Independent bets sweep local races in Capas, Tarlac

Local Comelec officials proclaim independent candidates Joseller “Boots” Rodriguez (second from left) and Alex Espinosa (center) as winners of Capas, Tarlac’s mayoral and vice mayoral races. (Photo from the Capas Information Office)

MABALACAT CITY, Pampanga — In a rare political outcome, all elected officials in Capas, Tarlac—from mayor down to the last municipal councilor—ran and won as independents, unaffiliated with any local or national political party.

According to the official certificate of canvass released by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), re-electionist Mayor Joseller “Boots” Rodriguez secured another term with 47,674 votes, defeating former mayor Reynaldo Catacutan, also an independent, who garnered 26,670 votes.

Rodriguez’s running mate, Alex Espinosa, won the vice mayoral race with 35,961 votes. His closest rival, Jeff Ticsay, another independent, received 24,924 votes.

All eight winning candidates for municipal councilor also ran as independents. They are Juliet Cabagan, Edith Yumul, Estela Manlupig, Clod Gamboa, Benz Pineda, Ariel Batican, Jeff Garcia, and Alejandro Dueñas.

Of the four mayoral candidates, five vice mayoral contenders, and 35 councilor aspirants in Capas, only one—vice mayoral candidate Nicolas Pineda—ran under a political party. Pineda, who was affiliated with Promdi, a Cebu-based party, placed third with 11,644 votes.

The results mark a rare clean sweep for independent candidates in a local election, underscoring a political landscape in Capas increasingly shaped by personalities rather than party affiliations.