DAVAO CITY — A neophyte politician ended the 40-year rule of the del Rosario family over Davao del Norte province as the Commission on Elections (Comelec) proclaimed on Tuesday the winners in the May 13 elections.
Proclaimed winner for governor of Davao del Norte is Edwin Jubahib, winning over Rodney del Rosario, the son of former congressman and governor Rodolfo del Rosario who retired from politics in 2016.
The senior del Rosario held many positions as a former assemblyman, congressman, and former minister of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Jubahib got 282,335 votes as against the 169,982 votes of Rodney. Rodney’s brother, incumbent Davao del Norte Governor Anthony del Rosario lost to Pantaleon Alvarez as 1st District representative of the province.
Jubahib and Alvarez were proclaimed winners for governor and first district representative, respectively, on Tuesday afternoon. Both Jubahib and Alvarez ran under the ticket of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).
In a statement on Tuesday, Jubahib said his victory is the victory of people of Davao del Norte, especially the poor.
“Ako nagpasalamat sa taga DavNor sa ilang pagmahal sa probinsya, ang akong saad adtung kampanya .. akong saad akong tumanon para maangkon na sa katawhan ang dugay na nilang gipangandoy nga serbisyo sa Davao del Norte (I thank the people of Davao del Norte, their love for the province. I will fulfill the promise I made to the people during the election for better service in Davao del Norte that they have been dreaming),” Jubahib said.
“Utang kabubut-on nako sa katawhan nga dili nako makalimtan (I will never forget my indebtedness to the people),” he added.
Incumbent 2nd District Representative Antonio Floirendo also lost to PDP-Laban’s Aldu Dujali.
Floirendo said he was asked by his supporters what possibly went wrong after the surprising defeat of many HNP candidates in Davao del Norte.
“To this I say — nothing went wrong. Only that money overflowed a day before election and voters chose money over principle, over their future. As they say, voters deserve the government they choose. The people have spoken, so be it,” Floirendo said.
He appealed to the people of the second district of the province to be vigilant.
“Be wary and keep watch of the officials you voted for. For I do not know for certain how they would be able to recoup the money they spent in this election,” he said.
Floirendo, who served a total of 12 years as a member of the House of Representatives and 10 years as barangay captain, said his family has shared with the people of Davao del Norte, for the past half a century, “the best we could offer.”
“I pray that our province would continue to prosper under the new leaders the majority voted for,” he said.
He vowed to continue to be of service to the people of Davao del Norte for the remaining weeks of his term as congressman, seeing to it that all projects lined up for this year would not be hampered.
Floirendo said he served truthfully and “I could proudly say that straight into anyone’s eyes. I tell you we did not fail, for we chose an honorable and dignified campaign. Rest assured that there are more to life than politics,” he added. (PNA)
