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SANCHEZ MIRA, Cagayan — Incumbent mayor and retired Army general Abraham "Abe" Bagasin may have won the mayoralty race in this town in the May 12 elections and proclaimed winner the day after.
However, Bagasin was far from satisfied as he won by a mere 17-vote margin over his opponent owing to what he claimed "kara-dap," (Ilocano word for crawl) style of his opponents before and on the eve of the elections.
Bagasin said that "karadap" nearly cost him his reelection bid.
Bagasin said in an interview on Thursday that he and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong have agreed to ease out the culture of corruption through their personal meetings and social media groups, but he said he was "saddened" by his slim margin of victory.
He said that he has been getting appreciation and accolades from the national government and other award-giving bodies for good governance but these awards, he said, "did not translate to votes."
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"Maybe, I am too complacent and that my record will speak," Bagasing added.
"I am grieving because I did not foresee that having a clean purpose to serve will find it hard to win when big money comes in," lamented Bagasin in a Facebook post.
Bagasin, who ran under the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats, tallied 7,132 votes, while former mayor Asela Sacramed of the Nacionalista Party got 7,115 votes.
Bagasin's running mate, John Langaman, was way behind frontrunner Connie Marie Sacramed, daughter-in-law of Asela, for vice mayor. Sacramed got 8,124 votes while Langaman got 4,840 votes. Far third was independent Marissa Padirayon with 1,147 votes.
Five of the elected councilors under Bagasin won, including frontrunner Carlo Cachapero, Doc Ymman Valdez, Chel Monje, Kap Mama Agabin and Val Macalma.
Three others were under Sacramed's team, including Melbina Mangosing, Maria Luisa De Castro and Napoleon Malto.
Bagasin said that the alleged karadap-style of the rivals are "open secret" in the town.
"The people of Sanchez Mira will never deny this. You know who they are (vote buyers). I let them do their stuff because I believe that the dignity of Sanchez Mira can never be bought," rued Bagasin.
"While waiting to end the culture of vote buying, we continue to pursue our clean, lawful, and efficient governance," he said, add-ing that the "dignity and integrity" will speak.
"You cannot put a good man down," he added.
The Sacrameds, however, denied any vote-buying spree in their public social media posts.
The Sacrameds, led by then-mayor Napoleon Sacramed Sr., used to rule Sanchez Mira 2000s.
In 2022, Bagasin was a neophyte in politics and was a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 83. He used to head the First Scout Ranger Regiment at Southern Command, the 11th Infantry Battalion in Negros Island, the 5th Infantry Division covering Cagayan Valley and Cordillera, and the 4th Infantry Division.
When he retired from the military, he was appointed by then-president Rodrigo Duterte as deputy administrator of the National Ir-rigation Administration.
He then plunged into politics in 2022, beating Connie Marie Sacramed for mayor with 7,362 votes as against the latter's 6,075 votes in the said elections.
