LIKE in the sports battlefield, sportsmen who vied in Monday's mid-term elections had their share of victory and defeat.
Heading the list of the triumphant were boxing hero Manny Pacquiao and Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao, who both won seats in the next Congress, while former PBA MVP Ato Agustin and another former PBA player, Joey Marquez, weren't as fortunate.
Pacquiao ran unopposed in his bid for a second team as Sarangani's lone representative in Congress and found another reason to celebrate with wife Jinkee winning the vice-gubernatorial post in the province.
Pacman’s younger brother, Roel, is locked in a close fight with former General Santos city mayor Pedro Acharon, who also happens to be Manny’s godfather, in the first congressional district of South Cotabato.
Also assured of victories are Guiao, a three-term Pampanga vice governor who ran for the congressional seat in the first district of the province, and PBA D-League team owner Dennis Pineda who handily bagged the vice governor post of the province.
Like Pacquiao, Kit Cojuangco, a former national archer and husband of Southeast Asian Games gold medalist archer Amaya Paz, won unopposed as the new vice governor of Tarlac.
On the other hand, Air21 Express coach Franz Pumaren is back as a councilor in Quezon City's third district while one of his assistant coaches, Jack Santiago, won a city council seat in Navotas.
Former PBA guard and now TV commentator Jason Webb led the balloting among councilors in the first district of Paranaque while former PBA coach Binky Favis finally landed a council seat in the city's second district.
Marquez, however, lost his congressional bid in a city where he once was mayor.
Monsour del Rosario, a former Olympian in taekwondo, snared a council seat in Makati's first district, as did former national cager Yoyong Martirez in Pasig City. Former De La Salle player Francis Zamora has won a fresh term as vice mayor of San Juan.
Among sports officials, Philippine Weightlifting Association head Monico Puentevella has been elected mayor of Bacolod City while cycling association president Bambol Tolentino is the new representative of the seventh district of Cavite.
Others are locked in down-to-the-wire battles.
Former Alaska Ace Brian Gahol is clinging on to the final council seat in Los Banos, Laguna with still 20 percent of the election returns still to be counted.
Actor Richard Gomez, also a former national shooter and fencer, is still locked in a close fight for the mayoralty post of Ormoc City in Leyte, while cycling patron and LPGMA representative Arnel Ty is still awaiting the final and official result of the partylist race.
Aside from Agustin, who is a distant third in the vice-mayoralty race in San Fernando, Pampanga, also facing an uphill battle are former PBA player Rodney Santos (Meycauyan, Bulacan, councilor) and multi-titled Cebuano coach Yayoy Alcoseba (Cebu, board member).
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