Boses ng Bayan July 2024 survey: Chan, Gullas best mayors

CEBU, Philippines — Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan and Talisay City Mayor Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas Jr. sustained their position as the top-performing city mayors in Cebu in the second quarter of 2024.

This was based on the RP-Mission and Development Foundation Incorporated’s (RPMD) Boses ng Bayan July survey, which is an independent evaluation assessing government officials’ performance in various guidelines of governance.

Chan earned 90.1 percent while Gullas garnered 90 percent. They are considered as statistically tied as the top performing city mayors.

In the first quarter of this year, Chan and Gullas also emerged as the top-performing city mayors, with 90.5 percent and 90.3 percent, respectively.

In a Facebook post, Chan said this achievement was made possible through the help of the officials and leaders alike in achieving Lapu-Lapu City a peaceful and livable city.

“Nahimo nato kining tanan tungod kay kitang tanan puro mga KAABAG ug kitang tanan nagtinabangay. Maong dili ako ang no. 1, kundi kitang tanan. Ang mga Oponganon maoy NO. 1!,” stated a portion of his post.

Toledo City Mayor Marjorie “Joei” Perales, meanwhile, secured her spot as the second-best performing city mayor with 87.8 percent rating.

Acting Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia, on the other hand, is third with a score of 84.6 percent, followed by Bogo City Mayor Carlo Jose Martinez (82.5 percent), City of Naga Mayor Valdemar “Val” Chiong (80.8 percent).

Per statement from RPMD, the survey is meant to show the capabilities of the mayors in terms of the indicators, which include efficiency in public service, transparency and accountability, community engagement, infrastructure development, and environmental sustainability.

The indicators also include programs and development in health, education, economy, culture, and recreation to assess the effectiveness of each mayor, as well as the satisfaction of the constituents.

RPMD Executive Director Paul Martinez urged the city mayors of Cebu to further their efforts, particularly in achieving higher performance levels in the next quarters.

Martinez said that even if the performance of the city mayors of Cebu in the second quarter were acknowledged, it is essential for them as leaders to continue striving for excellence and make continuous improvement in their governance.

The “Boses ng Bayan” survey of the mayors of Cebu was conducted on July 1 to 10 and covered the second quarter of 2024. It surveyed 10,000 respondents and had a margin of error of +/-1 percent and a 95 percent confidence level.

Lolypop vs. Jonas

Meanwhile, in a similar RPMD survey, Mandaue City Lone District Emmarie “Lolypop” Ouano-Dizon would be the runaway winner against suspended Mayor Jonas Cortes, if the elections would be held today.

If the result of the July 1-10 survey is to be believed, Ouano-Dizon appears to be the frontrunner in the Mandaue City mayoralty race, garnering 53 percent of the votes compared to Cortes’ 37 percent.

The survey was conducted more than a month prior to the one-year suspension without pay that the Office of the Ombudsman imposed on Cortes starting Aug. 21, 2024.

The RPMD stated in its Facebook page stated that with a “carefully selected sample of 1,200 adult respondents from the city, researchers achieved a 95% confidence level with a 3% margin of error, providing a detailed and strategic view of the city's political dynamics.”

Participants were asked a straightforward question: If the 2025 elections for the next Mayor of Mandaue were held today, who would you choose? They were given the names of Congresswoman Ouano-Dizon and Mayor Cortes as options.

This approach, RPMD said, considered various factors such as socioeconomic status, gender, and education, “with respondents selected to proportionately reflect the voter distribution among the 234,581 registered voters in Mandaue.”

“The face-to-face survey spanned all 27 barangays, employing multi-stage probability sampling to ensure the sample was representative of the city's diverse voter base,” RPMD said. — Kristin De Dios, Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon, , Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/ RHM (CEBU NEWS)