon Batula of Divinubo was defeated by Amparo Catudio; and PB Cesar Basilga of Suribao failed against Jesus Grafil. PB Exequiel Busa of Locso-on did not push through with his plan to run for reelection and his barangay now has a new chair in Nelson Capones. Along the Panalugon area, barangays along and within the vicinity of the Suribao River which separates the City of Borongan and the Municipality of Maydolong, only Benowangan’s PB Gregorio Bajado and Banuyo’s PB Teofilo Casimo, were able to hold on to their positions.

The new punong barangays of Panalugon are Nelly Andia of Pinanag-an (whose incumbent is the husband of the Nelly Andia); Felipe Dalina of Baras; Oscar Abenales of Hebacong; Tarsiano Macasujot of Canyopay (whose incumbent did not run for reelection anymore); Alfredo Capones of Cabalagnan and Juliet Granflor of San Gregorio.

Northern Barangays

In the northern barangays whose total votes almost equals to the number of poblacion votes, the punong barangays who were able to retain their leadership are Claro Cidro of Sta. Fe, Marcelino Legion of San Saturnino, Rogelio Obina of Bayobay, and Rodrigo Brozas of Canlaray. The barangays which incumbents lost to their challengers are Bugas (PB Bernardita Pombo to Donato Alamin, Jr.), Tabunan (PB Leo Agda to Jovencio Batinga), Pepelitan (PB Floriano Afable to Grace Palacio Alcantara), Maybacong (PB Jaime Amosco to Floria Beros), Balacdas (PB Gregorio Palada to Romeo Cidro), and Libuton (PB Hipolito Gavilan, Sr. to Damian Cillo). On the other hand, the barangays which incumbents did not run for reelection, have already completed their three terms, or opted to run for barangay kagawad instead, have the following winning punong barangays: Amantacop (Nilo Baleña), Ando (Elmer Beros), Canjaway (Ernesto Anacio), Can-aga (Silverio Traboco), Hindang (Erwin Adena), Maypangdan (Ednar Padro), Punta Maria (Nilda Anacta), San Pablo (Zosimo Costuna), and Tamoso (Prisca Durango).

Victories and Losses

The victory of Campesao’s PB Apigo could be the most expected. According to some sources Apigo was already on the watch while the clock slowly ticked last October 18, the last day of the filing for certificates of candidacy (COC). He was hoping that his strongest challenger, Grace Maglalang, an incumbent kagawad, would not be able to change her mistaken COC, which she filed three days before.

There was another candidate challenging Apigo but she was totally out of the race as residents of Campesao already congratulated Apigo for what happened to Maglalang.

In Balud, Jed Palada showed leads over Godino. But his small leads in most of the precincts were flattened by Godino’s large lead in one (1) precinct where Palada only got 42 to Godino’s 88. In Barangay G, only three voters spelled the loss of PB Bagas (117) to Estrobo (122). The loss was doubly painful as Brian James Bagas, son of PB Bagas, also lost by only one (1) vote to his rival, Noelle-an Catalo, in the SK election.

According to some sources Estrobo decided to file his candidacy when Bagas announced that she was not running for reelection anymore. But when Bagas decided to change her mind, Estrobo could no longer back out from the race. The defeat of Bagas was also a loss for City Mayor Fidel Anacta, Jr., who supported Bagas. Sources said however that it was a victory to his elder brother, Nilo Anacta, who is a known close ally of Estrobo. But the bigger picture is that the race between Bagas and Estobro could have a bitter and undesirable reverberation for the Anactas in 2010.

A fellow Anacta supporter also got a beating in Barangay D2. PB Capito’s loss was a manifestation that barangay election is first of all a family affair. His big source of win in 2002 became his greatest loss this year. The Bagacay Clan who numbers about 69 voters decided to side with the woman Capito. With only 174 voters casting their votes, it was clear as early as the first 100 ballots that a change in leadership was in the air as Annabelle got 68 to Rudy’s 31 only, with one (1) voter deciding to leave his or her ballot blank. When the reading of the last 74 ballots was almost halfway, Annabelle already got the needed number to win the contest. PB Magpili was also a victim of the familial and more personal nature of barangay election. In 2002, he was able to deny Baria a continuation of his public service when they faced one-on-one with each of them getting the necessary support from their respective areas of the barangay. This time Magpili had to contend also with two other candidates who are from his side of the barangay while Baria had a solid support from his area being the lone candidate there.

The election also showed that accomplishments matter a lot. Though PB Arceño got trampled in one precinct of their barangay as she got only 53 while her closest rival Juan Capangpangan, who run for municipal council last May local election but lost, had 90, she overwhelmingly covered the deficit as she got big leads in all the other precincts. But she was almost a sure winner as she was able to give her barangay the best service a chairman could give with accomplishments that other barangays could envy such as the only covered gym in the city, two (2) day care centers, income from their sand and gravel operation, active involvement in programs and projects particularly those involving the development of people, and more.

Alang-alang’s PB Teresita Alconaba was also able to retain her position as some voters questioned the lack of accomplishments of her challenger, Louie Abellar, an incumbent kagawad.

Meanwhile in Taboc, Punong Barangay Colico was originally being challenged by one Emily Aquino. However, before the start of the campaign, Aquino died. Another Aquino, by the name of Elsa, filed her candidacy for the same position. But having the same surname as the deceased candidate proved mortal to Elsa as votes with only the surname “Aquino” being written were credited to the deceased in accordance with the rules in the appreciation of ballots by the Comelec assuring the incumbent Colico a reelection.

But not all winners seem to be very happy. One winning punong barangay is said to be unsatisfied with the number of votes that he garnered. The source said that it could be that he was not able to get as much votes as he has “paid for”. “Kakulop an iya asawa an nag-iinisog, yana hiya naman,” said a tricycle driver who is a fellow resident of the winning candidate in this particular barangay two days after the barangay election.

Reasons, Excuses and Technicalities

Many voters say that lack of accomplishment was the reason why many punong barangays decided not to run for reelection anymore or for opting to go down as barangay kagawads only. Some however had to evade technicalities because of the lack of residence in the barangay they are serving.

Such is the case of PB Nestor Solayao of Brgy. F. In order to avoid being dragged into the controversy of being a candidate once again when he does not have a residence in the barangay anymore he decided to run for a mere kagawad from being a kapitan.

But it seems that not everybody is conscious about this important requirement. Voters of Brgy. H did not seem to care about this at all as both of their candidates lack the necessary residency requirement. The incumbent is actually a resident of Brgy. Campesao while the punong barangay-elect lives in Rawis, Alang-alang.

Campesao’s topnotcher during this election, Atty. Benjamin Alar, has only a cottage to boast of as residence, according to a resident of the barangay. Though he is a natural-born Boronganon, he has been living and working in Metro Manila and does not have a real domicile in the barangay which could be considered to fulfill the requirements of the law. His running for barangay kagawad is believed to be a prelude to a higher position in the future. He was rumored to be running for mayor last May local elections but since Mayor Anacta is a classmate batchmates advised that he wait until their classmate finishes his term.

Vote Buying

Vote buying has reached an alarming level during this election according to some voters. Some candidates even affirm that it is really more expensive nowadays to run for barangay position than a municipal or provincial position.

“Hukip” as it is popularly called ranged from P 20 to P 100 for barangay kagawads while for the punong barangay it ranged from P 50 to as much as P 500 with some giving out as much as P 1,000 to some voters.

“Mamakaharadlok pa an kanan SK kay labot nga nga ginha-house an iba, inabot pa an iba nga paralitay botos hin P 1,000 ngada P 3,000,” said one voter. Some SK candidates even brought selected voters to as far as Sulat and Jasmin Beach Resort.

“Waray ko nama hin botante, pinanago naman,” lamented a father of a candidate for SK Chairman in one of the poblacion barangays.

Trouble is no one would file any complaint with the Comelec with regards to vote-buying. Everybody seems to expect money from candidates to care about doing so. Moreover, it is hard to get witnesses and harder still to prove the candidate who buys votes since they are not personally doing it. Some parents are even involved in SK vote-buying hence no complaints are ever filed even when they complain about their children being housed for one or a few days before the election. This early talk about how much candidates would spend during the elections for ABC and SK Federation already abound.