Governor Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. and candidates from his Sulong Zambales Party (SZP) swept the 2025 provincial elections, winning 11 out of 12 elective positions, including both congressional seats.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) proclaimed Ebdane and his allies early Tuesday morning, May 13, at the provincial Comelec office. Ebdane secured his third consecutive term as governor with a landslide 306,367 votes (90.85%), decisively defeating independent candidate Chito Balintay, who garnered 30,857 votes (9.15%).

This marks Ebdane’s fifth electoral victory, having first been elected in 2010. He previously served consecutive terms before returning to public office in 2019.

Incumbent Vice Governor Jacqueline Khonghun, who ran unopposed under Lakas and is a key ally of Ebdane, was re-elected with 279,807 votes. Her brother, First District Representative Jay Khonghun (Lakas), also won unopposed with 160,887 votes.

In the Second District, Congresswoman Doris “Bing” Maniquiz (Lakas) retained her seat with 173,743 votes (68.41%), defeating Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) bet and former representative Cheryl Deloso-Montalla, who got 79,928 votes (31.59%).

SZP candidates dominated the Provincial Board races. In the First District, all three board member seats went to SZP bets: Cecil Felarca-Rafanan (68,244 votes), Ike Delgado (64,243), and Elmer Tumaca (57,734). They ran unopposed.

In the Second District, SZP won six out of seven seats. The top vote-getters were Rundy Ebdane (158,804), Reena Mae Collado (137,615), Samantha Ablola (123,806), Jim Abasta (110,623), Eric Matibag (100,127), and Reynaldo Tarongoy (86,847). The only non-SZP candidate to win was Jury Deloso (NPC), who placed fourth with 112,502 votes. Deloso, notably, ran under SZP in 2016 and topped the board member race that year.

SZP-aligned candidates also claimed eight out of 13 mayoral and vice mayoral seats across Zambales’ municipalities, further solidifying the party’s influence across the province.