Joy Belmonte, Gian Sotto proclaimed QC mayor, vice mayor
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Tue, 14 May 2019 09:47:53 +0000
COMELEC Board of Election members raise the hands of newly elected Quezon City mayor Joy Belmonte (center) and vice mayor Gian Sotto (2nd from left) after the canvassing of votes at Quezon City Hall, Tuesday. (Jansen Romero)
The Board of Canvassers in Quezon City on Tuesday proclaimed incumbent Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte and Councilor Gian Sotto as the new mayor and vice mayor of the city, respectively.
Belmonte’s father, former House Speaker Sonny Belmonte, also served as the city Mayor in full three terms from 2001 to 2010, while Sotto’s father, Senate President Tito Sotto, was the city’s vice mayor from 1988 to 1992.
The proclamation of the two top leaders in Quezon City was held after 14 hours of canvassing which immediately started right after the voting precincts closed at 6 p.m.
Based on the tally showed by the local electoral board, Belmonte has garnered a total of 469,480 votes obtained from the 1,487 clustered precincts across the city.
She enjoyed a lead of over 100,000 votes against her fierce rival Quezon City representative Bingbong Crisologo who got a total of 366,215 votes, tailed by former congressman Chuck Mathay with 19,106 votes.
Belmonte will replace incumbent mayor Herbert Bautista who was her former running mate in their full three terms.
Gian Sotto was also proclaimed as the city’s new vice mayor after he led the race with a total of 382,393 votes in the local elections.
Belmonte and Sotto are under the local Serbisyo sa Bayan Party (SBP), which later formed an alliance with Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), the regional political party of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte. (Alexandria San Juan)