Maria Jocelyn "Joy" Valera Bernos (born January 9, 1977) is a Filipina politician currently serving as the vice governor of Abra. She was previously the governor of the province from 2016 to 2022, a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

representing

Abra's at-large congressional district Abra's at-large congressional district refers to the lone congressional district of the Philippines in the province of Abra (province), Abra. Abra has been represented in the country's various List of legislatures of the Philippines, national l ...

from 2010 to 2016, and a member of the

Abra Provincial Board The Abra Provincial Board is the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (provincial legislature) of the Philippine province of Abra. The members are elected via plurality-at-large voting: the province is divided into two districts, each sending four members t ...

from 2007 to 2010. She stood for the 2016 gubernatorial election under the banner of the NUP, however, since 2019, she has stood as a member of ASENSO. On August 12, 2024, she was ordered suspended by President

Bongbong Marcos Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. (, , ; born September 13, 1957), commonly referred to by the initials BBM or PBBM, is a Filipino politician who has served as the 17th president of the Philippines since 2022. He is the second child ...

for 18 months following an investigation into her unilaterally ordering the lockdown of a hospital in

Bangued Bangued, officially the Municipality of Bangued (; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality and capital of the Philippine Province, province of Abra (province), Abra, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

in 2020, when she was governor. However, her suspension was halted on technical grounds by a court in Abra, which issued a 20-day

temporary restraining order An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable reme ...

against the decision on September 2. The TRO expired on 23 September, rendering the supension final and executory. Bernos ran again for vice governor in 2025 but lost to Anne Bersamin.

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External links

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Province of Abra
Official Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Bernos, Maria Jocelyn Living people 1977 births Governors of Abra (province) Women provincial governors of the Philippines National Unity Party (Philippines) politicians Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Abra (province) 21st-century Filipino women politicians Provincial board members in the Philippines Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas politicians Women members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines