BONTOC, Mountain Province – The province’s lone congressional seat being currently occupied by two-term Rep. Maximo Dalog, Jr. will now be unchallenged following the withdrawal of the supposed contender for the said position.
Retired Police Col. Allen Sumeg-ang Ocden, who earlier filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) for the province’s lone congressional seat in the upcoming May 12, 2-25 mid-term elections, reportedly withdrew his interest when he submitted his statement of withdrawal with the Commission on Election (Comelec) provincial office last October 28, 2024 or some 20 days after the close of the COC filing last October 8, 2024.
Ocden was supposed to be an independent candidate for Representative of the Lone District of Mountain Province to the House of Representatives and was to have a head on tousle with Rep. Dalog, who is under the Villar-led Nationalist Party (NP), who is seeking his third term for the said post.
Sources, who requested anonymity for personal reasons, claimed that Ocden was forced to withdraw his COC for the province’s congressional post to avoid possible complications that may arise once he is appointed to a government position in a still undisclosed agency.
The former police official surprised the province’s electorate when he filed his COC for the province’s congressional post through his filing on October 8, 2024 or at the last day of the scheduled COC filing.
Herald Express attempted to get in touch with Ocden for his side on the matter but he could not be reached on his contact numbers while Dalog declined to issue a formal statement on the matter.
During the May 2019 mid-term elections, Dalog and Ocden were among the five aspirants for the province’s lone congressional post following the untimely demise of former Gov. and Rep. Maximo Dalog, Sr. who reportedly succumbed to a lingering illness in June 2017.
Three-term Kalinga Rep. Allen Jesse C. Mangaoang served as the province’s caretaker Congress representative during the unexpired term of the deceased lawmaker until the scheduled mid-term elections.
Mountain Province has a voting population of more than 117,000 which could increase after the final validation being conducted by the poll body where the same is equitably distributed to the province’s ten towns with Bauko, Bontoc and Paracelis having the most number of registered voters.
Moreover, the province is one of the most peaceful and orderly localities in the country during the conduct of political exercises because of the zero election-related violence and incidents that had been recorded over the past several political exercises.
Local poll observers claimed that the Dalog-Ocden toss up for the province’s congressional seat would have been exciting although Dalog still enjoys an advantage because of the numerous developments that had been undertaken in the different parts of the province tracing back from the terms of his father up to the present time. By Dexter A. See
