Contreras clan loses grip on Capiz politics

By Jennifer P. Rendon and Felipe V. Celino

The 2022 elections did not favor the influential Contreras family of Capiz.

Running in key positions in the province, no one from the closely-knit political family succeeded in their respective bids.

Incumbent Governor Esteban Evan “Nonoy” Contreras lost his re-election bid to Rep. Fredenil “Oto” Castro of the second district of Capiz.

Castro bagged the gubernatorial seat after garnering 253,074 votes against Contreras’ 151,218 ballots.

Contreras’s father, Mayor Esteban “Dodoy Evan” Contreras of Pontevedra town, also lost his congressional bid to incumbent Rep. Emmanuel “Tawi” Billones of the province’s first district.

The older Contreras only got around 54,558 against Billones’ 110,349 votes.

The losing streak continued as Sangguniang Panlalawigan member Esteban Jose “Steve” Contreras,” the governor’s brother, also lost the mayoralty race in Pontevedra town.

Barangay Captain Henry Tumlos of Lantangan won the race by a margin of close to 4,000 votes.

All three Contreras clan members ran under Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan.

Nonoy was only ahead by 300 hundred votes against Castro in his hometown Pontevedra.

On the other hand, Dodoy Evan only garnered 9,118 votes against Billones’ 13,310 votes in Pontevedra, where the former is the current mayor.

Meanwhile, Steve’s son, Esteban “EJ” Contreras, also lost his bid for a Sangguniang Bayan seat in Pontevedra.

EJ, the former Sangguniang Kabataan federation president of Pontevedra, only placed 15th.

His wife, Lara Contreras, also ran as SB member in Sapi-an town. But, she, too, did not make it to the top 8 winning candidates.

Spouses EJ and Lara ran as independent candidates.

Nicolai Contreras, a cousin of Nonoy and Steve, also lost his bid for an SB seat in Panay town.

Voters claimed that “political funding” may have been a factor in their loss to equally moneyed candidates.

Others claimed that the Contreras family may have forgotten that there is still the “Roxas Magic” in Capiz when they decided to challenge the reign of former Senator Manuel Mar Roxas III.

In other contests, Castro’s wife, former congresswoman Jane Castro, defeated Mambusao town Mayor Leodegario Labao Jr. and Board Member Eleuper Martinez in a three-cornered race for the second district congressional seat.

Jane got 109,274 votes against Labao’s 72,820. Martinez only garnered 3,820 votes.

Only three mayoral bets under the Contreras clan won in their respective bids – former governor Vicente Bermejo of Panay, re-electionist Mayor Arnold Perez of Pilar, and bet Luz Labao of Mambusao.

Capiz is composed of 16 towns and the component city of Roxas where incumbent Mayor Ronnie Dadivas was reelected for a second term after beating another Contreras ally, Rommel Lastimoso.