SEVERAL mayors in Metro Manila, composed of 16 cities and one municipality, are set to serve another three-year term after winning their reelection bids based either on partial and unofficial results or the official count.
Local boards of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) have already started proclamations for local positions across the country.
Pasig City Mayor Victor Regis “Vico” N. Sotto and Quezon City Mayor Maria Josefina “Joy” G. Belmonte were among those who won a fresh mandate.
Mar-len Abigail “Abby” S. Binay was voted for a third term as mayor of Makati City, based on partial and unofficial results from the Comelec with 100% of election returns transmitted.
Mr. Sotto garnered 335,851 votes from 612 clustered precincts, which was a landslide victory over Pasig City Vice Mayor Christian “Iyo” C. Bernardo’s 45,604, according to data from the Comelec transparency server.
In his first term as mayor, Mr. Sotto was awarded last year as one of the International Anti-Corruption Champions by the United States government for his campaign against corrupt practices.
Ms. Belmonte secured another term by receiving 617,908 votes against Anakalusugan Party-list Rep. Michael “Mike” T. Defensor, also a former representative of the city, who got 389,336 votes.
Comelec data showed that Quezon City had the highest number of registered voters in Metro Manila with 1.4 million.
Ms. Binay, meanwhile, will be serving a third and final term with a landslide victory of 338,819 votes against Joel Hernandez who only got 16,640 votes.
OTHER CITIES
In other major cities outside the capital region, several incumbents also won another three years in office.
These include Baguio’s Benjamin P. Magalong, Laoag’s Michael Marcos Keon, Iloilo City’s Jerry P. Treñas, and Cebu City’s Michael L. Rama who won as vice mayor in 2019 but took over the mayor’s seat last year after the late Edgardo C. Labella first went on sick leave.
In Dagupan City, on the other hand, Mayor Marc Brian C. Lim lost to a former mayor and longtime political rival, Belen T. Fernandez.
Mr. Lim has congratulated Ms. Fernandez in a statement posted on his Facebook page on Tuesday.
“Our people have spoken, to which I owe the highest regard. I congratulate Mayor-elect Belen Fernandez, and the newly-elected officials of the Sangguniang Panlungsod. I wish them all the best during their term, as I similarly wish that they continue all the programs and projects we have started,” he said. — John Victor D. Ordoñez and Marifi S. Jara