Sarmiento runs for Congress; Uy for Calbayog City mayor

(This news item appears in today's edition of the Leyte-Samar Daily Express)

TACLOBAN CITY — Samar outgoing Representative Reynaldo Uy and Mayor Mel Senen Sarmiento of Calbayog are to swap positions as both have filed their respective certificates of candidacy for mayor and congressman, respectively, before the local Commission on Elections.

Sarmiento’s bid to become the next congressional representative of Samar’s first district came at a time when the Comelec en banc has dismissed the electoral protest filed against him by a former political adversary, Rodolfo Tuazon, who contested the results of the 2007 mayoralty race.

Uy, who is serving his third and last term as a congressman, filed his certificate of candidacy for mayor of Calbayog City on Saturday around 10 a.m. together with his complete line up headed by his running mate, incumbent Vice Mayor Ronaldo Aquino.

Uy, who already served as mayor of the lone city of Samar province, is running under the ticket of the Liberal Party-Lakas-Kampi- CMD.

Sarmiento, meantime, filed his own certificate of candidacy before the provincial Comelec office based in Catbalogan, the provincial capital, together with his gubernatorial candidate, Casilda Lim, an incumbent board member.

But while Sarmiento is running under the ticket of Liberal Party, the gubernatorial candidate belongs to the Nationalist People’s Coalition.

The outgoing Calbayog City mayor filed his certificate of candidacy Saturday around 2 p.m. before elections provincial supervisor Ma. Corazon Montallana. His close political ally, Rep. Uy, also witnessed the filing of his CoC, Ronald Ricafort, a close aide of Mayor Sarmiento, said over the phone.

“They were in jovial mood all throughout,” Ricafort said.

Among those who will be running for provincial board members under the lineup of Sarmiento and who filed their CoCs were Renato Uy, Jasper Sumagang, Prudencio Dy, Jr., Noel Sermense and Charlie Conejos.

Meantime, those who will be running for council seats of Calbayog, which is divided into two districts, under the ticket of Uy were Susano Salurio, Arturo Pasacas, Virgil Clemens, Jonas Montealto, Regina Rabuya, Julius Mancol, Danilo Bernate, Ver Porlares and Roger Casurao, an incumbent board member.

Also part of the line up were Rey James and Raymund Uy, son and nephew of Rep. Uy, respectively, and Mark Aquino, nephew of the vice mayor.

It was learned from Ricafort that before Uy filed his certificate of candidacy, he and his team attended first a Holy Mass at the Poor Claire Monastery with Father Bloyd Guiuan as the presiding priest.

Meantime, Sarmiento, who is on his third and final term as mayor of Calbayog, won the electoral protest filed against him.

In an en banc decision issued by the Comelec earlier this month, the commissioners, voting seven against two, junked the petition of rival Rodolfo Tuazon.

Based on the 2,977-page Comelec decision, Sarmiento garnered a total vote cast of 32, 259 against Tuazon’s 28,530 votes or a difference of 3,729 votes.

“Though the decision came rather late, the mayor was very happy that he won on this electoral protest against him,” Ricafort said. (By JOEY A. GABIETA, Staff writer)