Legacion, Team Naga proclaimed

VICTORS. Winning Naga candidates, led by incoming mayor Nelson Legacion, bind themselves in a clasp of unity after their proclamation by the Board of Canvassers Tuesday night at SP Naga session hall.

TEAM NAGA PHOTO

NAGA CITY --- Despite allegations of massive vote-buying and sustained media barrage from the rival camp, Team Naga, led by the tandem of mayoral candidate Nelson Legacion and vice mayoral candidate Nene de Asis topped the local electoral race here through convincing winning margins over their foes.

The ‘ubos kun ubos’ sweep, however, was for the first time snatched off of its perfect winning form after 9 election years that Team Naga never lost a single slot in the local electoral contest. Dentist Jess Albeus, an independent candidate for city councilor, clinched the 10th final slot, with Team Naga garnering only 9 seats for the 10-man council slate. Re-electionist Jun Lavadia failed to make it as he landed in the 12th rank.

For nine election years since 1992 under then Mayor Jesse Robredo, Team Naga never had lost a seat, sweeping all the races up until the local election in 2016.

Liberal Party standard bearer Nelson Legacion, incumbent vice mayor, ruled it over in the mayoral race pulling a total of 41,591 votes, against businessman Tato Mendoza’s 33,707 votes, according to the certificate of canvass released by the Commission on Elections here on Tuesday evening when the poll winners were finally proclaimed by the Board of Canvassers at the session hall of the Sangguniang Panglunsod here.

Vice mayoral candidate Nene de Asis won by as much as 87.13 percent of the votes cast, with 59,461 votes garnered while her rival, Lito Miranda, could only chalk up 8,114 votes.

In the race for city councilor, youthful newcomer Oying Rosales, 26-year old son of then topnotch city councilor Boboy Rosales made a phenomenal entry by topping the contest with 41,362 votes, followed closely by second-termer partymate Lito del Rosario with his 40,495 votes.

And the rest of the winning councilors follow: Greg Abonal (38,058 votes); Miles Raquid Arroyo (37,661); Elmer Baldemoro (37,502); Vidal Castillo (36,664); Badong del Castillo (36,611); Sonny Ranola (36,289); Joe Perez (35,178), and: Albeus (34,945).

Per records from the Comelec here, only 79,750 of the 105,366 registered voters in the city actually voted. This means a voters’ turnout of only 75.68%, which is traditionally the norm during mid-term elections but becomes relatively higher during presidential elections.