Cua lords it over in Catanduanes

LEGAZPI CITY --- Despite his suspension order, incumbent Catanduanes Gov. Joseph Cua is on top of the race by a big margin over his three political rivals.

Partial and unofficial count from the Commission and Election (Comelec) and the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) as of 3:00 p.m. Tuesday showed Cua garnering 85,306 votes.

His closest rival incumbent Catanduanes Rep. Cesar Sarmiento (PDPLBN) only had 59,841 votes, followed by Fernando Chavez who got 1,212 votes, and Marlon Suplig (Lakas) with only 1,184 votes.

Cua in an interview expressed his thanks for the overwhelming support despite the issues being slapped against him.

Vice gubernatorial candidate Shirley Abundo (PFP), is also headed to a landslide victory with 104,376 votes so far, compared to rivals Roderick Tapel (NPC) who had only 10,999 votes, and Emmanuel Rodulfor (Ind) with only 7,041 votes.

In the congressional race, former Gov. Hector Sanchez who ran as an independent candidate is besting his three other rivals.

Sanchez has 56,638 votes so far while former Gov. Araceli Wong (NP) got 44,204 votes. Jorge Sarmiento (Kusog Bicolandia) got 40,774 votes while Joseph Santiago (NPC) had only 5,600 votes.

The votes counted are already 99.72 percent of the 161,549 votes cast in the island province last Monday, May 13.