Thirty-one year old Nathalie Ann Debuque, graduating Municipal Mayor of Anilao, Iloilo was elected Vice Governor of Iloilo province defeating graduating Fifth District Representative Raul “Boboy” Tupas in the recent May 12 midterm elections.
Debuque garnered 547,462 votes while Tupas got 500,863 votes or a difference of 46,599 votes.
The young vice governor-elect was the runningmate of Governor Arthur Defensor, Jr. who ran unopposed for his third and final term.
During the campaign, Defensor pleaded to his supporters to vote for Debuque whom he believes could help him as he continues to offer good governance to the people of the province.
As three-term mayor of Anilao, Debuque brought the town to greater heights and has consistently achieved the Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
In an interview with the Capitol press prior to her proclamation on May 13, Debuque thanked the people of the province for trusting her to be the next vice governor.
She also cited the support of Governor Defensor and the congressmen Michael Gorriceta of Second District, Lorenz Defensor of Third District and Ferjenel Biron of Fourth District.
She vowed to work closely with Governor Defensor for the continued progress of the province under his development agenda Movement for a Robust, Progressive, Globally-competitive and Resilient (MoRProGRes) province of Iloilo.
Notably, Debuque won in all four districts of the province except the Fifth District which is a known bailiwick of Tupas.
In the First District, Debuque won over Tupas by a slim margin of 1,141 votes despite the endorsement of the Garin political clan to the latter. Debuque secured 92,369 votes while Tupas got 91,228 votes.
In the Second District, Debuque got 114,499 votes over Tupas’s 62,480 or a difference of 52,019 votes.
In the Third District, Debuque garnered 144,828 votes while Tupas obtained 70,658 votes or a difference of 74,170 votes.
In the Fourth District, Debuque got 141,361 votes while Tupas got 76,927 or a vote difference of 64,434.
In the Fifth District, Tupas won by a landslide over Debuque with 199,570 votes versus 54,405 votes or a huge margin of 145,165.
Debuque will succeed outgoing Vice Governor Christine Garin who ran and won as Vice Mayor of her hometown Guimbal.
Meanwhile, Governor Defensor also thanked the Ilonggos for heeding his call to support Debuque on his final term.
With Debuque as vice governor, Defensor believes that he will be able to sustain good governance in the province which will redound to the benefit of the people.
