1955 Makati local elections

1955 Makati mayoral election

November 8, 1955 (1955-11-08)

Nominee Maximo Estrella Jose D. Villena Bernardo Umali Party Liberal Nacionalista Democratic Running mate Juan Patag Benjamin Guerra Ernesto Policarpio Popular vote 7,131 6,548 2,523

Mayor before election Bernardo Umali Nacionalista Elected mayor Maximo B. Estrella Liberal

Vice mayoral election

Candidate Juan Patag Benjamin Guerra Ernesto Policarpio Party Liberal Nacionalista Democratic Popular vote 5,025 4,723 4,332   Candidate Faustino Bautista Party Independent Popular vote 1,851

Vice Mayor before election Bernardo Umali Liberal Elected Vice Mayor Juan Patag Liberal

Local elections was held in the Municipality of Makati on November 8, 1955, within the 1955 Philippine local elections, during the administration of President Ramon Magsaysay. The voters elected for the elective local posts in the town: the mayor, vice mayor, and the eight-member local municipal council. The municipality of Makati was then under the jurisdiction of the 1st congressional district of the Province of Rizal. The elections for the district representatives were held in 1953.

Background

Incumbent Makati mayor Jose D. Villena is running for his sixth term, having been elected in every mayoral election from 1934 to 1951. Villena was suspended by President Elpidio Quirino on June 19, 1953, due to alleged misconduct. He was succeeded as mayor by Councilor Ignacio Babasa, after the incumbent vice mayor, Bernardo Umali, was also suspended by the Makati Municipal Council, as a result of a separate case filed against him and councilor Abundio Suck. Umali eventually succeeded Babasa as acting mayor in 1954.

Villena is a staunch candidate of the Nacionalista Party. He selected Benjamin Guerra as his running mate.

His challengers for mayor were:

1. Businessman Maximo Estrella of the Liberal Party, with Juan Patag as his running mate.

2. Acting Mayor Bernardo Umali of the Democratic Party, with Ernesto Policarpio as his vice-mayoralty candidate.

At the time, Philippine politics was under the Two-party system, dominated by the Liberals and Nacionalistas, with the Democratic Party posing as a strong third political party.

Candidates

Nacionalista Party

Name	Party
For Mayor
Jose Daniel S. Villena Sr.		Nacionalista
For Vice Mayor
Benjamin Guerra		Nacionalista
For Councilor
Ignacio C. Babasa		Nacionalista
Amado E. Diaz		Nacionalista
Tomas B. Estacio		Nacionalista
Dionisio S. Flores		Nacionalista
Fortunato M. Gutierrez		Nacionalista
Pedro Reyes		Nacionalista
Juan E. Tengco		Nacionalista
Eliseo D. Viray		Nacionalista

Liberal Party

Name	Party
For Mayor
Maximo B. Estrella		Liberal
For Vice Mayor
Juan Patag		Liberal
For Councilor
Jose Alarilla		Liberal
Benjamin Bautista		Liberal
Isidro de Leon		Liberal
Florentino Dimaguila		Liberal
Teotimo Gealogo		Liberal
Jose Mayor		Liberal
Abundio G. Suck		Liberal
Justino Ventura		Liberal

Democratic Party

Name	Party
For Mayor
Bernardo Umali		Democratic
For Vice Mayor
Ernesto Policarpio		Democratic
For Councilor
Maria Lourdes Cacho-Soriano		Democratic
Oscar Calvento		Democratic
Amado C. de Vera Jr		Democratic
Jose Feria		Democratic
Rafael C. Gaite		Democratic
Jose C. Luciano		Democratic
Fernando Suva		Democratic
Filomena Villamor		Democratic

Independent

For Vice Mayor
Faustino Bautista		Independent

Results

Mayor

Maximo Estrella defeated suspended mayor Jose D. Villena and acting mayor Bernardo Umali.

1955 Makati mayoral election

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Maximo B. Estrella	Liberal	7,131	44.01
	Jose Daniel S. Villena Sr.	Nacionalista	6,548	40.41
	Bernardo Umali	Democratic	2,523	15.57
Total			16,202	100.00
	Liberal Party gain on Nacionalista
Source: Philippine Commission on Elections

Vice Mayor

Juan Patag won against three other candidates.

1955 Makati vice mayoral election

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Juan Patag	Liberal Party	5,025	31.54
	Benjamin Guerra	Nacionalista	4,723	29.65
	Ernesto Policarpio	Democratic	4,332	27.19
	Faustino Bautista	Independent	1,851	11.62
Total			15,931	100.00
	Liberal Party gain on Nacionalista
Source: Philippine Commission on Elections

Rizal 1st District Representative

Eulogio S. Rodriguez Jr. won re-election 1st congressional district representative against two other contenders. The election for this position was held on November 10, 1953. This district holds jurisdiction over the Municipality of Makati.

1953 Rizal's 1st congressional district representative election

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Eulogio S. Rodriguez Jr.	Nacionalista	109,164	65.59
	Jose P. Marcelo	Liberal	57,063	34.28
	Juan V. Aldea	Independent	217	0.13
Total			166,444	100.00
	Nacionalista hold
Source: Philippine Commission on Elections

Municipal Council

Five of eight winning candidates came from the Liberal Party. Three won from the Nacionalista Party

Municipal Council election at Makati's lone district

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Justino Ventura	8,437
	Liberal	Jose Mayor	8,106
	Liberal	Florentino Dimaguila	7,684
	Nacionalista	Pedro Reyes	7,392
	Nacionalista	Ignacio C. Babasa	7,115
	Liberal	Benjamin Bautista	6,843
	Nacionalista	Juan E. Tengco	6,571
	Liberal	Teotimo Gealogo	6,284
	Liberal	Abundio G. Suck	5,963
	Nacionalista	Dionisio S. Flores	5,721
	Democratic	Jose Feria	5,418
	Liberal	Isidro de Leon	5,267
	Nacionalista	Tomas B. Estacio	5,031
	Democratic	Maria Lourdes Cacho-Soriano	4,786
	Nacionalista	Eliseo D. Viray	4,619
	Liberal	Jose Alarilla	4,397
	Democratic	Jose C. Luciano	4,183
	Nacionalista	Amado E. Diaz	3,958
	Democratic	Rafael C. Gaite	3,741
	Nacionalista	Fortunato M. Gutierrez	3,526
	Democratic	Amado C. de Vera Jr	3,289
	Democratic	Fernando Suva	2,947
	Democratic	Oscar Calvento	2,613
	Democratic	Filomena Villamor	2,281

Aftermath

Estrella and Villena would battle for the mayoral post three more times: in 1959, 1963, 1967, which Estrella all won.