BOCAUE, Bulacan—On the toss of a coin, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) resolved a tie in the mayoral race in this first-class municipality following Monday’s elections.
The coin turned in favor of Eleanor “Joni” Villanueva of the Liberal Party, who received 16,694 votes, the same number garnered by her rival, Jim Valerio, an independent candidate, based on unofficial results from the Comelec transparency server as of 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday.
...Deogracias Danao, election officer of the municipality dubbed the fireworks capital of the country, said lawyers of the two candidates agreed to the coin toss after an hour of discussion. Villanueva won in a best-of-five flips.
Comelec Resolution No. 183 states that candidates are allowed to break a tie by drawing lots.
Villanueva would be succeeding her brother, outgoing Mayor Eduardo Villanueva Jr.
Aaron Andres, a voter, expressed frustration at the way the town’s mayor was elected.
“Of course, many of us are disappointed. Those who did not vote regretted their decision. Imagine, a single vote could have turned the history [differently],” he said.
The counting of votes in Kibungan, a fourth-class municipality in Benguet province, also ended in a deadlock for two candidates for councilor, delaying the proclamation of winners.
