Ex-TV anchor and lawyer banners City Council race

FINALLY!

After falling short of a seat in the Iloilo City council in the 2016 local elections, a former television anchor and lawyer soared to the top spot in the May 9, 2022 polls.

Atty. Sedfrey Cabaluna was proclaimed councilor-elect by Atty. Tomas Valera, chairman of the City Board of Canvassers, Wednesday morning at the Diamond Jubilee Hall in Iloilo City.

According to Cabaluna, earning the top spot in the councilor race came as a surprise for him following his top 15 finish in the 2016 elections.

“Thankful kita for the trust and confidence sang aton mga pumuluyo. We worked hard for it. We gave our everything. Ang result nagbunga man ang sacrifices though we did not expect that we would be number one,” he said in a media interview shortly after the proclamation on Wednesday.

Cabaluna first sought a seat in the Sangguniang Panlungsod as an independent candidate in the 2016 local elections. He ranked 15^th with more than 84,000 votes.

“In 2016, I ran as an independent and despite this we garnered 84,000 votes, nagkabos lang kita but we are proud of that performance. It motivated us to do better, that’s why nagbalik kita sa media, panabang, sa government work. This time around, we are ready. This is my second time, and it is really sweeter the second time around,” he said.

In the 2022 elections, Cabaluna ran under the Uswag slate of Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas and the National Unity Party (NUP) and garnered 144,328 votes.

Cabaluna bared his plans to focus on the three sectors – urban poor, tourism, and youth – once he assumes his seat at the City Council.

“I’ve been moving around homeowners’ association sa mga relocation sites, asking them ano ang concerns. So, in relation to that, one of the first programs nga gusto ta ipasar with the approval of the city mayor, himuon ta departamento ining Iloilo City Urban Poor Affairs Office (ICUPAO) so that they can expand to many problems or concerns like documents, legal concerns, data, data banking,” he said.

Having worked for the Department of Tourism, Cabaluna also hopes to handle the committee on tourism of the City Council.

“Committee on Tourism is something I wanna hold kay gusto ko nga mapasanyog ta ang turismo indi lang sa syudad but it should be in collaboration with neighboring provinces para mastrengthen naton aton nga regional tourism which mangin yabi man sa pagbangon man sa pandemya,” he added.

The former broadcaster also said that he wants to empower the Ilonggo youth by involving them in policy making.

“I wanna empower young people especially may mga idea sila to better the community. We would like to be the medium noh to provide them facilities, resources as much as we can,” he said.

Nevertheless, Cabaluna expressed his willingness to accept any committee that will be given to him by the majority.

“Kon ano ihatag sang mayorya we are willing to accept and do our best to help our committee,” he noted.

The second spot in the council race went to the son of Mayor Jerry Treñas, Miguel Trenas with 131,882 votes followed by incumbent councilors Alan Zaldivar (129,615) and Atty. Frances Parcon (128,463).

Father of Congresswoman-elect Julienne Baronda and incumbent Councilor Lady Julie Grace “Love-Love” Baronda, Dr. Nick Baronda (122,359) secured the fifth spot. He was followed by incumbent councilor Rudolph Ganzon (115,445) and Atty. Rex Sarabia (111,852), son of the late former city councilor and Regional Trial Court Judge Ma. Rita Bascos Sarabia.

Incumbent councilor Candice Tupas ranked 8^th with 106,523. She was followed by businessman Johnny Young (105,844), reelectionists Rommel Duron (103,674), and Ely Estante (102,928).

Plaridel Nava is the sole opposition bet to win the 12^th seat. (DG)