DICLAS WINS FINAL TERM AS BENGUET GOVERNOR WITH OVER 116K VOTES

Governor Dr. Melchor Daguines Diclas secured his third and final term as Governor of Benguet under the LAKAS-CMD Party.
Diclas received 116,212 votes from the 13 municipalities of the province. He defeated incumbent board member Ruben Pao-ad, who garnered 34,657 votes. George Punasen followed with 32,525 votes, while former Vice Governor Johnny Waguis got 18,940 votes.
According to election results published by GMA Network, 210,927 of the 249,729 registered voters in Benguet cast their ballots. La Trinidad posted the highest number of votes for Governor, where Diclas received 22,997 votes out of 42,051 voters.
In Itogon, he got 14,727 out of 26,905 votes cast, while in Tuba, he garnered 12,622 out of 20,764 votes cast.
In his message, Governor Diclas thanked God for a peaceful, orderly, and safe election. He also expressed gratitude to the people of Benguet for their “overwhelming support.”
He promised to serve with greater passion and responsibility guided by his HEALTHIER Benguet agenda.
Diclas acknowledged Congressman Eric Go Yap, Vice Governor-elect Marie Rose Fongwan-Kepes, and all elected officials in the province and pledged to work “shoulder to shoulder” with them to uphold transparency, accountability, and compassionate service.
Re-elected Congressman Eric Go Yap also ran under LAKAS-CMD and earned a historic 144,093 votes. On the other hand, Board Member Marie Rose Fongwan-Kepes won as Vice Governor with 116,169 votes.
Meanwhile, for District 1 board members, Sander Fianza (LAKAS) led with 36,154 votes. Johannes Amuasen (LAKAS) followed with 34,694 votes. Charmaine Molintas (LAKAS) received 31,922 votes, while Thomas Jr. Wales (UBP) got 31,289 votes.
In District 2, Ruben Tinda-an (LAKAS) topped with 67,731 votes. Romeo Salda (LAKAS) followed with 63,802 votes. Manny Fermin (LAKAS) got 63,405 votes, followed by Armando Lauro (LAKAS) who received 59,379 votes and Neptali Camsol (LAKAS) who earned 57,547 votes. Jim Botiwey (PFP) completed the slate with 48,019 votes.
The turn-over ceremony is scheduled for June 30, 2025, at the Benguet Sports Complex Gymnasium. – Silverio Jr. Abag Pilo