CABANATUAN CITY – Outgoing Palayan City mayor Adrianne Mae ‘Rianne’ Cuevas is gunning for the top provincial post in next year’s local polls in Nueva Ecija, with former vice governor Edward Thomas Joson as her running mate.

Cuevas was the first to file her certificate of candidacy (CoC) for governor at the provincial office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Friday morning, while Joson was represented by counsel Atty. Bembol Castillo in filing his.

Cuevas and Joson are allied with the Alfonso Cusi-led faction of the PDP-Laban administration party. Their tandem is expected to challenge both reelectionists Gov. Aurelio M. Umali and Vice Gov. Doc Anthony Umali in the 2022 polls.

At the Comelec provincial office, among those who came to witness the CoC filing was former Gov. Edno Joson, who vowed to support their candidacies.

Also filing his CoC followed by Cuevas was actor Jayson Abalos, who will vie for a seat in the provincial board for the province’s second district. Following suit was PDP-Laban party mate Gapan City mayor Emerson ‘Emeng’ Pascual, who filed his CoC to run for congressman in the province’s fourth district.

Meanwhile, also on Friday in Palayan City, Cuevas’ 25-year-old daughter Vianne filed her CoC for city mayor along with her entire slate from the vice mayor down to the councilors. Vianne will try to succeed her mother, who is now on her third and final term.

Security and proper health and safety protocols against the COVID-19 were strictly enforced during Friday’s CoC filing, following the deployment of a joint police-army units at the Comelec offices for the filing of candidacy of political bets from October 1 to 8.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Steve A. Gosuico