by Sentinel Times Staff The new Quezon 2nd district congressman-elect David ‘Jayjay’ Suarez beside members of the Quezon Provincial ...
The new Quezon 2nd district congressman-elect David ‘Jayjay’ Suarez beside members of the Quezon Provincial Board of Canvassers led by Atty. Sheryl Moresca-Julie along with Atty. Alberto Viscocho and Dr. Merthel Evardome.
LUCENA CITY – It was an upset, even unprecedented, win.
Outgoing Quezon governor David ‘Jayjay’ Suarez scores a resounding victory when he snatched the 2nd congressional district post from his political opponent, former agriculture secretary and congressman himself of the district, Proceso ‘Procy’ Alcala with an upsetting 178,285 votes over the latter’s 125,629 or a yawning difference of 52,656 vote lead in the May 13 midterm elections held nationwide.
The most awaited 2nd district congressional fight is the governor’s first political foray outside the Suarez political bailiwick of Bondoc Peninsula in Quezon 3rd district. During the campaign rally at the provincial capitol compound, the outgoing governor and congressman-elect minced no words about the political challenge he is facing:
“Ang sabi nila, sira ulo lang daw ang lalaban sa 2nd district, pero narito ako, isang sira ulo na nakikipaglaban para sa kaunlaran ng segunda distrito ng ating lalawigan.”
In 2004 Procy Alcala was first elected congressman in 2nd district up until 2010 when he was appointed agriculture chief by then Pres. Benigno Simeon Aquino III. From 2010-2013, his son Irvin succeeded him in the district and followed by then vice gov. Vicente ‘Kulit’ Alcala, the incumbent congressman from 2013 up to the present.
In his first interview - feeling celebratory after his proclamation and after his hands were raised by the provincial board of election canvassers led by Atty. Sheryl Moresca-Julie on May 17 at about 1:35AM of Friday - and knowing his impending assumption as congressman-elect of the province’ 2nd district, the congressman-elect Suarez disclosed:
“Later this month, iimbitahan tayo ng ating mahal na pangulo para sumama sa kanya sa Japan. I will take the opportunity to discuss with him matters that are important to the development of the 2nd district,” he said.
He cited briefly his development plan for the 2nd district: “Magandang opportunity para makapag-invite ng investors sa segunda distrito dahil ang massive development plan ko para sa ating lalawigan, we want to make sure that the 2nd district becomes the commercial-industrial area of Quezon province for creation of more jobs and oppurtunities para sa ating mga kababayan.”
Numbers game
In a nutshell here is the numbers game in the breakdown of the comparative votes obtained by Suarez against Alcala in the entire district in the May 13 elections:
In Lucena city, the capital of the province where supposedly the Alcalas lord it over for over a decade, Jayjay got 64,663 over Procy’s 53,979 or a difference of 10,684 votes; in Candelaria Jayjay got 35,777 over Procy’s 16,902 or a difference of 18,875 votes; in Tiaong, Jayjay has 30,033 over Procy’s 12,073 or a difference of 17,960 votes; in San Antonio, Jayjay got 9,617 over Procy’s 6,705 or a difference of 2,912; in Dolores, where supposedly the Alcala family originally came from, Jayjay got 8,456 over Procy’s 5,229 or a difference of 3,227; and in Sariaya, the vaunted centerpiece of the agricultural program of the ex-agri chief is the only town where the governor was defeated where Procy led by barely 1,002 votes with 30,741 over Jayjay’s 29,739.
It all adds up to 53,658 winning vote margin where Jayjay got 10,684 lead votes in Lucena, 18,875 in Candelaria, 17,960 in Tiaong; 2,912 in San Antonio; and 3,227 in Dolores but minus 1,002 vote lead of Procy over Jayjay in Sariaya, the latter ended up with a neat 52,656 vote margin in the entire 2nd congressional district by which the Quezon Provincial Board of Election Canvassers - composed of provincial election officer Sheryl Moresca-Julie, provincial prosecutor Alberto Viscocho and DepEd’s Dr. Merthel Evardome - has declared him to have been duly elected.
The 2nd district has a total registered voters of 393,323 and adding up the combined number of votes of Jayjay and Procy in the elections it appears that only 303,914 actually voted and some 89,409 were unable to vote or have been elsewhere during election day.
Profuse gratitude
The outgoing governor expressed profuse gratitude to all his constituents in Quezon province for the past 9 yrs. He said after his proclamation:
“Nagpapasalamat ako sa mga kababayan ko sa buong lalawigan ng Quezon. For the past nine years, kayo ang naging dahilan kung bakit naging matagumpay ang ating administrasyon. Sa mga karangalang natanggap natin, ang dahilan nito ay ang mga mamamayang nagtitiwala sa atin.”
The 41 yrs old outgoing governor will be leaving behind a string of accomplishments: seal of good housekeeping in 2011 signed by the late DILG Sec. Jesse Robredo; Seal of Good Local Governance in 2017; Galing Pook Award for Quezon’s 2-in-1 (planting of 2 million mangroves in 1 day); Galing Pook finalist award in 2012 for Health Coupon program and in 2016 some 344,207 patients were listed as beneficiaries of the program; most outstanding governor in the field of social services in 2013, 2016 and 2017; most outstanding governor in the field of agriculture in 2014, 2015 and 2016; Green Banner Award in Nutrition in 2015 and 2016; DOT Destination of the Year 2017; and DOH First LGU Champion in the country for First 1,000 Days of Life (Q1K) Program; among many others.
Nowhere did Suarez summarizes more his 3-term legacy as outgoing governor of the province than in his centerpiece’ Q1K program which is considered his abiding dream for Quezonians:
“Our vision for Quezon province is to have a new generation of healthier, smarter, stronger, more productive and much more capable Quezonians to address the issues of poverty and inequality.”
