Celebrities who won, lost in midterm polls
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Tue, 14 May 2019 13:47:31 +0000
RESOUNDING success or resounding defeat.
Depending on which side of the spectrum one is, that’s the best way to describe the results of the elections on Monday.
While the senatorial elections saw the imminent comeback of two actors – Lito Lapid who is secure at No. 7 and Ramon “Bong” Revilla at No. 10 as of posting time – Isko Moreno has wrested the mayorship in the country’s capital of the City of the Manila from incumbent and former president Joseph “Erap” Estrada.
Moreno, Francisco Domagoso in real life, was a basurero (garbage man) from Smokey Mountain when he was discovered by talent manager Wowie Roxas at a wake in Tondo. He became a member of German Moreno’s youth-oriented afternoon show “That’s Entertainment” and made movies under Seiko Films and became leading man to numerous young actresses, including Claudine Barretto.
He ran and won as councilor, then Vice Mayor to Estrada on his first term. Promised that Estrada was running only one time, Moreno joined Grace Poe’s ticket in the presidential elections in 2016 as senatorial candidate when Estrada broke his promise and ran and won again. He served a couple of government positions under the Duterte administration when the one-year ban of candidates elapsed.
Days before the elections, Moreno admitted to The Manila Times Entertainment that he had little academic qualification when he entered public service. But his efforts to arm himself with proper education bore fruits – courses in Local Legislation and Finance from the University of the Philippines; a degree in Public Administration from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila; and additional Government and Leadership courses at Harvard University in the US and Oxford University in the United Kingdom.
“I can safely say na puwede na talaga ngayon maghangad maging mayor, kasi kung experience din lang ang pag-uusapan, pati karanasan sa akademiya, meron din ako,” he said.
With youth on his side, Domagoso battled the “Goliaths” of the city – Estrada and former Mayor Alfredo Lim. As a former basurero, he ran on the advocacy to rid Manila of garbage, which is a major complaint of residents and those who work in the capital, among many others.
“Nabigyan na natin sila nang sapat na panahon para ayusin ang Maynila kaya hindi na puwede yung attitude na patapusin na lang natin [Erap on his third and last term] at kawawa naman. Why? Kasi, alam mo naman na hindi na nakabubuti. So it’s time.”
One Manila voter told The Manila Times Entertainment on Saturday night that he and his family were voting for Moreno because “dinadala kasi ni Erap ang power ng San Juan sa Maynila, kaya hindi na maganda yun, idagdag pa ang basura na nakakalat sa buong lungsod.”
And so on Monday, Manileños voted Moreno into the mayoralty ending the five-decade Estrada dynasty in the metropolis. Erap himself was reportedly shocked that he lost in his own barangay. The results showed Moreno getting 354,327 against Estrada’s 208,561 with 99.06 percent of election returns counted as of posting time.
On the other side of the metro in Pasig City, Vico Sotto, son of popular showbiz personalities Vic Sotto and Coney Reyes, won as mayor and ended the rule of the Eusebios who have been dominant since 1992.
The young Sotto campaigned on the motto “Iba Naman,” taking a swipe at the 27-year reign of the family that dominated the politics in Pasig. He became councilor in the city’s first district in 2016. He ran without a vice mayor or councilors in his ticket. His only ally in the elections was comebacking House Representative Roman Romulo who was congressman from 2007 to 2016.
Sotto completed a degree in Political Science from the Ateneo de Manila University and worked as Legislative Staff Officer for the Quezon City Council for two years where he realized that an elective official could do so much if one wanted to change society. “I would be able to contribute more in a shorter span of time,” he said.
Taking a different path from his parents and equally popular cousins and uncles, Sotto told The Manila Times Entertainment in June last year at the US-PH Exchange Alumni event that he really wanted to serve the people and expressed his desire to run as Pasig City mayor as early as then. He is an alumus of the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Professional Fellows Program. He represented the Philippines and Pasig City and worked for a month in the State of Iowa Public Information Board.
With 98.74 percent of the votes counted, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) proclaimed Sotto on Tuesday with 206,751 votes against Bobby Eusebio’s 121,032.
In San Juan, an Estrada bailiwick since 1969, Francis Zamora on his second try in the mayoralty elections, toppled the dynasty of 50 years when he won over Janella Estrada, the former president’s granddaughter by son, Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, who also lost in his comeback Senate bid after getting released from jail due to the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam.
When the older Estrada became Senator in 1992, his son Jinggoy took over until 2001. Then his son JV by Guia Gomez became mayor until 2010. When JV became House Representative, Gomez took the reins.
Zamora could only express victory in finally dismantling the Estrada dynasty with 35,060 votes against Janella’s 24,813.
Still in San Juan, actor-host Edu Manzano was not as lucky as former wife actress Vilma Santos, the mother of his son Lucky, when he was beaten by Ronny Zamora, father of Francis, 35,386 to 23,627.
Other celebrities in the winning circle
Lipa City Representative Vilma Santos.
Bulacan Governor Daniel Fernando.
Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez.
Ormoc City Fourth District Representative Lucy Torres-Gomez.
Bacoor City Mayor Lani Mercado.
Cavite Vice Govenor Jolo Revilla.
Camarines Sur Vice Governor Imelda Papin.
Quezon City Fifth District Representative Alfred Vargas.
Las Piñas City Representative Camille Villar.
Pampanga Second District Representative Mikey Arroyo.
Parañaque City First District Paranaque Vandolf Quizon.
Parañaque City First District Jomari Yllana.
Makati City First District Councilor Jhong Hilario.
Losing candidates
Jinggoy Estrada, Senatorial candidate.
Freddie Aguilar, Senatorial candidate.
ER Ejercito, Laguna Governor candidate.
Monsour del Rosario, Makati City Vice Mayor candidate.
Jeremy Marquez, Parañaque City Vice Mayor candidate.
Gary Estrada, Cainta Vice Mayor candidate.
Roderick Paulate, Vice Mayor candidate.
Andrea del Rosario, Calatagan, Batangas Vice Mayor candidate.
Richard Yap, Cebu City First District Representative candidate.
Yeng Guiao, Pampanga First District Representative candidate.
Dominic Ochoa, Parañaque Second District Councilor candidate.
Rommel Padilla, Nueva Ecija First District Representative candidate.
THE MANILA TIMES ENTERTAINMENT REPORTORIAL TEAM
The post Celebrities who won, lost in midterm polls appeared first on The Manila Times Online.