LIST: Celebrities who won seats, lead races in 2022 elections

MANILA, Philippines –  Several celebrities joined the race for local and national positions in the 2022 elections, with a handful of first-time runners and reelectionists emerging as victors. 

Partial and unofficial results from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) transparency server as of Wednesday, May 11, 4:39 pm showed that Robin Padilla, Arjo Atayde, Ejay Falcon, and Nash Aguas are set to win their first electoral bid. Meanwhile, celebrity-turned-politician couple Lucy Torres-Gomez and Richard Gomez are poised to swap posts in Leyte. 

Action star Robin Padilla emerged as the top candidate on his first try for the Senate, surpassing pre-election survey results wherein he usually ranked between 3rd to 4th. According to Comelec’s transparency server on Wednesday, Padilla garnered 26,428, 433 votes. 

Actress Lucy Torres-Gomez was proclaimed the winner of the mayoral race in Ormoc City, Leyte on Tuesday morning, May 10. The outgoing Leyte 4th District Representative secured a landslide win of 73,866 votes or 62.28% of the total votes over former Ormoc City mayor Edward “Ondo” Codilla.

Meanwhile, Lucy’s husband, outgoing Ormoc City Mayor Richard Gomez, is leading the bid for Leyte’s 4th District representative. Gomez received 148,941 votes or 55.81%, while his competitor Goyo Larrazabal is currently at 44.19% or a total of 117, 912 votes. 

Actor Arjo Atayde is set to win the House seat of Quezon City’s 1st District after garnering 111,742 votes or 66.85% of the total votes. His closest competitor, incumbent congressman Onyx Crisologo is at 31.44% or 52,554 votes. 

Actor, incumbent Vice Governor Jolo Revilla will take on the position of Cavite’s 1st District representative. He gathered 52.33% or 101,809 votes, with Paul Abaya trailing him closely at 47.67% or 92,761 of the total votes. 

Jolo’s mom, actress Lani Mercado-Revilla, meanwhile, won the bid for Cavite’s 2nd District representative by a landslide. The incumbent Bacoor City Mayor received 168,385 votes or 86.05% of the total votes.

Actor and Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Edition Plus winner Ejay Falcon is proclaimed the vice governor of Oriental Mindoro on Wednesday. Falcon garnered 226, 875 votes or 54. 99%. 

Actor Javi Benitez was proclaimed on Tuesday as the winner of the mayoral race in Victorias City, Negross Occidental, after receiving 36,263 votes or 73.23%.  

Actor Nash Aguas is set to enter his first foray into politics as a Cavite City councilor. The 23-year-old celebrity currently ranks second in the councilor list, with 29,600 votes. 

– Rappler.com