Robes steps into history as first lady mayor of San Jose del Monte

THE City of San Jose del Monte, the so-called ‘Rising City’ in Bulacan province, would finally experience ‘Women Power’ in governance after the convincing victory during the May 12, midterm polls of Congw. Rida Robes and her running mate, Arlene Aba Bartolome as mayor and vice mayor, respectively. Robes made history as the city’s first elected lady mayor.

Robes’ husband, Mayor Arthur, also handily won the congressional race for the lone district of San Jose del Monte by also overwhelming his opponent.

Robes, Bartolome and all the other winning candidates, majority of them from the Robes’ ‘Team ARangkada’ ticket, were proclaimed by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) at the City Convention Center the following day.

The official tally showed Cong. Arthur Robes getting some three times more votes, 170,044 votes, than his rival, Dan Florentino, who only garnered 58,296 votes.

On the other hand, Mayor Rida Robes steamrollered her two rivals with 126,457 votes compared to 86,172 votes for Atty. Earl Tan and 32,974 votes for Aga Agapito.

In the vice mayoralty race, Bartolome clobbered the opposition with a total vote of 87,587 compared to her two closest rivals, Irene del Rosario, who garnered 79,051 votes and Janet Reyes, who polled 58,802 votes.

The local COMEEC office noted the active participation of SJDM residents in the polls with actual voter turnout at 82.51 percent equivalent to 256,055 who casted their votes last Monday.