Candidate becomes Palawan town mayor after winning ‘best of three’ coin toss

Sue Cudilla became the town mayor thanks to a coin toss. Photo: Cudilla’s Facebook account
Sue Cudilla became the town mayor thanks to a coin toss. Photo: Cudilla’s Facebook account

Some people are just born luckier than most.

A candidate became the mayor of the town of Araceli in Palawan after she won a coin toss today.

Sue Cudilla, Araceli’s former mayor, defeated the incumbent mayor Noel Beronio when they had a coin toss at a little past 3pm, reported RapplerThe toss didn’t occur once; it was a best of three, meaning Cudilla won the game twice.

The win was decided by a coin toss because Beronio and Cudilla got the same amount of votes in this week’s election — they received 3,495 votes each. The event was overseen by election officer Emil Alili, reported ABS-CBN News. 

The decision to break the tie via coin toss has a legal basis. The Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines states that if candidates end up having the same number of votes, the tie will be broken either through a coin toss or drawing of lots.

This is the third time that the political rivals fought for the town’s mayoralty post. In 2013, Cudilla won against Beronio, but in 2016, it was Beronio who was elected to become mayor, reported Manila Bulletin. 

Cudilla is not the only woman who became mayor for winning a coin toss. Joni Villanueva became the mayor of Bocaue in Bulacan in 2016 when she won a coin toss against her rival Jim Valerio, reported CNN Philippines. The two received 16,694 votes each, which made the coin toss necessary. Joni is the sister of Senator Joel Villanueva and the daughter of an incoming congressman, pastor Eddie Villanueva.

Araceli is an island municipality where various bird species and rock formations could be found. It has a population of 14,909 people according to the 2015 census.



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