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Running as the standard-bearer of the One Cagayan party, Edgar Aglipay marketed himself as a 'uniting figure' for local leaders in the province
CAGAYAN, Philippines – Edgar “Egay” Aglipay, a former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, had a successful political debut as he is poised to win the province’s gubernatorial race in the 2025 midterm elections.
Aglipay is leading against his two opponents with 255,730 votes, according to partial, unofficial results as of 7:51 pm, Tuesday, May 13, based on data sourced from the Comelec Media Server, with 98.50% of the election results already processed from the 1,201 clustered precincts in the province.
He enjoyed a comfortable lead of over 27,000 votes over his closest rival, Dok Zarah Lara. Despite losing to Lara in four of the five vote-rich towns in Cagayan — Solana, Baggao, Aparri, and the province’s capital, Tuguegarao City — Aglipay won by a landslide in the municipality of Tuao, the bailiwick of his running mate, outgoing Governor Manuel Mamba.
His lead over Lara of over 19,000 votes in Tuao offset the latter’s accumulated advantage from the four towns.
| Tuguegarao City | 97,963 | 27,999 | 30,900 | 18,624 |
| Solana | 51,787 | 16,069 | 22,011 | 3,315 |
| Baggao | 50,449 | 13,502 | 20,151 | 6,432 |
| Tuao | 39,161 | 27,641 | 2,966 | 1,071 |
| Aparri | 11,874 | 13,077 | 11,394 | 5,460 |
In a Facebook post on Monday, May 12, Aglipay expressed gratitude to his supporters as he already claimed the victory even before Comelec proclaimed a winner.
“Dahil sa inyo, tayo po ay maglilingkod bilang gobernador ng lalawigan ng Cagayan. Hindi ko po ito tagumpay lamang, kundi tagumpay nating lahat. Isang panibagong yugto ng serbisyo at malasakit ang ating haharapin — at sama-sama nating itataguyod ang mas progresibo, mas maayos, at mas makataong Cagayan,” he said.
(Because of you, we will serve as governor of the province of Cagayan. This is not my victory alone, but a victory for all of us. A new chapter of service and compassion is before us — and together, we will uphold a more progressive, more orderly, and more humane Cagayan.)
In a text message to Rappler, Comelec Cagayan reported that as of 12:40 pm Tuesday, four municipalities have yet to transmit their electoral returns.
Lara conceded the race in a Facebook post past 4 pm Tuesday: “Ako’y taus-pusong nagpapasalamat sa inyong pagtitiwala. Hindi man ito ang wakas na inaasahan natin, ito’y simula pa lamang ng mas matatag at mas malalim na paglilingkod.“
(I sincerely thank you for your trust. Although this was not the end we expected, this is just the beginning of a stronger and deeper service.)
Aglipay before politics
The 76-year-old native of Camalaniugan, Cagayan, served as PNP police director general from August 23, 2004, to March 14, 2005.
Aglipay is also known as a businessman and is the current chairman of EMME Security Group, which provides security services, including uniformed guards, investigation, and security consultancy.
Although this year marked his first political entry, his surname was already familiar in the local political scene.
His daughter, Department of Social Welfare and Development Undersecretary Emmeline Aglipay-Villar, served three terms as a representative of DIWA Partylist from 2010 to 2018 before her appointment as undersecretary of the Department of Justice.
Aglipay is the father-in-law of Senator Mark Villar, Emmeline’s husband.
He endorsed Camille Villar in this year’s midterm polls, a move that played a key role in her garnering significant numbers from the province, placing her fourth behind Imee Marcos, Erwin Tulfo, and Bong Go.
Running as the standard-bearer of the One Cagayan party, Aglipay marketed himself as a “uniting figure” for local leaders in the province.
Throughout the campaign, he promised “progreso para sa lahat ng Cagayano” (progress for all Cagayanos), appealing to Cagayanos to “unite” to fast-track the development of the province, which, according to him, was lagging behind its neighbors.
“Gusto kong simulan ang Bagong Pilipinas dito sa Cagayan,” he said during the 95.7 XFM Tuguegarao City Election Debate, referencing the brand of the Marcos Jr. administration.
Aglipay will serve as governor for the next three years, with term-limited outgoing Governor Manuel Mamba as vice governor, whose political power in the province remains strong as evidenced by the May 12 polls.
Mamba is the clear winner of the vice gubernatorial race with 344,714 votes, enjoying a lead of over 200,000 votes based on the partial and unofficial count as of 2:21 pm, with less than 2% of electoral returns left to process. – Rappler.com
Roland Andam Jr. is a BS Accountancy student and campus journalist from Cagayan State University-Andrews Campus. The editor in chief of The CSU Communicator, he is an Aries Rufo Fellowship candidate from April-May 2025.
