Lakas-Kampi-CMD, the merged party of
Lakas-CMD and
KAMPI of
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, has a majority of the provincial governorships in the lead-up to the 2010 elections. The
Liberal Party was a far second. However, with the resolution of pending disputed election results by the
Commission on Elections (COMELEC), the Liberals lost three more governorships. Attracting international attention is the election race for governor of
Maguindanao where
Esmael Mangudadatu was competing after a rival clan
kidnapped and murdered 57 people including his wife, sisters, aides, and lawyers, plus several journalists.
Bulacan On December 1, 2009, the COMELEC's Second Division ruled that
Roberto Pagdanganan defeated
Jonjon Mendoza in the 2007 elections, with Pagdanganan garnering 342,295 votes, 4,231 votes over Mendoza. Mendoza was a member of KAMPI prior to switching to the Liberals, and Pagdanganan was a member of Lakas-CMD before joining the
Nacionalista Party. Mendoza and Pagdanganan won't contest the governorship; Pagdanganan is
running for Congress as representative of
Bulacan's 1st district, while Mendoza is
running as representative from Bulacan's 3rd district, while her sister, former governor Josefina Dela Cruz will run as her brother's replacement.
Isabela In
Isabela,
Grace Padaca of the
Liberal Party defeated Benjamin "Ben" Dy of the
Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) via a margin of 17,007 votes, with Padaca garnering 237,128 votes and Dy having 220,121 votes. Padaca was proclaimed winner on June 30, the day of inauguration of all local officials. On December 8, 2009, the COMELEC Second Division ruled that Dy defeated
Grace Padaca by a margin of 1,051 votes, with Dy garnering 199,435 over Padaca's 198,384. Padaca previously defeated Benjamin's brother Faustino Jr. in the 2004 election, ending the Dy's three-decade long rule in Isabela. This time, it's one of Ben's brothers,
Faustino III also known as Bojie, who will contest Padaca in the 2010 gubernatorial election, with the ruling
Lakas-Kampi-CMD party nominating him; while Ben on the other hand will vie for the mayorship of
Cauayan instead.
Pampanga Arroyo's home province of
Pampanga had one of the most hotly contested gubernatorial elections in 2007, with three out of six candidates having a realistic chance of winning: then incumbent
Mark Lapid (Lakas-CMD),
board member Lilia Pineda (KAMPI) and
Roman Catholic priest-on-leave
Eddie Panlilio (Independent). Panlilio was proclaimed the winner, garnering 219,706 votes, with Pineda obtaining 218,559 and Lapid having 210,875 votes. Pineda contested the result; meanwhile, Panlilio became a member of the Liberal Party late in 2009, supporting
Noynoy Aquino's presidential campaign. On early February 2010, the COMELEC's Second Division ruled that Pineda won the 2007 election, obtaining 190,729 votes against Panlilio's 188,718. ==
Luzon==