Incumbents emerge leaders in Caloocan City polls

Partial, unofficial tally of GMANews.TV based on the consolidation of transmitted election results showed that incumbents have so far dominated the local elections in Caloocan City. Mayor Enrico ‘Recom’ Echiverri received 227,466 votes as of 8:16 a.m., while his closest rival, former representative Luis ‘Baby’ Asistio got 135,744 votes. Echiverri, a Liberal Party member, is seeking his third term in office. His running mate, former Rep. Edgar Erice, got 171,299 votes while vice mayoral candidates and former city mayors Reynaldo Malonzo and Macario Asistio Jr. received 95,492 and 65,118 votes, respectively. The same trend emerge in the congressional race. Incumbent 1st District Rep. Oscar Malapitan was dominating the race with 142,412 votes while his closest rival, Vice Mayor Luis ‘Tito’ Varela got only 42,071 votes. In the second district, incumbent Rep. Mary Mitzi Cajayon received 76,386 votes while her closest rival, Antonio Mariano ‘Nani’ Almeda got 35,117 votes. Most of those seeking elective posts in Caloocan City are former elected city officials and many of them were once allies who became rivals or rivals who became allies. [See: No permanent allies, rivals in Caloocan politics] — Amita Legaspi/LBG, GMANews.TV