ILAGAN CITY, Isabela—Isabela 1st District Rep. Rodolfo “Rodito” T. Albano III has been proclaimed as the new governor, while his predecessor, Faustino “Bojie” G. Dy III, was declared winner for vice governor at the Provincial Capitol Amphitheater here.
Rodito Albano won his fourth straight election in the province since 2010 with a landslide victory of 582,032 votes, while his rival Tony Aliangan tallied just over 21,000.
He will take over from Dy, who beat former Gov. Grace Padaca for the vice governorship by over 300,000 votes.
The Albano-Dy victory extends the tandem’s nearly decade-long rule in the province since Padaca fell from the provincial seat of power after the administration of then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
The Albano family has held the congressional seat of Isabela’s first district from the 8th Congress in 1987 to the current 17th Congress.
The Provincial Board of Canvassers headed by Atty. Michael Camangeg of the Commission on Elections in Isabela proclaimed Albano and Dy on May 15 with the other winners of the 2019 midterm polls.
Outgoing Vice Governor Tonypet Albano, brother of the incoming governor, will take Rodito’s place in Congress after bagging 153,514 votes against his rival Alfonso Singson’s 8,219.
Incumbent Board Member Christopher Go was elected as 2nd district Representative, while Mayor Paul Ian Dy of Alicia was proclaimed congressman for the 3rd District and his cousin, San Manuel Mayor Faustino Michael Dy III, as the 5th district representative.
Sheena Tan won the House seat in Isabela’s 4th district, and Governor Dy’s son Inno was named 6th District representative.
For the Provincial Board, MM Albano, nephew of the incoming governor, emerged on top of the vote tally, with Jon Anes in second, for the 1st district. Ed Christian Go and Edgar Capuchino topped the 2nd District, Ramon Reyes and Randolph Joseph were 1-2 for the 3rd district; and Abegail Sable and Clifford Raspado topped the 4th district polls.
Another Dy, Dondon, and Edward Isidro topped the provincial board bets for the 5th District, while Arco Meris and Alfredo Alili finished as the top two in the 6th District.
The province of Isabela is the second largest in the country in terms of land area and recorded 1,050,681 registered voters at the Commission on Elections’ office.
But with the recent redistricting of the province by virtue of Republic Act 11080, signed into law on Sept. 27, the first district retained all of the towns in the northern border and the eastern coast that it used to cover, except the town of Palanan, which was absorbed by the second district.
The Albanos are natives of Cabagan town, a relatively smaller town in the province.
Rodolfo “Rudy” B. Albano Jr. and son Rodito took turns occupying the district’s seat in the House of Representatives for about 32 years.
The Albanos both served five terms, replacing each other once their constitutional consecutive three-term limit was through.