Few, if any, of those who knew Pamela Baricuatro believed she could unseat Gov. Gwen Garcia, who was seeking her final term. Yet, fate proved unkind to Governor Gwen, whose tenure spanned a decade or more. This time, the winds of change propelled Baricuatro, a political newcomer, into the forefront.
As I wrote this, news surfaced online that Governor Gwen’s camp had filed, or intended to file, a motion with the Board of Canvassers to suspend the proclamation of Baricuatro, the incoming governor. The Board of Canvassers, however, declined to receive the motion and proceeded to proclaim Baricuatro as the election winner and the new governor of Cebu. Baricuatro will serve a three-year term, beginning June 30, 2025.
Was this a mere happenstance? In my column last week, I posed the question, without malice: “Is the PBBM endorsement a boon for the One Cebu Party, or a kiss of death?” While it might seem coincidental, it’s worth noting that most One Cebu candidates for the Provincial Board won in their respective districts.
The gubernatorial race results, however, are indisputable. The 1,007,236 voters of Cebu Province clearly favored Baricuatro, who garnered that amount of votes. Gwen Garcia received 695,671 votes, a significant drop from her wide margin victory against former vice governor Ace Durano in the 2022 elections.
Garcia, who remains governor until June 29, despite an Ombudsman-ordered suspension, may seek grounds to contest Baricuatro’s victory. However, following the proclamation, an election protest seems a long shot.
Did the Ombudsman’s 60-day suspension order, issued approximately 13 days before the May 12 midterm elections, contribute to her defeat by a political neophyte? Speculation abounds, but perspectives will vary depending on one’s political affiliation.
Governor Garcia’s complaint against Ombudsman Samuel Martires, filed with the Comelec for alleged election law violations during her suspension, did not appear to aid her reelection bid.
Conversely, did Vice President Sara Duterte’s endorsement significantly boost Baricuatro’s victory? Possibly, as former President Rodrigo Duterte, a fellow Bisaya, maintains strong support among Cebuanos, a contrast to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., given Cebu’s historical role as an opposition stronghold during his father’s martial law era.
A poll conducted weeks before the May 12 midterm elections indicated a lopsided 95.8 percent lead for Governor Gwen, with then-contender Baricuatro trailing at 3.2 percent. Reflecting on Gwen’s apparent lead, Cheking Seares questioned in his April 29 column whether the heated campaign rhetoric was necessary and concluded that it ultimately proved ineffective.
The same survey placed Cebu City Councilor Nestor Archival of BOPK as a distant third in the mayoral race, behind Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, who received the highest approval among Cebu City respondent-voters. However, the integrity of that survey was questioned.
Are we now to conclude that polling surveys are unreliable, given the outcomes of the gubernatorial race in Cebu Province and the mayoral race in Cebu City? In the latter, Cebu City’s No. 1 North District Councilor Archival defeated four other mayoral candidates despite trailing Mayor Garcia in the aforementioned survey.
Regardless, congratulations to all the election winners! A monumental task awaits you. To the losers, the next opportunity comes in three years during the national elections, where a new president will be elected to lead our country for another six years.