CALASIAO—All the barangay and sangguniang kabataan (SK) candidates in Barangay Longos in this town made history in the last local elections: there was no contest at all, all ran unopposed.

Winning the barangay captain post, Haverdani Das Mesina, youngest brother of Vice Mayor Mahadeva Das Mesina who hails from Longos, Calasiao, led the single slate of candidates without any opponents.

“There were no campaign tarpaulins here,” Mesina pointed out.

Vice Mayor Das Mesina (center) joins the unopposed barangay and SK candidates in celebration. (Punchphoto by Eva Visperas)

Haverdani, who had topped the previous election for kagawad (village councilman), succeeded his brother Mahadeva, who became vice mayor in 2016 by succession when the elected vice mayor resigned. All the barangay kagawads are reelectionists.

When Mahadeva was barangay captain, he ran twice also unopposed.

“It’s a good thing to see all our barangay and SK officials unopposed,” he said, implying that there is unity of purpose in the barangay.

Longos has about 800 households and 2,000 voters, and most everyone still voted to determine the rankings of the kagawads, he said.

During the campaign, the candidates still went around the village distributing tokens of appreciation to thank their barangaymates and to solicit their support for their projects.

Haverdani said it was their performance in the barangay over the years that made residents support the team.

The Mesina brothers said they want to perpetuate the legacy of their father who initiated big projects in their barangay from his personal resources, among them the barangay gymnasium.

SK chairman candidate Maria Nouvelle Ico and her entire slate also had no opponents.

Ico said it was her colleagues in the Katipunan ng Kabataan who were active in the barangay that ran unopposed. (Eva Visperas)

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