The Commission on Elections (Comelec) proclaimed Crispin Diego “Ping” Remulla, the son of Department of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla, as the new representative of the 7th district of Cavite.
Remulla garnered a total of 98,474 votes, beating the three other candidates: Melencio de Sagun Jr. who got 46,530 votes; Jose Angelito Domingo Aguinaldo with 1,610 votes; and Michael Angelo Bautista Santos with 1,068 votes.
Comelec Spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco said that more than 149,000 registered voters in the 7th district of Cavite participated in the special election held on Saturday, Feb. 25.
“It has been confirmed [that] 42.11 percent voter turnout on the total number of votes counted which is 149,581 out of the total 355,184 registered voters,” he said.
Cavite’s 7th district is composed of three towns: Amadeo, Indang, and Tanza as well as the city of Trece Martires.
To note, Jesus Remulla was originally the 7th district representative of Cavite. However, he had to vacate this position after he was appointed as Justice secretary.
Election watchdog National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) said that the conduct of the special election was “smooth and peaceful,” adding that the “electoral boards (EBs) appeared well-trained and knowledgeable of the automated process.”
“In the majority of polling places where NAMFREL observers followed the closing and counting processes, the vote counting machines functioned normally,” it said.
“However, VCMs (vote counting machines) stopped operating during the printing of audit logs in at least two polling places observed, but NAMFREL believes these did not compromise the results in said polling places,” it added.