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Cebu governor-elect Pam Baricuatro: Cebuanos have had enough, want change

Article (news)

Rowegie Abanto

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1747278604874495903670_10231410575222413_3526045298905934664_n.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Pam Baricuatro (center). Photo from Baricuatro&#x27;s Facebook page<br/><br/></span></span></span>MANILA — The people of Cebu have had enough and want change, Cebu Governor-elect Pam Baricuatro said Thursday, days after she pulled off a massive surprise lead in the province&#x27;s gubernatorial race.</div><p>Baricuatro, who received the support of former President Rodrigo Duterte and ran under his PDP-Laban party, said she wanted a leadership that would empower citizens and &quot;not overpower.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Cebuanos probably [have] had too much of that,&quot; she said.</p><p>Baricuatro garnered 1,092,525 votes based on partial, unofficial results as of May 15, 2025, beating reelectionist governor Gwen Garcia, who got 750,102 votes.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/regions/2025/5/12/baricuatro-leads-cebu-gubernatorial-race-0240">Baricuatro leads Cebu gubernatorial race</a></div><p>Baricuatro&#x27;s win ends the decades-long grip of the Garcia clan on Cebu province&#x27;s political landscape.</p><p>&quot;It was a series of Divine intervention and miracles throughout the campaign,&quot; she said of her victory.</p><p>The governor-elect said she would order audits in the Cebu capitol and its municipalities &quot;for the sake of transparency and accountability&quot;</p><p>&quot;Before I would get into the capitol, I would know what I have and what I can work on,&quot; she said.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4VOLIpSxpmc?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>Baricuatro is a political science graduate from the University of San Carlos. </p><p>She worked as a flight attendant for Cathay Pacific Airways, &quot;which has exposed me to a vast variety of countries, its management styles, and way of living,&quot; she said in a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pamela.to/posts/10228963228240268?ref=embed_post">Facebook post last year</a>.</p><p>She also founded and led SimplyShare Foundation, which fed over a million Cebuano children &quot;through community and school-based programs and especially during the pandemic, and responded to multiple local calamities.&quot;</p><p>From 2020 to 2024, she served as a national board director of LBP Resources and Development Corporation, a Landbank subsidiary.</p>

<p>The people of Cebu have had enough and want change, Cebu Governor-elect Pam Baricuatro said Thursday, days after she pulled off a massive win in the province's gubernatorial race.</p>

The people of Cebu have had enough and want change, Cebu Governor-elect Pam Baricuatro said Thursday, days after she pulled off a massive win in the province's gubernatorial race.