CEBU Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia and Vice Gov. Hilario “Junjun” Davide III will govern the province for another three years after having been reelected in the recently concluded 2022 national and local elections.
The four-time governor was proclaimed winner on Tuesday evening, May 10, a day after the elections, as she secured a historic 80.80 percent of the votes or 1,478,436 votes, beating former tourism secretary Joseph Felix Mari “Ace Durano, who garnered only 18.66 percent of the votes or 341,155 votes, and Nito Magnanao, who got 0.53 percent or 9,812 votes.
Davide, running mate of Durano, secured the highest number of votes or 60.60 percent at 788,081 votes, beating the governor’s running mate, Dr. Maria Theresa “Doc Tess” Heyrosa, who garnered 46 percent of the votes or 716,450 votes, and John Enad, who got 3.38 percent or 62,784 votes.
In her speech, the reelected governor, who got the mandate to serve a fifth term, thanked the Cebuanos, families and friends for their support, as she assured them of a doubling of her efforts in response to the love given to her.
“I am deeply, deeply humbled by this outpouring of support and love from the Cebuanos,” she said as she described the over 1.1 million margin of votes she got as “hair raising.”
“We’re still here, stronger, bigger and so much more ready to face whatever else they may throw our way because we have survived, we have been forged through fire like metal that has resisted the highest temperatures, we are now stronger than ever. Stronger still because of this overwhelming mandate from the Cebuanos,” she said.
Garcia served as governor for three terms from 2004 to 2013, then Cebu third district representative from 2013 to 2019 before returning to the Capitol in 2019.
Davide was the governor from 2013 to 2019.
Durano and Heyrosa conceded defeat and congratulated the reelected officials.
In his Facebook post, Durano thanked Cebuanos for their support of their cause which is #ABETTERCEBU and the Cebu Priority Development Agenda.
“I do not regret my decision to run for governor because I believe that Cebu really needs a better health program, equal livelihood opportunities, and projects for various sectors,” he said in Cebuano.
Durano wished the top two officials “the best in their journey to lead again the Province of Cebu.”
Heyrosa congratulated Davide for the extension of his mandate, adding that she prays that God will continue to bless him with good health and productivity in his second term as vice governor.
She thanked the over 700,000 Cebuanos who voted for her.
“I did not expect your outpouring of support. Shout out to the 25 cities and towns where we won in the elections. Since the start of our campaign, we had heard that I was a nobody, incapable of winning in even a single town. Thanks for inspiring me,” she said in Cebuano.
Data from the Commission on Elections Cebu Provincial Office showed that 2,021,310 individuals voted during the May 9 elections or 87.48 percent of the 2,310,339 registered voters in the province, including the highly urbanized city of Mandaue.