Special elections in Samar is over

By NINFA B. QUIRANTE
June 4, 2010

CATBALOGAN CITY  –  The special elections that stirred some 492 voters in Barangay Buenos Aires, Pagsanghan, Samar is finally over.

Along with areas in Mindanao, a special election was set here as the ballots were inadvertently delivered to Guimbal, Iloilo on the scheduled regular election in May.

So yesterday, the whole Samar province watched closely how the elections in this little village will be.

“Even, the COMELEC Regional Director, Atty. Nick Mendros personally witnessed the elections along with a formidable group of security men composed of PNP and government soldiers,“ said Renato Gaditano, Comelec Officer of Pagsanghan.

Samarnons were not anymore interested in other candidates but the local ones, as the 492 votes from Buenos Aires was to spell the difference in the mayoralty contest between Ruben Palma and Jim Canones.

As a result, taken from Gaditano, it was Ruben Palma who won with Vice-Mayor Alicia Repol getting total votes of 2747 and 2749 respectively.

Councilors who won included Domingo Ceracas, Quintiliano Palma, Jr, Leonardo Repol, Edgar Tan, Noel Repol, Regina Bestudio, Adelina Carmona and Sabina Lozada.

“The two opposing parties have each four winners,” added Gaditano.

Then mayor, Violeto Ceracas who ran as Vice Mayor in the other party lost.

Little is known about the new mayor, except that this is the first time he joined politics, having worked as an employee of Samelco I.