Manuel Noveno Mamba Sr. (born August 19, 1958) is a Filipino physician and politician who is serving as provincial governor of Cagayan since 2016.
[1] During the 2013 Philippine general election on 13 May, Mamba accused then-governor Alvaro Antonio of firing an AK-47 at his convoy in Alcala while en route to a function in Manila.
[1] Mamba strongly opposed the expansion of US military presence under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which escalated under the administration of President Bongbong Marcos and opened the Camilo Osias Naval Base in Santa Ana and Cagayan North International Airport in Lal-lo to American military personnel in 2023,[16][17] citing the risk of the Philippines being dragged into a wider conflict with China.
[19] The League of Municipal Mayors whose members were dissenting against Mamba's stance on the American military presence in Cagayan were included in his electoral slate.
[5] In 2001, an election protest against Mamba was filed by his rival, outgoing Rep. Rodolfo Aguinaldo, with the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal due to accusations of vote-buying and terrorism.
[21] His re-election in 2007 became the subject of complaint of then Tuguegarao city mayor Randolph Ting as the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting reported discrepancies in election results from certain precincts in Tuao.
[25][26] The case, however, was dismissed by the COMELEC en banc through its resolution issued on March 6, 2023, citing lack of jurisdiction, provided that once a winning candidate has been proclaimed, any petition for the disqualification is prohibited by the existing laws;[27][28] only to be overturned by the Supreme Court on April 22, 2024, citing grave abuse of discretion by the commission,[29] with its reopening for its merits being ordered.
[30] On April 24, the COMELEC First Division ruled to disqualify Mamba in a separate case filed by a different petitioner, which also cited violations of public spending during his reelection campaign in 2022.
[32] On 24 August 2023, Mamba was detained by the House of Representatives for contempt after he and other officials of the Cagayan provincial government failed to attend a committee hearing regarding the allegations of electoral spending against him.
[34] In 2017, Mamba and his aides physically assaulted an employee of the provincial capitol on the nape for allegedly disrespecting him during a flag ceremony.