Jalosjos proclaimed mayor in Dapitan

DAPITAN CITY (UPDATED) – After 6 gruelling days of delayed counting and canvassing, reelectionist Mayor Rosalina Jalosjos was proclaimed as the winner in the city’s mayoralty race past noon on Saturday, May 18.

Jalosjos got 26,407 votes over her challenger, former Dipolog City mayor Evelyn Uy, who got 20,642 votes.

Dapitan has 57,434 registered voters.

Jalosjos’ running mate, vice mayoralty bet Jimmy Israel Patrick Chan, and 9 candidates for councilors on her team were also proclaimed winners.

Uy’s camp only produced one winner in the Dapitan City races – candidate for city councilor Jezebel Balisado.

Meanwhile, the fight for Zamboanga del Norte governor remained tight between Zamboanga del Norte 1st District Representative Seth Frederick “Bullet” Jalosjos and reelectionist Governor Roberto Uy.

Governor Uy is the husband of Evelyn Uy, while Bullet is the nephew of Mayor Jalosjos. 

As of 11:10 am on Saturday, Governor Uy got 212,106 votes while Bullet got 208,363 votes, with returns from more than 50 precincts yet to to be counted.

Bullet’s camp remained hopeful that they could beat their rival. 

“And we still have [the results from the town of] Siayan, which is also our bailiwick in the 2nd District,” he said.

The lawmaker added that they sent an urgent motion to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Manila to declare a failure of Sirawai because of what he called “massive terrorism” used by incumbent Mayor Gamar Janihim during the conduct of election and the “highly improbable” election results in the town.

On the night of May 16, at least 46 watchers of Janihim’s challenger, Romeo Cariño, arrived in Dipolog City to air their complaints before the Comelec provincial office and to demand that a failure of election be declared in Sirawai.

The watchers said they were mauled, threatened, and their voters were barred from entering the polling places.

“In my precinct, watchers of Mayor Janihim shaded the ballots and fed it into the machines,” said a watcher, a Tausug.

Another watcher  claimed he was mauled by Janihim’s men and the police and soldiers did not do anything.

Evelyn Uy’s attempt at Dapitan had been difficult from the start. While the Uy clan is known for their dominance in Dipolog City as well as other seats in the provincial government, this was their first jab at Dapitan City, a known Jalosjos territory.

Uy faced issues regarding her candidacy following a petition filed by her opponent due to her not being a resident of Dapitan City.

The former mayor of Dipolog City  also campaigned together with party-list group Anti-Crime and Terrorism through Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS), which is backed by news anchor Erwin Tulfo. This backfired at Uy after Tulfo made comments that insulted Dapitanons and resulted in the broadcaster’s being declared  as persona non grata in Dapitan City.

Rosalina Jalosjos’ third term as Dapitan mayor extends her clan’s grasp over the city for more than a decade. – with a report from Maria Victoria Tenido Te/Rappler.com