Cabilao’s daughter faces Zamboanga Sibugay governor in congressional race

A scion of a political family in Zamboanga Sibugay is running for congresswoman in the province’s 1st District against Governor Wilter Palma.

Ma. Florence Cabilao Yambao filed her certificate of candidacy before the provincial office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday morning, October 6.

Yambao, a physician by profession, is the daughter of former congresswoman Belma Cabilao, who served in the province’s then lone district from 2001 to 2007. 

Her mother became the first congresswoman of Zamboanga Sibugay’s 1st District in 2007, the year the province was divided into two congressional districts.

Dr. Yambao ran for Congress in 2019 against Representative Wilter Palma II, son of the incumbent governor, but lost. Now, Palma is seeking to succeed his father in the capitol, as the latter would be squaring off with Yambao in the 2022 elections.

Her brother Jonathan is a member of the provincial board and is seeking reelection in Zamboanga Sibugay’s 1st District.

Governor Palma, who is serving his last term as governor, filed his certificate of candidacy before the provincial office of the Comelec on Friday, October 1.

Palma first won as governor of the province in 2013 under the Liberal Party (LP). 

In 2016, he was reelected under LP but switched to the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan in 2019. – Rappler.com

Antonio Manaytay is a Mindanao-based journalist and an awardee of the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship