Cristina Gonzales-Romualdez is new Tacloban City mayor

TACLOBAN CITY – The wife of Mayor Alfred Romualdez is poised to take over his post that he will vacate due to term limits.

Councilor Cristina Gonzales-Romualdez, a former actress, was proclaimed winner in the mayoral race on Tuesday morning.

Romualdez of the Nacionalista Party trounced her opponents with 72,077 votes.

Her closest rival, former radio commentator and Councilor Neil Glova of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), received 23,612 votes, or a margin of 48,465 votes.

A third candidate, Gold Hilda Cabudoy, got 379 votes.

Romualdez  will be the second woman to sit as mayor of Tacloban. The first was Obdulia Cinco, who served from 1976 to 1986.

Incumbent Vice Mayor Jerry Uy (independent) received a fresh mandate after receiving 71,290 votes against rival Ramon Tolibas Jr., who received 6,550 votes.

Mayor-elect Romualdez said that she would continue the programs and projects started by her husband and would also focus on tourism and inviting investors to boost the economy of the city that was crippled by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” in 2013. CDG/rga

READ: Kring-Kring Romualdez runs for Tacloban City mayor