Negros Oriental elected Bayawan City Mayor Pryde Henry Teves as its new governor.
Teves of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, who was proclaimed as the winner by the Provincial Board of Canvassers, Tuesday afternoon, May 10, garnered 296,897 votes against incumbent Governor Roel Degamo, with 277,462.
Degamo of the Nacionalista Party was gunning for his third and final term.
But an independent candidate that goes by the name of Ruel Degamo may have spoiled his reelection bid after securing 49,039 votes.
The governor said on his Facebook page that the votes for Ruel Degamo should be counted in his favor, “Ruel being a nuisance candidate.”
He also shared a copy of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) decision on his petition to declare Ruel Degamo a nuisance candidate and to cancel his certificate of candidacy, with the poll body ruling in his favor.
The COMELEC Second Division resolution, which was promulgated on Dec. 16, 2021 and signed by Presiding Commissioner Socorro Inting and Commissioner Antonio Kho Jr., said that Ruel Degamo is known as Grego Gaudia and that he only used the nickname Ruel and surname Degamo for the 2022 national and local elections.
The resolution said the two Degamos will “necessarily confuse the voters and render worthless a vote for a Degamo during the appreciation of ballots, thus, preventing the determination of the choice and true will of the electorate.”
It also said that Ruel Degamo “clearly lacks the means to sustain a meaningful and viable campaign for his quest to the gubernatorial position…what is clear here is that respondent knew for a fact that he does not stand a chance to win the elections but still moved forward towards a vain candidacy.”
The governor stressed that the votes cast for the nuisance candidate must be credited in favor of the legitimate candidate with a similar name to give effect to, rather than frustrate, the will of the voters, even if the declaration of the nuisance candidate became final only after the elections.
“The crediting of the votes of the nuisance candidate to the legitimate candidate, who have similar names, regardless whether the decision or resolution of the COMELEC became final and executory, shall be done before or after the elections,” he added.
Lawyer Lionil Castellano, provincial COMELEC supervisor of Negros Oriental, said that the issue to credit the votes of the nuisance candidate to the governor was not raised before the COMELEC Board.
Meanwhile, Dumaguete City Mayor Felipe Remollo won his reelection bid with runningmate Maisa Sagarbarria as the new vice mayor.
Remollo, who gained popularity over his controversial proposed 174-hectare Smart City reclamation project which was stopped due to opposition from the community, garnered 36,744 votes against Board Member Estanislao Alviola with 32,382.*