THE Province of Cebu has elected its second woman governor in Pamela Baricuatro, who pulled an upset win over incumbent and five-term Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia in the 2025 midterm polls.
Baricuatro, proclaimed on Tuesday by the Cebu Provincial Board of Canvassers, promised to be a “people’s governor,” citing support from the public despite lacking endorsement from various local mayors and barangays across the province.
“I only have people behind me, so I want to be known as the ‘people’s governor,’” she said.
Her proclamation was delayed for several hours due to a malfunctioning USB driver in one of the automated counting machines (ACMs) at a polling precinct in a barangay in Pinamungajan, town.
The USB had to be reformatted, which delayed the transmission of votes, according to Commission on Elections (Comelec) 7 Director Francisco Pobe.
After reformatting, the USB was returned to the ACM, and members of the Electoral Board reinserted the official ballots one by one for the machine to recount them before transmission.
In the vice-governor race, Provincial Board Member Glenn Soco defeated independent candidate Joselito Ruiz.
Tally
Baricuatro garnered 1,107,924 votes, compared to Garcia’s 765,051 votes and 33,563 from independent candidate Valeriano Gingco.
The proclamation was marred by commotion after Garcia’s camp attempted to halt it through a petition to the Provincial Board of Canvassers.
Comelec Cebu Provincial Election Officer Marchel Sarno, who chairs the Board of Canvassers, said only an order from Comelec Central Office in Manila could suspend the proclamation.
Baricuatro thanked her supporters, particularly the followers of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who endorsed her candidacy.
She said she remains hopeful that Duterte will return home after his controversial arrest and turnover by Philippine authorities to The Hague, Netherlands, where he faces crimes against humanity complaints before the International Criminal Court.
Plans
In an interview before her proclamation, Baricuatro said improving the province’s healthcare system would be her top priority.
She also said she would continue the current administration programs that benefit Cebuanos but would review those she deemed ineffective. This includes streamlining various programs, projects and services at the Cebu Provincial Capitol to improve delivery and make the Capitol more inclusive.
“I want to promote simple governance in providing services to my constituents,” she said.
Asked to comment on Garcia, Baricuatro said: “Well, magpasalamat sad ko sa mga pangdaot (I’m thankful for the criticisms) before. I think it helped in the campaign… I don’t think I have anything to say to her.”
Baricuatro said she would look for alternatives to Garcia’s flagship programs, Suroy-Suroy Sugbo and Pasigarbo sa Sugbo.
She also expressed opposition to transferring the Cebu Capitol to a mountain barangay in Balamban, citing inconvenience to constituents.
Baricuatro previously served as Kabataan Barangay (KB) chairperson at age 16. She is a political science graduate and attended law school. She also worked as a flight attendant for Cathay Pacific and was appointed to the board of directors of Landbank Resource Development Corp. during Duterte’s administration.
In 2015, she founded SimplyShare Foundation Inc., which later established the first food bank in the Visayas.
Her eight-point agenda includes improving healthcare services and provincial hospitals; fighting poverty and hunger; intensifying anti-corruption and anti-drug efforts; creating more livelihood programs; protecting the environment; addressing traffic; and creating opportunities for the youth, women, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. / EHP