Clippings... Clippings...: Agusan del Norte 2016 Elections: Warring Amantes retain their positions

There is a unique twist to a usual boring political landscape of the Province of Agusan del Norte. For decades, the Amante family has been lording over the Province in a routine fashion. The seed of their dominance was planted by their patriarch, Edelmiro Amante Sr. fondly called “Edel” by people close to him. Edel ushered his political career as a young lawyer running for Assemblyman of the Province under the ruling Marcos KBL party in the 1984 Batasang Pambansa elections. The rest is history.

These 2016 Elections however have a bizarre twist. Governor Angel Amante and his brother Congressman Erlpe John Amante parted ways. Though they did not confront each other head on, they fielded candidates against each other, mostly from their loyal allies. The separation put all their allies in disarray choosing whom to support between them. Looking at the respective lineups of their candidates, one can get confused as old friends and old allies found themselves in opposite camps, looking like a comedy of errors.

Congressman Erlpe Amante (NP) however retained his seat by beating Cabadbaran City Mayor Dale Corvera (LP), the surrogate candidate of Angel Amante. Erlpe Amante garnered 70,937 votes against Dale Corvera’s 62,058. On the other hand, Governor Angel Amante beat Sangguniang Panlalawigan member Sadeka Tomaneng-Garcia for the top post of the Province. Angel Amante had 80,493 votes while Tomaneng-Garcia was behind with her 67,282 votes. For the Vice Governor race, Angel’s runningmate Rambu Bungabung (LP) won over Roy Orlando Doyon (NP) 70,449 to 66,427.

However, looking at the results, it is conclusive that Congressman Erlpe Amante won the family feud. While Angel and Rambu won, they lost the Sangguniang Panlalawigan as Erlpe John Amante’s NP got 5 seats as against only 3 seats for LP. The pro Erlpe SP Members are Sal Cuasito, Dick Carmona, Daday Espina-Jundis, Dan Racaza and Lilibeth Musico. Angel Amante have veteran SP Member Aquino Gambe, Babette Calo and incumbent Butuan City Councilor Erwin Dano.

Erlpe’s dominance over Angel is also apparent in the number of Mayors who won. Of the Province’s 11 municipalities, 8 Mayors allied with Erlpe won while only 3 for Angel. Erlpe mayors won in Carmen, Nasipit, Magallanes, Remedios T. Romualdez, Tubay, Jabonga, Kitcharao and Cabadbaran City while pro Angel Mayors won in Buenavista, Santiago and Las Nieves.

Here are the complete results of Agusan del Norte Elections

PROVINCIAL GOVERNOR AGUSAN DEL NORTE