FORMER Manila mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso is poised to return to city hall, unseating ally-turned-rival Honey Lacuna and marking his second term as chief executive of the country’s capital.
According to partial and unofficial results with 100% of precincts accounted for, Domagoso is set to win with 560,338 votes — far ahead of the incumbent mayor Lacuna, who garnered 197,572.
True to mayoral surveys before the polls, Tutok to Win party-list Rep. Sam Versoza finished third with 171,192 votes.
Domagoso served his first term as mayor from 2019 to 2022, with Lacuna as his vice mayor under the Asenso Manileño political alliance. Lacuna retained her affiliation with the party, while Domagoso became president of Aksyon Demokratiko in 2021, which he currently represents.
The election results mirror pre-election survey findings from The Varsitarian’s midterm elections poll, as well as those of other major pollsters.
Domagoso’s running mate, vice mayoral candidate Chi Atienza, garnered 614,881 votes and is set to clinch the vice mayor’s post against reelectionist John “Yul Servo” Nieto of Asenso Manileño, who received 259,386 votes.
Joaquin Domagoso, son of the actor-turned-politician, is projected to win a seat as councilor in the first district. According to unofficial results, the first and sixth districts are dominated by the Aksyon Demokratiko slate, which captured five of six seats.
Aksyon Demokratiko is poised to take 19 spots in the Manila city council, while Asenso Manileño is slated to hold 12 seats, with Atienza serving as vice mayor. Two council seats are set to go to independent candidates.
Asenso retains hold on House seats
Despite Domagoso’s return, Asenso Manileño is expected to dominate Manila’s six congressional districts, with four allied candidates projected to win.
Only two Aksyon Demokratiko-backed candidates are on track to secure House seats based on unofficial results.
The first is Rep. Ernix Dionisio, who is set to retain his seat in the first district with 123,740 votes.
The other is Joey Uy, who is poised to win the sixth district with 62,215 votes, replacing incumbent Rep. Benny Abante, who previously served as chair of the House Committee on Human Rights, which oversaw investigations into former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs last October.
Four candidates under Lacuna’s Asenso banner are projected to win their respective races.
In the second district, Rep. Rolan Valeriano is expected to secure another term with 55,082 votes, defeating Aksyon’s Carlo Lopez.
The third district is still set to be represented by UST alumnus Joel Chua, winning over Apple Nieto, sister of vice mayoral candidate Yul Servo.
In the fourth district, where UST is located, Asenso’s Giselle Maceda is projected to win with 54,340 votes, ahead of Aksyon’s JTV Villanueva, who garnered 35,296.
In the fifth district, Irwin Tieng is set to retain his seat with 92,495 votes, defeating veteran Manila politician Amado Bagatsing.
Manila is home to 1,142,174 registered voters, of whom 975,150 participated in this year’s polls. Justin Jacob S. Urag with reports from Ralent M. Penilla
