𝑊ℎ𝑜’𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑏𝑒𝑡? 𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑎 ℎ𝑎𝑖𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑡ℎ 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑏𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑆𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑜, 𝑃𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑦𝑎𝑛’𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑦𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑓𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ.

By Romel “Direk” Bernardo
Founder, Mindoro Today

At first glance, the election season in Pinamalayan might seem familiar — political banners flapping in the wind, trucks, cars, and tricycles carrying sound systems blasting candidates’ jingles through the roads, and candidates shaking hands at every street corner. But beneath the surface, this year’s race is anything but ordinary.

With the May 12, 2025 polls just days away, the battle for mayor has captured the imagination of the public — not because it’s predictable, but because it’s shaping up as one of the most electrifying contests the town has ever seen.

For months, political insiders watched as incumbent Vice Mayor Rodel Magsino and former congressional chief of staff Christine “C3” de Castro locked horns, each building their base, each sharpening their message.

But what no one fully anticipated was the rise of a third force: Board Member Juday Servando, the youngest in the field, whose star has been rising at a stunning pace.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀

In the latest Mindoro Today survey conducted April 29 to May 4 across 1,227 respondents, the overall numbers show:

C3 de Castro: 44.6%
Rodel Magsino: 37.3%
Juday Servando: 11.5%
Undecided: 6.6%

When projected onto an estimated 51,000 voters with 80% turnout, that equals:

De Castro: ~18,168 votes
Magsino: ~15,200 votes
Servando: ~4,700 votes
Undecided: ~2,700 votes

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗖𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: 𝗔 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗮𝗽

Survey observations reveal intriguing patterns across Pinamalayan’s political map. De Castro dominates the urban core — the Poblacion zones, and the major barangays of Wawa, Marfrancisco and Papandayan — where her congressional network and program delivery resonate strongly. In the Central Highway belt, including Sta. Rita and Sto. Niño, she has carved out commanding leads, while the southern barangays of Papandayan, Del Razon, Quinabigan, and Malaya show a surprisingly tight three-way race, with Servando posting her best numbers there, particularly in Papandayan where she registerd almost 20%. Magsino’s bastion remains the Pagalagala-Sabang corridor and rural zones, where his grassroots ties run deep, though some old strongholds show slippage toward De Castro. Meanwhile, the coastal cluster is a split battleground, with mixed results pointing to the rising appeal of the De Castro-Baldos split ticket, which — despite the heated exchanges between the camps — is bafflingly becoming the top mixed preference among voters seeking both reform and tested governance. But in Pili and Guinhawa, Magsino holds a wide lead over the two other candidates.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀

Magsino, the candidate of continuity, holds the endorsement of outgoing Mayor Aris Baldos and the bloc-voting Iglesia ni Cristo, whose estimated 2,500–3,000 members could swing results in tightly contested barangays. His appeal in rural belts and west-end corridors remains his greatest strength.

De Castro, meanwhile, has surged as the face of reform. Armed with her congressional network, she has secured over ₱100 million worth of medical, livelihood, educational, and financial programs, reportedly benefiting 20,000 Pinamaleños. Not just a politician, she has become a symbol of service, dominating urban centers and even gaining ground in Magsino’s old strongholds.

Servando, the millennial upstart, has run an impressive campaign powered by youth energy. Her mental health drives, school feeding projects, and highly visible motorcades have more than doubled her support over two months — jumping from 5% in January to 11.5% in May. Notably, she commands her strongest numbers in the south, where reform-minded voters seem eager for fresh ideas.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝗿: 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗨𝗽 𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮

The heat of the campaign hasn’t been confined to rallies and house-to-house visits — it’s been raging online, too. De Castro’s camp fired the opening salvo with a one-minute video framing the 2025 mayoral race as a fight between new politics and what she calls a “lumang pulitika na bigo sa serbisyo at imprastraktura.”

This followed a viral report (not from Mindoro Today) naming Pinamalayan as the LGU with the second-highest liabilities in Oriental Mindoro, pegged at ₱500 million. While technically misleading — as liabilities in government also cover routine financial obligations — De Castro’s camp used it to pressure the Baldos administration for explanations.

Mayor Baldos responded forcefully in a video interview, dismissing the figures as “fake news” and calling his opponents “mga desperadong kandidato.” But in doing so, he publicly confirmed that the LGU holds a ₱208 million LandBank loan, used to finance road projects, including one near the controversial Dolores Peak, where Baldos reportedly owns land.

That video racked up nearly 84,000 views and energized the administration camp. But De Castro’s follow-up clips attacking the town’s outdated market (25,000 views) and overcrowded cemetery (49,000 views) reignited debate.

The Working Tandem page countered with reels celebrating Pinamalayan’s investment surge — the arrival of Mang Inasal (435,000 views) and a Flow G concert (2 million views) — casting the town as a vibrant, growing hub.

While the two frontrunners battle online, Servando quietly works her ground game, visiting barangays and steadily improving her numbers without the flash of viral content.

𝗘𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝘄𝗶𝘀𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝟯-𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗱𝗼𝘀 𝗦𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴

A surprising undercurrent in the surveys is the emerging support for a mixed De Castro-Baldos ticket, with 32% of all survey respondents saying they favor pairing the reform-oriented De Castro as mayor with the seasoned Baldos as vice mayor. Despite the verbal tussle between De Castro and Baldos online, their mixed pairing remains a leading split ticket — a baffling but notable trend among voters who see the combination as balancing fresh leadership with experienced governance.

This mixed pairing is strongest in the Western Cluster (37% support), followed by the Coastal villages (33%) and Southern barangays (32%). Political observers note that this bloc of voters sees the combination as a balance between fresh leadership and experienced, tested governance.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘅: 𝗔𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲’𝘀 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲

With just days to go, the race feels wide open.

Will De Castro’s urban wave, program delivery, and social media momentum propel her to victory?
Can Magsino’s strong machinery, religious backing, and deep rural networks claw back the lead?
Or will Servando’s disciplined, youth-driven campaign upset expectations and shatter the two-way framing of the contest?

Whatever the final result, one thing is clear: Pinamalayan is heading into one of the most thrilling, unpredictable elections in its political history.

Stay tuned — Mindoro Today will be bringing you the final tallies, live updates, and post-election analysis as the story unfolds.

𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘢 𝘯𝘪 𝘊𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰 (𝘐𝘕𝘊), 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴.