While I join some of our Catandunganons in rejoicing the outcome of the recent election, that after decades of waiting for what seems to be wishful thinking, I finally see a gubernatorial race, the outcome of which was not dictated by money; where a political outsider has triumphed over a well-oiled political dynasty that has lorded over the province for decades; where the political formula that was started by the Albertos and later maintained by the Cuas has finally come an end, obliterated into oblivion by the young generations of Catandunganons who seized the election for the future that they own.
But hold on to your horses, with the filing of election protest of the losing candidate against the governor-elect with the Regional Trial Court, a shadow is cast over what was thought to be a concluded race. The battle for the governorship may not be over.
Based on the official count of the Commission on Election, Governor-elect Francis Azanza, who garnered 76,169 votes, won by a narrow 362 lead over Boste Cua who obtained 75,807 votes. An uncomfortable margin for a province that has 200,804 registered voters, 161,125 of whom voted last 2025 election for the gubernatorial race. The reason for this discomfort, at least for Mr. Azanza, are the imperfections of the Automated Polling Machines (APM). When I handled an election protest during the 2022 general election, it was revealed that nine thousand four hundred thirty five (9,435) votes casted in the six (6) municipalities namely Caramoran, San Andres, Pandan, Panganiban, Viga and Virac were unaccounted for, meaning 9,435 votes were “missing” in the count.
The challenge therefore for Cua is to persuade the court to re-open the ballot boxes and manually recount the votes, and bank on the possibility that the same machine errors occurred again. For Azanza, the counter-challenge is for him to seek to expand the scope of the recount beyond the precincts contested by Cua, especially in areas outside the Cuas’ traditional strongholds, where irregularities may also have occurred.
Until and unless this issue is resolved and the outcome of the recent election is confirmed, we cannot say that the electorates of Catanduanes have fully matured. But regardless of the outcome of the election protest and counter-protest of Cua and Azanza, the recent election provided a glimmer of hope, a light at a long, dark tunnel —that what once felt like mere wishful thinking might just be on its way to becoming reality.