ISABELA Mayor Irene Montilla is encouraging her constituents to work with her to bring progress to the town.

Montilla made the statement after the Regional Trial Court upheld the decision of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in proclaiming her as the winner in the last May elections relative to the election protest filed by Montilla’s opponent, former mayor Joselito Malabor.

“I felt vindicated after the court came out with the decision. There are a lot to be done for our town and three years is quite short but let’s do perform for the best of Isabela,” she said.

The mayor said she aims to bring up Isabela after it was labeled as the second lowest town in Region 6 based on the latest Government Assessment Report.

Montilla is the wife of the late town mayor, Enrique Montilla.

Former mayor Joselito Malabor lost in the mayoral race by a slim margin of 48 votes after garnering 13,844 votes, compared to the 13,892 votes obtained by Irene Montilla in the last May elections.