Former Zamboanga del Norte first district Rep. Seth Frederick Jalosjos won as Dapitan City mayor against an old opponent by a margin of 5,895 votes.
Jalosjos garnered 33,031 votes over Zamboanga del Norte Gov. Roberto Uy’s 27,136 votes in Monday’s elections.
While on his third term as a congressman, Jalosjos lost to Uy in the 2019 Zamboanga del Norte gubernatorial race.
“I’m very happy. I feel vindicated to say the least, not with our last bout, but for governor in 2019 and right now, I can’t explain by words how I feel,” Jalosjos said in a statement Thursday.
“This is the first time that I’ll be learning how to lead, how to manage a city such as this, a beautiful city of Dapitan,” he added.
Jalosjos’s running mate, Al Sy,got 31,659 votes to win the vice mayoral seat with a margin of 5,164 against his opponent, Jimboy Chan.
“Personally, I have not felt I won, but it’s in the air. I hope I can serve the people of Dapitan well,” Sy said in a separate statement.
Meanwhile, the City Council slate of the Jalosjos-Sy tandem also managed to sweep all the seats.
Bing Balisado, Divine Patilano, Mitzie Dulawan, Modess Malayao, Ronie Jarapan, Joseph Ryan Agolong, Noel Sardane, Tesiong Bayron, Claver Pajaren, and Vicoy Hamoy were proclaimed by the Dapitan City Board of Canvassers Tuesday night. They took their oath on Thursday.
Jalosjos said their priority is to provide livelihood and additional income to city residents to recover from the effects of the health pandemic.
Source: Philippines News Agency