GUIMARAS – Starting June 30, 2025, familiar faces — mostly seasoned political figures — will assume the mayoral seats in all five municipalities of this island province: Jordan, Buenavista, Nueva Valencia, Sibunag, and San Lorenzo.
Of these five municipalities, only one incumbent mayor secured re-election. Incumbent Buenavista mayor Samuel Gumarin retained his post with a landslide victory, obtaining 23,204 votes against former mayor Eugene Reyes, who received only 7,836 votes.
The rest will have new mayors, though not entirely new to the political scene, as all have previously held key positions in government.
Here are the four newly-elected mayors:
Jordan
* John Edward Gando – The outgoing vice governor won the mayoral race in Jordan, defeating incumbent Mayor Cresente “Toto” Chavez. Gando garnered 12,380 votes while Chavez received 10,813.
Nueva Valencia
* Emmanuel Galila (unopposed) – This outgoing provincial administrator and former mayor ran unopposed in this year’s midterm elections, securing 19,759 votes.
Sibunag
* Luben Vilches – The outgoing Provincial Board member defeated incumbent Mayor Annabelle Samaniego. Vilches received 8,210 votes while Samaniego got 4,613 votes. Another candidate, Bitoy Jardeleza, earned 527 votes.
San Lorenzo
* Jimmy Gajo – This outgoing Sangguniang Bayan member emerged victorious, garnering 10,109 votes. His opponent, Wilme Denila, got 5,504 votes.
Meanwhile, the proclaimed winners of the Provincial Board member seats are the following:
1st District
* Ariel Zambarrano (28,681 votes)
* Rommel John Edang (24,954 votes)
* Art Cartel (24,551 votes)
* Raymond Gavileno(22,566 votes)
2nd District
* Felipe “Nene” Nava (48,360 votes)
* Dr. Alex Araneta (40,291 votes)
* Atty. Paul De la Cruz (36,878 votes)
* Marilyn Edang (35,287 votes)
Outgoing Congresswoman Lucille Nava won by a landslide, securing 94,970 votes to become the new governor. She defeated Maggie Cacho, who garnered only 5,024 votes.
In the vice gubernatorial race, outgoing Provincial Board member Cecile Gumarin emerged victorious with 83,180 votes, surpassing Tomas Junco, Jr.’s 7,512 votes.
Outgoing Gov. JC Rahman Nava will now assume a new role as congressman after securing 91,194 votes against Vicente de Asis, who earned 10,305 votes./PN