The Davao del Norte Gymnasium was brimmed with excitement, nervousness anticipation on Sunday, March 24, 2024, after the election of the elective positions was officially opened and victoriously announced the unofficial winning candidates for the Board of Directors, Audit Committee, and Election Committee members.
Notably, the filing of candidacy was opened last February 1-10, 2024, with over four (4) vacant positions for board members, one (1) for the audit committee and one (1) for the election committee.
One of the highlights during the Annual Representative Assembly (ARA) is the election of officers, where District Representatives (DRs) exercise their right to suffrage for the benefit of the members at large. These District Representatives are set to lead fellow members from their respective branches to propagate cooperative education in general and possess qualifications set by the Tagum Cooperative.
The election committee, which is identified to be the head of the facilitation, successfully screened five (5) candidates for the Board of Directors, two candidates (2) for the Audit Committee, and five (5) candidates for the Election Committee.
Among those vying for the board position were Hernarie T. Esmael, Josephine L. Fadul, Rosamaria S. Torrejano, Ruel M. Dagsangan, and Daniel S. Aguinaldo. For the Audit Committee were Girly R. Fernandez and Nerlyn B. Tiongson. And for the Election Committee were Kenneth C. Ceballos, Danilo G. Derro, Romela T. Pangandoyon, Ben-hur C. Rafosala, and Grace M. Sorrosa.
All of the candidates were given two (2) minutes to pitch their backgrounds and profiles, including their propaganda on how to run the cooperative.
As the voting line was officially closed, the results for each position were eagerly awaited. Dr. Michelle B. Claridad, the outgoing Chairperson of the Election Committee, announced the Audit Committee results, with Nerlyn B. Tiongson securing 409 votes, surpassing Girly R. Fernandez with 368 votes.
This was also followed by the Election Committee results, with Romela T. Pangandoyon topping the result with 354 votes followed by Kenneth C. Ceballos who garnered 141 votes, and Grace M. Sorrosa securing 127 votes, Ben-hur C. Rafosala with 81 votes, and 80 votes respectively for Danilo G. Derro.
For the Board of Directors, Hermarie T. Esmael claimed victory with an impressive 697 votes. Ruel M. Dagsangan followed closely with 574 votes, while Rosamaria S. Torrejano and Josephine L. Fadul secured 572 and 561 votes, respectively. And Daniel S. Aguinaldo garnered 422 votes.Following the verification of results by the Election Committee, the winning candidates will take their oath to facilitate and kickstart the officership as soon as possible to facilitate speedy business transactions within the cooperative. Kenneth M. Tayogandaga