Local elections were held in

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines and capital of the Cebu Province. A ...

on May 13, 2019 within the Philippine general election. Registered voters of the city elected candidates for the following elective local posts: mayor, vice mayor, district representative, and eight councilors

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

for each district. There are two legislative districts in the city. On May 14, 2019, after more than 24 hours since the polls have closed,

Edgardo Labella Edgardo Colina Labella (; May 22, 1951 – November 19, 2021) was a Filipino politician and lawyer who served as the mayor of Cebu City from 2019 until his death in 2021. Prior to becoming mayor, he was the city's vice mayor from 2013 to 2019 a ...

was proclaimed as Cebu City's new mayor. He led the mayoral race with 265,738 votes, followed by Osmeña with 246,813 votes.

Background

Tomas Osmeña Tomas dela Rama Osmeña (; born July 26, 1948), known as Tommy Osmeña, is a Filipino politician who served as the Mayor of Cebu City thrice: first from 1987 to 1995, again from 2001 to 2010, and lastly from 2016 to 2019. He also served as Cong ...

Bando Osmeña – Pundok Kauswagan Bando Osmeña – Pundok Kauswagan (), commonly known as BO–PK or BOPK, is a local political party based in Cebu City, Philippines. It is a political party run by the Osmeña family of Cebu since 1987 when Tomas Osmeña first ran for mayor of ...

(BOPK), who allied his group with

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a l ...

, won the

2016 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2016. Africa Benin Republic *2016 Beninese presidential election 6 March 2016 Cape Verde * 2016 Cape Verdean presidential election 2 October 2016 Chad * 2016 Chadian presidential election 10 A ...

with 53.40% of the votes defeating then incumbent

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

Michael Rama of BARUG Team Rama, which was allied with

United Nationalist Alliance The United Nationalist Alliance (UNA; ) is a political party in the Philippines. It was created as a multi-party electoral alliance replacing the former United Opposition (UNO) coalition for the 2013 midterm elections, before it was launched ...

. Meanwhile, Rama's running mate, incumbent vice mayor

of BARUG Team Rama (BARUG), defeated Osmeña's running mate, then councilor Nestor Archival of BOPK, in the vice mayoralty election. Rama initially challenged the victory of Osmeña by holding a prayer rally with his supporters and threatened to file an electoral protest claiming that Osmeña committed electoral fraud. On May 16, 2016, seven days after the

, Rama conceded to Osmeña during the 3rd prayer rally in front of the

Cebu City Hall The Cebu City Hall is the official seat of government of the City of Cebu, located in Barangay Santo Niño, Cebu City, Philippines. Composed of two buildings namely the Executive Building and the Legislative Building, it is where the Mayor of Ceb ...

. He reiterated however that he would pursue an electoral protest to question the results of the election. On June 28, 2016,

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is o ...

-elect

Leni Robredo Maria Leonor "Leni" Gerona Robredo (; born Maria Leonor Santo Tomas Gerona; April 23, 1965) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 14th vice president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. She was the wife of the late Jesse Ro ...

administered the oath to Osmeña and six BOPK councilors who won in the

at Cebu City Sports Center. Despite winning as Mayor, Osmeña had to deal with a

Cebu City Council The Cebu City Council ( Filipino: Sangguniang Panlungsod ng Cebu) is the legislature of Cebu City, Philippines. The legislative body is composed of 18 councilors, with 16 councilors elected from Cebu City's two councilor districts and two ele ...

that was dominated by councilors from Rama's party with eleven councilors including Cebu City

Liga ng mga Barangay The Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas (League of Barangays in the Philippines) and the Asosasyon ng mga Kapitan ng Barangay (Association of Barangay Captains) or ABC are formal organizations of all the barangays in the Philippines. Presently, al ...

President Phillip Zafra who sits as an ex-officio member. During the inaugural session of the 14th Sangguniang Panlungsod, BARUG councilors prevented BOPK councilors from being able to get committee chairmanships and memberships. Instead, BOPK councilors were given with executive functions by Osmeña by designating them as deputy mayors in different fields. Osmeña defined the term "deputy mayor" as someone higher compared to holding a committee chairmanship or membership in the

which in turn made them as his alter egos. The

experienced several shifts during the 14th Sangguniang Panlungsod which started when councilor Dave Tumulak left BARUG, where he ran and won during the

, on August 24, 2016 to become an independent politician after a closed-door meeting with councilor

Margot Osmeña Margarita "Margot" Lim Vargas Osmeña (born July 25, 1949) is a Filipino politician who served as a member of the Cebu City Council from 2010 to 2019. She is married to former mayor of Cebu City Tomas Osmeña. A member of the Vargas Clan of ...

, wife of mayor Osmeña. Tumulak cited the reason that he was tired of political quarrels in Cebu City and indicated his support on Osmeña's plans for

. Several days after, on August 30, 2016, councilor Nendell Hanz Abella also left BARUG to become an independent politician producing a city council with nine councilors from BARUG, six from BOPK and two from the independent bloc. On March 25, 2017, councilor Jerry Guardo, who was meted with a 3-month suspension by the

DILG The Department of the Interior and Local Government ( fil, Kagawaran ng Interyor at Pamahalaang Lokal), abbreviated as DILG, is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for promoting peace and order, ensuring public safe ...

, left BARUG after he alleged that fellow party member Lemar Alcover, son of Councilor Pastor Alcover Jr., was behind the push for the implementation of his suspension. On the same day, Tumulak also confirmed that he was joining BOPK while Mayor Osmeña confirmed that Abella has joined them. This in turn gave the majority in the

to BOPK with nine councilors against BARUG's eight councilors. BOPK's majority in the

was short-lived when Abella announced his resignation after he was appointed by president

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...

as commissioner in the 7th Division of the

National Labor Relations Commission The National Labor Relations Commission ( Filipino: ''Pambansang Komisyon sa Ugnayang Paggawa'', abbreviated ''NLRC'') is a quasi-judicial agency tasked to promote and maintain industrial peace based on social justice by resolving labor and manag ...

(NLRC) thus giving the two council blocs at an even 8–8 but still had vice mayor

of BARUG to break the tie for party-line voting in the council. The names of Renato "Junjun" Osmeña Jr. and Inayawan barangay captain Lutherlee "Lotlot" Ignacio-Soon were recommended as replacements to Abella. Both Osmeña Jr. and Ignacio-Soon ran with BARUG but failed to make it to the

. Councilor Joel Garganera accused mayor Osmeña of maneuvering the appointment of their party ally as replacement of Abella in the

by claiming that BOPK reached out to Senator

Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Phil ...

to let former vice president

Jejomar Binay Jejomar "Jojo" Cabauatan Binay Sr. (born Jesus Jose Cabauatan Binay; November 11, 1942) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 13th vice president of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016, under President Benigno Aquino III. A hu ...

, head of the

(UNA), appoint instead Rengelle Pelayo to the council. Eventually, UNA endorsed Osmeña Jr. to fill the position vacated by Abella. Councilor James Anthony Cuenco of BARUG was dismissed from public service on October 3, 2017 by the

Office of the Ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

for alleged irregularities when he served as chief of staff of his father, former Cebu City South District representative Antonio Cuenco reducing BARUG's councilors to seven. Upon the appointment of Osmeña Jr. by Duterte, the council standing returned to 8-8. Erik Miguel Espina, son of former

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and ...

governor and senator Rene Espina, was nominated by BARUG to replace Cuenco. Espina's appointment gave BARUG the majority once again. During the 2018 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, 49 out of the 80 elected barangay captains and 41 out of the 80 elected SK chairpersons in

were identified with BOPK. In the election for SK Federation president, BARUG fielded Sonia Cal of Barangay Tisa while BOPK fielded Jessica Resch of Barangay San Nicolas Proper. Resch won with 44 votes becoming the SK Federation president of Cebu City and ex-officio member of the

. Three barangay captains were initially floated as candidates for

(LNB) President namely Franklyn Ong of Barangay Kasambagan, Prisca Niña Mabatid of Barangay Mabolo and incumbent LNB President & councilor Phillip Zafra of Barangay Tisa. BOPK chose Ong as its candidate while Mabatid was chosen by BARUG after its candidate Zafra bowed out from the race. Despite the walkout of Mabatid's allies during the LNB elections, Ong still won with 51 votes. The election of Resch and Ong returned the majority of the

to BOPK with ten councilors. In December 2018, BARUG was accredited as a political party by the

Commission on Elections An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

(COMELEC). Councilor Espina announced on December 14, 2018 that he will only remain in his post until January 1, 2019 after the

Court of Appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much ...

reversed the ruling of the

finding suspended councilor Cuenco guilty of serious dishonesty and grave misconduct and ordered his reinstatement to the

. Cuenco reported back to work as councilor on January 3, 2019. BARUG had no mayoralty candidate for the 2019 elections as two of its leaders namely former mayor Rama and vice mayor Labella both expressed their intentions to run as

. On August 30, 2018, Rama announced his decision to run for vice mayor instead and gave way to Labella. Osmeña named two of his allies, councilors Tumulak and Mary Ann de los Santos, as his possible candidate for vice mayor. There were also reports of BOPK-allied barangay captains pushing for an Osmeña-Ong tandem but Ong declined since he wanted to focus as LNB President. Osmeña officially declared de los Santos as his candidate for vice mayor during BOPK's rally at Lahug Elementary School gym. Osmeña also announced that BOPK was no longer affiliated with the

(LP) as they have pledged allegiance to the

Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino The Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino () is a centre-right political party in the Philippines. There are no results available for the 2004 election for the House of Representatives, but according to the website of the House, the party held 7 out ...

(LDP) party of Senator

Sonny Angara Sonny is a common nickname and occasional given name. Often it can be a derivative of the English word "Son", a name derived from the Ancient Germanic element *sunn meaning "sun", a nickname derived from the Italian name Salvatore (especially in ...

Debate

The

Integrated Bar of the Philippines The Integrated Bar of the Philippines ( fil, Pinagsamang mga Abogasya ng Pilipinas abbreviated as IBP) is the national organization of lawyers in the Philippines. It is the mandatory bar association for Filipino lawyers. History The IBP was esta ...

-Cebu City Chapter organized the only mayoral and vice mayoral debate for Cebu City originally scheduled on April 22, 2019 at Cebu City Sports Club. Osmeña, his running-mate de los Santos, and Labella confirmed their attendance. Rama was the only one who declined to participate and tried to convince Labella to join him in ditching the debate saying that it would only put Osmeña on the spotlight. The IBP-Cebu City Chapter then moved the debate schedule to May 6, 2019 to give candidates quality time to observe the Holy Week. Upon Labella's request, the debate was once again postponed since he had to attend a meeting with Duterte in Malacañang. The IBP-Cebu City Chapter granted his request to move the schedule to May 10, 2019 which the other participants also agreed.

Mayoralty and vice mayoralty elections

Mayor

ran for his second term as the

mayor of Cebu City The mayor of Cebu City ( ceb, Punong Dakbayan sa Sugbo) is the chief executive of the government of Cebu City in the Philippines. The mayor leads the city's departments in executing ordinances and delivering public services. The mayorship is a t ...

. Meanwhile,

, who served as vice mayor of Cebu City under the administrations of Michael Rama and Osmeña, ran for his first time as mayor and defeated Osmeña.

Results by barangay

Vice Mayor

Mary Ann de los Santos, who was on her second term as Cebu City councilor for the North District and was eligible for a third and final term, opted to run for vice mayor. Michael Rama, who served 2 terms as mayor and 3 terms as vice mayor, ran again as vice mayor and defeated de los Santos.

District representatives

1st District

Raul del Mar Raul Veloso del Mar (March 20, 1941 – November 16, 2020) was a Filipino politician who served as the Representative of Cebu City's 1st district three times: from 1987 to 1998, from 2001 to 2010, and from 2013 until his death in 2020. He was ...

ran for his third and final term, and won against actor

Richard Yap Richard Edison Uy Yap (born May 18, 1967) is a Filipino actor, singer, model and businessman of Chinese descent. He is best known for portraying Richard "Sir Chief" Lim in '' Be Careful with My Heart'' and "Papa Chen" in '' My Binondo Girl''. ...

2nd District

Rodrigo Abellanosa Rodrigo "Bebot" Abellana Abellanosa (born December 2, 1961) is a Filipino politician who served as the representative for the 2nd district (south district) of Cebu City from 2013 to 2022. He was a member of the Cebu City Council representing t ...

ran for his third and final term, and won against former Cebu City councilor for the South District Jocelyn Pesquera.

City Council

Incumbents The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

are expressed in italics. Number indicates the ballot number assigned for the candidates by COMELEC.

By ticket

Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino/
Bando Osmeña – Pundok Kauswagan Bando Osmeña – Pundok Kauswagan (), commonly known as BO–PK or BOPK, is a local political party based in Cebu City, Philippines. It is a political party run by the Osmeña family of Cebu since 1987 when Tomas Osmeña first ran for mayor of ...

Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan/
Partido Barug Partido Barug, commonly known as BARUG, is a regional political party based in Cebu City, Philippines. Cebu City mayor Michael Rama is its founding president. BARUG is currently affiliated with PDP–Laban since 2018. It has formed an allianc ...

Partido Federal ng Pilipinas

Independents

By district

1st District

Note: Incumbent councilors Alvin Arcilla and Sisinio Andales were disqualified by COMELEC after it issued a writ of execution for the certificate of finality of the earlier decision canceling Arcilla's and Andales' certificate of candidacy (COC). *Key: ''Italicized'': incumbent , colspan="7" style="background:black;",

2nd District

*Key: ''Italicized'': incumbent , colspan="16" style="background:black;",

Electoral dispute

In a five-page decision promulgated on June 28, 2019, the COMELEC First Division declared Sherwin Luie Abella a nuisance candidate after he failed to answer the petition for his disqualification filed by BOPK candidate for councilor Atty. Marie Velle "Amay" Abella, who received 110,131 votes in the 2019 elections. Both candidates share the same surname and ran for an elective post for councilor in Cebu City's 2nd (South) district. Amay was furnished a copy of the said order on July 2, 2019. Amay hoped to get the 20,262 votes cast for Sherwin giving her 130,393 votes, which would dislodge newly-elected councilor Phillip Zafra who clinched the 8th slot in the

for south district. She only needs 5,162 votes to unseat Zafra. Should she succeed in unseating Zafra, this will raise the number of BOPK-allied councilors from six to seven. On August 30, 2019, the COMELEC First Division ruled with finality that Sherwin has been disqualified for being a nuisance candidate. However, the election body ruled that not all of the votes garnered by Sherwin will go to the Amay. Upon the checking of ballots, if a voter voted for both candidates, this vote will not be credited to Amay. Only votes cast for Sherwin will automatically be credited to Amay according to the decision. On May 26, 2020, Amay passed away due to illness according to Cebu City south district

representative Representative may refer to: Politics *Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people *House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities *Legislator, someon ...

. COMELEC went on with the recount of votes for Amay in September 2021 but was halted due to an appeal from Councilors Zafra and Renato Osmeña Jr.

References

{{Central Visayas elections 2019 Philippine local elections Elections in Cebu City May 2019 events in the Philippines