‘Dragon Slayer’ is back: Kaka Bag-ao wins Dinagat congressional race against Ecleo

The Provincial Board of Canvassers raises the hands of Arlene “Kaka” Bag-ao (2nd left), winner of the lone legislative district of Dinagat Islands, during the proclamation on Tuesday, 13 May 2025. Photo courtesy of PIO Dinagat Islands

GENERAL LUNA, Surigao del Norte (MindaNews / 13 May)  — Former Dinagat governor and known political rival of the Ecleo dynasty, Arlene “Kaka” Bag-ao, made a successful return to the political arena after winning the lone congressional seat of Dinagat Islands in the 2025 elections.

Bag-ao secured 36,958 votes, defeating incumbent Representative Allan Uno Ecleo, who garnered 30,347 votes, as officially announced by the Provincial Board of Canvassers early Tuesday morning.

While Bag-ao only won in three of the province’s seven municipalities, namely Cagdianao, Tubajon, and her hometown of Loreto, her lead in these areas proved significant enough to clinch a comeback victory.

The wide margins in these towns offset her losses in the other four municipalities, where the Ecleo camp still maintained influence.

This marks Bag-ao’s fourth electoral triumph over the Ecleo family, known for their decades-long hold on Dinagat politics and ties to the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA), founded by Ruben Ecleo Sr., a group largely considered a cult.

She first broke the dynasty’s grip on power in 2013, when she defeated Gwendolyn Ecleo, the youngest daughter of Ruben Sr., for the same congressional seat. The victory earned her the moniker “Dragon Slayer” for challenging and piercing through a long-entrenched political dynasty.

She repeated the feat in 2016 by defeating Geraldine Ecleo for the congressional seat, and again in 2019, when she won the gubernatorial race against Benglen Ecleo, Gwendolyn’s brother.

Although Bag-ao suffered a setback in 2022, losing her reelection bid for governor to Nilo Demerey Jr., who ran under the Ecleo-backed slate, her 2025 victory marks a strong comeback and may signal a shift in Dinagat’s political dynamics.

This time, Bag-ao and Demerey Jr. ran under the newly formed Bag-ong Dinagat Joint Alliance, with Demerey running for his second term as governor. 

Joining them in the top slate was Geraldine, who ran for vice governor. All three emerged victorious.

This isn’t the first time an Ecleo has run under Bag-ao’s slate. In 2013, Geraldine also aligned with Bag-ao under the Liberal Party but lost to her mother, late Glenda “Mommy Glen” Ecleo, the “default leader” of the PBMA and the matriarch of the Ecleo clan.

Bag-ao shared her gratitude in a post on her Facebook account, emphasizing that the victory belongs to all Dinagatnons.

“For me, this is not merely your choice to elect me as your Representative, it is a great trust and responsibility you have given me to carry your voices to Congress, to ensure that the people’s funds go to programs that will uplift our communities; to ensure that every Dinagatnon has a fair chance each morning to rise with strength to face life’s challenges and with hope that our dreams will be fulfilled,” she wrote Cebuano.

She added that it’s time to let go of divisive politics and begin “a politics of love that unites us as Dinagatnons.”

“I will do my very best to be your true voice, in all services and programs in our district, and in the laws we will fight for in Congress. I am confident we can achieve this as long as we remain united as partners in progress,” Bag-ao said.

The Ecleo slate, known as Team Uno, suffered a major upset in this election. Allan lost his congressional seat, Sonny Llamera lost in the gubernatorial race, and Benglen was defeated in his reelection bid for vice governor.

For the provincial board, Ali Adlawan, Ronald Luib, and Toto Vales from the 1st District, and Jaypee Espares and Al Tugay from the 2nd District, won under the Ecleo slate.

Bag-ao is a human rights lawyer who served as Executive Director of the alternative law firm, Balaod Mindanaw. She also served as the lawyer for the farmers who marched to Manila from Sumilao in Bukidnon in 2007, a 60-day journey to reclaim their 144-hectare ancestral land from corporate giant San Miguel Corporation. (Ivy Marie Mangadlao / MindaNews)