Bonz Dolor wins, brother loses in failed dynastic bid for capitol

Governor Bonz Dolor secures a third term, but his key allies — brother Hubbert Dolor and Vice Governor Ejay Falcon — are defeated in the vice gubernatorial and congressional races, respectively

MANILA, Philippines – Oriental Mindoro Governor Bonz Dolor won a third and final term in the 2025 elections, but voters rejected his brother, who ran for vice governor.

Dolor secured more than 233,000 votes, nearly double than the votes garnered by his closest opponent Joanna Valencia, daughter of former governor Rodolfo Valencia.

However, his brother Hubbert, former mayor of Puerto Galera, lost the vice gubernatorial race to former vice governor Jojo Perez. Perez got over 190,000 votes compared to Hubbert’s 126,000.

The election outcome in Oriental Mindoro is similar to that of its across-the-sea neighbor Batangas, where voters rejected the dynastic bid for the capitol of mother-and-son Vilma Santos-Recto and Luis Manzano. Santos-Recto, a former governor, won the gubernatorial race, but her son lost to term-limited governor Dodo Mandanas.

Governor Dolor previously said that having his brother serve as vice governor would prevent the provincial budget from being held hostage — a reference to his first term, when the provincial board was dominated by non-allies.

Dolor’s wife Hiyas, third nominee of party-list group FPJ Panday Bayanihan, is also unlikely to get a congressional seat, as it is currently ranked 15th in its race, and is projected to capture only one post in the House of Representatives.

FPJ Panday Bayanihan campaigned heavily in Oriental Mindoro, and topped the party-list race there with 68,000 votes.

More wins for Dolors’ rival party

The Dolors ran under the banner of Galing at Serbisyo para sa Mindoreño, but election results showed that some of their allies who carried the GSM flag also lost in key races in the province.

In the 2nd District, reelectionist congressman Alfonso “PA” Umali Jr. of Team MBS (Mindoro Bago Sarili) survived a challenge from Vice Governor and actor Ejay Falcon from GSM. Umali got more than 112,000 votes over Falcon’s 89,000 votes.

In the run-up to the election day, Falcon, a native of Pola town in the 1st District, was criticized for running in the 2nd District. In his certificate of candidacy, he declared himself a resident of Pinamalayan.

In Calapan, former mayor and congressman Doy Leachon won against incumbent Malou Morillo. Leachon led the city from 2007 to 2013, before becoming a congressman for three terms. He lost the gubernatorial race to Dolor in 2022.

Oriental Mindoro 1st District Representative Arnan Panaligan, who ran unopposed, was reelected.

Panaligan is among the 11 lawmakers designated by the House of Representatives to serve as prosecutors in the upcoming impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Oriental Mindoro, home to nearly a million people, occupies half of an island that consistently grapples with power outages and mining, issues that often dominate election campaigns. – Rappler.com