Emano runs for Congress, Gingoog vice mayor seeks top post in Misamis Oriental

Misamis Oriental Governor Yevgeny “Bambi” Emano is reclaiming his old congressional post.

He led the regional party Padayon Pilipino’s entire ticket in filing certificates of candidacy for the province’s key positions on Tuesday afternoon, October 5.

Emano filed his COC for congressman in the province’s 2nd District alongside Padayon Pilipino’s gubernatorial bet Peter Unabia and his 1st District congressman son Christian, reelectionist Vice Governor Jeremy Jonahmar Pelaez, and candidates for the provincial board.

The 46-year-old Emano – whose father Vicente was the erstwhile political kingpin of Misamis Oriental and Cagayan de Oro – is serving his third and final term as the province’s governor.

His candidacy put to end almost three years of speculation that he would run for Cagayan de Oro mayor as he concludes his nine years of governorship like his late father who became the city’s mayor after his stint as governor.

Emano has been in politics for years. His first job after finishing college was the mayorship of his hometown of Tagoloan where his father also started his political career.

He was Tagoloan’s mayor from 1998 to 2007, and then served as representative of Misamis Oriental’s 2nd District from 2007 until he was elected governor in 2013.

Emano’s sister Nadya and brother-in-law Prexy were former Cagayan de Oro city councilors while their late uncle, Paulino, was also a former mayor of Tagoloan town. 

Nadya filed on Tuesday morning her COC for mayor of Tagoloan, a political bailiwick the Emanos lost to now reelectionist Mayor Gomer Sabio.

Peter Unabia

Gingoog Vice Mayor Unabia, Emano’s preferred successor, also filed his COC for Misamis Oriental’s gubernatorial post.

The 60-year-old Unabia was a three-term congressman representing the 1st District of Misamis Oriental. Constitutionally barred from seeking another term, he ran for vice mayor of Gingoog, a component city of the province, in 2019.

Unabia’s son Christian is serving his first term as the district’s congressman while another son, Aaron Paul, is the mayor of Balingoan town in eastern Misamis Oriental. 

An agricultural entrepreneur, elder Unabia owns the Señor San Pedro Litson Manok chain found in many parts of the country.

The 2022 elections in Misamis Oriental will be a three-way fight between Unabia, Cagayan de Oro Mayor Oscar Moreno, and Misamis Oriental 2nd District Representative Juliette Uy, who comes from another political family in the province.

Moreno and Uy, and members of their tickets have yet to file their COCs as of this posting. – Rappler.com

Froilan Gallardo is a Mindanao-based journalist and an awardee of the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship