Incumbent Eastern Samar officials wins re-election bid

TACLOBAN CITY, May 11 (PNA) -– Same faces will rule the economically-depressed province of Samar after key incumbent officials succeeded in their re-election bid in landslide victories.

The Eastern Samar provincial board of canvassers proclaimed early Wednesday morning Governor Conrado Nicart Jr. and lone district Rep. Ben Evardone as winners.

Nicart, who will serve his last term as chief executive of the province, garnered 133,576 votes, defeating former Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan by a margin of 53,947 votes.

Evardone got 130,588 votes, defeating his second time challenger Annaliza Kwan, who only received 93,540 votes. This is Evardone’s third and last term as legislator.

Vice Govenor Marcelo Ferdinand Picardal won his re-election bid through a landslide victory against Alexander Obiena.

The Commission on Elections reported that of the 300,818 registered voters, 253,807 of them cast their votes on Monday.

Eastern Samar is the second poorest in the province with a poverty incidence of 50 percent as first semester of 2015, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. (PNA)
FFC/SARWELL Q. MENIANO