In what is turning out to be a major upset in the race for governor in Cebu Province and for mayor in Cebu City, challengers Pamela Baricuatro and Engr. Nestor Archival led the count as of 2:32 a.m. on May 13, 2025 based on partial and unofficial results. 

Baricuatro, a Duterte-backed candidate, kept a comfortable lead of 265,237 votes over incumbent Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia. 

Based on data from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Media Server, Baricuatro had 866,514 votes while Garcia had 601,277 votes.

The Comelec has processed 77.91% election returns, as of this writing or 2,281,444 votes out of the 3,407,780 registered. 

Baricuatro, a retired flight attendant, and deemed a newbie in local politics, has challenged a strong contender, that is Garcia, with the help of an endorsement from former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte under the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban). 

Garcia sought reelection for a supposed last term after a successful comeback in 2019. Garcia completed her first three gubernatorial terms, or a total of nine years, from 2004 to 2013. She is Cebu’s first elected woman-governor. 

CEBU CITY RACE

Meanwhile, Archival, an incumbent councilor, led the mayoral race with 195,299 votes. 

As of midnight, Archival outraced incumbent Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia who garnered 133,962 votes, or a celebratory difference of over 194,337 votes. 

Archival’s running mate, former mayor Tomas Osmeña, has also dominated in the vice mayoral race. Osmeña has beaten incumbent Vice Mayor Dondon Hontiveros with 178,171 votes against the latter’s 145,103 votes or a lead of over 30,000 votes.