Ex-Vice Gov. Gonzales wins Eastern Samar House post; unseats incumbent

Christopher “Sheen” Gonzales. | PHOTO: Official Facebook page of Sheen Gonzales

TACLOBAN CITY, Leyte, Philippines – The son-in-law of House Minority Leader Marcelino “Nonoy” Libanan has unseated incumbent Rep. Maria Fe Abunda in the race for Eastern Samar’s lone congressional seat.

READ: Eastern Samar Rep. Abunda trails behind rival in unofficial count

Christopher “Sheen” Gonzales, the former Eastern Samar vice governor and mayor of Guiuan, clinched victory with a lead of 177,413 votes over Abunda’s 106,781 as proclaimed by the provincial board of canvassers on Tuesday, May 13.

Abunda, sister of renowned television host Boy Abunda, was seeking a third and final term.

Gonzales is married to Libanan’s daughter, Eloisa. The congressional seat he won was previously held by Libanan for nine consecutive years.

Gonzales’ victory was bolstered by widespread local support, including the backing of 19 out of Eastern Samar’s 22 incumbent mayors, who signed a public manifesto endorsing his candidacy.

Only three mayors aligned themselves with Abunda.

Meanwhile, Minority Leader Libanan is poised to begin his second term as the representative of the 4Ps party-list after the group secured nearly 1.5 million votes in Monday’s midterm elections.

“This vote of confidence from the Filipino people is a clear affirmation of the work we have done – and a powerful motivation for us to work even harder to improve lives,” Libanan said in a statement.

The 4Ps party-list garnered the fourth-highest number of votes nationwide, trailing only behind Akbayan, Duterte Youth, and Tingog.

The group’s 1.5 million votes marked a significant increase of 650,000 votes from its 2022 tally. /jpv