Ex-SC justice Velasco is new Marinduque governor

Lian Buan

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Ex-SC justice Velasco is new Marinduque governor

Rappler

A new dynasty is born in Marinduque: Velasco's son is also reelected representative while his wife is mayor-elect of Torrijos town

MANILA, Philippines – Presbitero Velasco Jr. successfully completes his transition from the judiciary to politics, after winning by a landslide the gubernatorial elections in his home province of Marinduque.

Velasco, who retired as Supreme Court justice in August 2018, won as governor by a large margin over his closest rival, independent candidate Reynaldo Salvacion. Velasco got 66,526 votes while Salvacion received 34,347.

Velasco’s win also completed the toppling of the Reyes dynasty in the province, with Violetta Reyes getting only 5,015 votes in the polls.

Velasco is the candidate of the ruling PDP-Laban party; his family enjoys the backing of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Lord Allan, Velasco’s son, was reelected representative of Marinduque also by a huge margin – 95,067 votes against the 5,488 votes of United Nationalist Alliance or UNA’s Harold Lim.

In Torrijos, the family matriarch Lorna ran unopposed as mayor.

The Velasco family has certainly built a new dynasty this 2019, a considerable feat since it was only in 2010 when Lord Allan first joined local politics.

That year, Lord Allan led a formidable challenge to the Reyes dynasty, unseating a Reyes in Congress – thanks to a Supreme Court decision when his father was still at the High Court.

The older Velasco inhibited in the decision that upheld the Commission on Elections ruling that Lord Allan’s opponent Regina did not comply with the one-year residency requirement for elected officials.

Both President Duterte and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte have said that Lord Allan may be the next Speaker of the House.

From 2016 until his retirement, the ex-justice concurred in all Supreme Court rulings that favored Duterte’s policies. Rappler.com

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Lian Buan

Lian Buan is a senior investigative reporter, and minder of Rappler's justice, human rights and crime cluster.