2002 Zamboanga Del Norte's 1st Congressional District Special Election

A special election for Zamboanga del Norte's 1st district seat in the House of Representatives of the Philippines was held on August 26, 2002 due to Representative Romeo Jalosjos Sr. being dropped from the rolls after being convicted with finality for rape of a minor, Jalosjos' sister won the special election convincingly.

Electoral system

Each congressional district of the Philippines sends one representative to the House of Representatives. An election to the seat is via first-past-the-post, in which the candidate with the most votes, whether or not one has a majority, wins the seat. Based on Republic Act (RA) No. 6645, in order for a special election to take place, the seat must be vacated, the relevant chamber notifies the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) the existence of a vacancy, then the COMELEC schedules the special election. There is a dispute in the procedure as a subsequent law, RA No. 7166, supposedly amended the procedure, bypassing the need for official communication from the relevant chamber of the vacancy. The COMELEC has always waited on official communication from the relevant chamber before scheduling a special election.

Meanwhile, according to RA No. 8295, should only one candidate file to run in the special election, the COMELEC will declare that candidate as the winner and will no longer hold the election.

District profile

Zamboanga del Norte's 1st congressional district is found in the northern part of the province. Romeo Jalosjos has held the district since winning in 1995.

Campaign

The House of Representatives dropped incumbent representative Romeo Jalosjos Sr. from the rolls after his conviction for rape of a minor was rendered final by the Supreme Court on November 15, 2001. Jalosjos, who was accused of rape in 1996, was originally convicted by the Makati Regional Trial Court, and sentenced to two life terms aside from penalties from six counts of lasciviousness, but still won reelection in 2001. The vacancy caused the House of Representatives to ask the Commission on Elections to call for a special election.

Four candidates filed the paperwork to run for the vacant seat:
* Cecilia Jalosjos Carreon ( Partido ng Demokratikong Reporma-Lapiang Malaya), mayor of Piñan and Jalosjos' sister
*Orlando Salatandre Jr. (independent), a former member of the Zamboanga del Norte Provincial Board, and one of the defense counsels of Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association leader Ruben Ecleo Jr.
*Archie Adaza ( Lakas-NUCD-UMDP), son of former Representative Artemio Adaza
* Elly Pamatong (independent), legal counsel of MNLF chairman Nur Misuari

Result

Carreon won via landslide, earning 64,000 votes. She served until the end of her brother's unfinished term in 2004. She was sworn in by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on August 29 at Sergio Osmeña, Zamboanga del Norte.

Aftermath

The seat became a stronghold of the Jalosjos family. Carreon won in the 2004 and 2007 general election. Romeo's son Bullet won in 2010, and defended the seat two more times until he was term-limited in 2019. Romeo's son and Bullet's brother, Romeo Jr., won in 2019. Romeo Jr. was proclaimed winner in 2022, but vacated the seat later on due to pending disqualification cases against his opponents.

Carreon was mayor of Piñan, Zamboanga del Norte in 2022.

References

{{Special Elections to the Philippine Congress

2002 elections in the Philippines
Special elections to the Congress of the Philippines
Elections in Zamboanga del Norte
August 2002 events in the Philippines
21st century in Zamboanga Peninsula