Pam Baricuatro is Cebu's new governor

Pam Baricuatro has been proclaimed governor of Cebu on Tuesday, after she beat Gwen Garcia, the incumbent Cebu governor seeking reelection for her third and final term.

Political newcomer Baricuatro won the Cebu gubernatorial race with 1,107,924 votes, as announced by the Provincial Board of Canvassers. She also had the highest number of votes legally cast for the position.

Her opponents Garcia followed with 750,102 votes, and Valeriano Gingco with 33,147, according to the partial and unofficial results in the GMA News Eleksyon 2025 website.

Baricuatro then took the stage for the ceremonial raising of hands, as seen in Balitang Bisdak’s livestream. The crowd also chanted her name, “Baricuatro.”

In an interview with GMA Integrated News before her official proclamation, Baricuatro said she is “overwhelmed” that she led the race.

“This is unprecedented considering that this is a clean campaign. I did not buy votes at all, there is no massive spending on my part. So it’s a very simple campaign focused on my message to the people of the province of Cebu,” Baricuatro said.

She added, “This victory is not only my victory, it’s the victory of the province of Cebu, and it’s also the victory of former President Rodrigo Duterte. So the people has spoken. They have voted for the governor that he endorsed, so I share this victory with him.”

Asked for her reaction about beating longtime governor Garcia, the newly elected governor said, “It’s obvious that the people of the province of Cebu want change. ‘Yun lang talaga. Gusto nila ng pagbabago.”

Baricuatro’s primary projects include improving the healthcare system in Cebu, as she said in her campaign.

“Problema namin ‘yung access to healthcare dito, ‘yung mga hospital.”

As a political newbie, Baricuatro said her main challenge is “I don’t have machinery with me. I don’t have any other… the vice governor is not with me and the whole council is not with me. We’re not the same party. We need to work together, stay focused on serving the people of the province of Cebu. I’m willing to work with them and I hope that they would also work with me.”

Baricuatro further added that “this is a time to heal” Cebu. “We need to come together and unite if you want to have change and progress in the province of Cebu.”

In a message for Garcia, she said, “I’m willing to work with her and I don’t need to change programs or her projects that works. I’m open to any suggestion.”

For the Vice Governor position, Garcia's running mate Glenn Soco won with 1,072,464 votes while his closest rival and independent candidate Joselito Rizal garnered 408,335 votes, according to the partial and unofficial tally in the GMA Election website.

Baricuatro studied law for three years at the University of the Visayas and a retired flight attendant. She is endorsed by former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte under the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban).

Garcia is Cebu’s first elected woman governor. She served as a governor from 2004 to 2013, then got reelected in 2019. She is yet to post a statement that she is conceding.

Garcia received a six-month suspension with no pay order from the ombudsman over allegations of grave abuse of authority after she allegedly issued a special permit to a construction company without a lawful basis.

The order was served on April 28, 2025.

The governor said that she would file an appeal on the suspension, stressing that she issued the special permit to address a critical water shortage.

“My legal team is already taking the necessary steps to challenge this preventive suspension through the proper legal channels. I have full faith that truth and justice will prevail,” she added.

— LA/AOL/BAP, GMA Integrated News

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