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Jamila Ruma, 21, succeeds his father Mayor Joel Ruma, who was gunned down during a campaign sortie in April. The Rumas have occupied Rizal town’s top two posts since 2010.
CAGAYAN, Philippines – History was made in Rizal, Cagayan, as Jamila Ruma, the eldest daughter of slain Mayor Joel Ruma, won the town’s mayoral race, making her the youngest mayor to serve in the country while extending her family’s rule of the municipality.
The 21-year-old Ruma was proclaimed winner by the Rizal, Cagayan Board of Canvassers on Tuesday. She will succeed her father, whom she substituted in the midterm elections after he was gunned down during a campaign sortie in Barangay Illuru Sur last April 23.
Ruma garnered 6,298 votes, or 48.27% of the total electoral results processed in Rizal, Cagayan, based on the Comelec Media Server as of 8:51 pm Tuesday. Twenty-nine out of the town’s 30 clustered precincts or 96.67% have reported so far.
She led by over 2,000 votes against her closest rival, Ralph Mamauag, who got 4,146 votes.
In a statement posted on her Facebook page Tuesday, Ruma described her successful bid as “a bittersweet victory.”
“Gusto nga ipadatang kikkayu ya napapusu nga appa-balas ki ngammin ya nassuporta, nagtiwala, en nangup-uppun kiyaw nga laban tida entre ya Team RUMA. Ya ayat nu en ya suporta nga nepasingan nu kikkami eh adi mi mapagpagan,” she said in Malaueg, Rizal, Cagayan’s local language.
(I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who supported, trusted, and fought alongside Team RUMA. All the love and support that everyone has shown us is priceless.)
“I-promesa kikkayu nga ituloy ku ya napya nga serbisyo ya Ama tida, nga ni Mayor Atty. Joel A. Ruma. Adi nga dihan ono pabayaan ya babalay tida nga Rizal,” said Ruma, who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Development Studies degree from De La Salle University in Manila.
(I promise you that I will make sure to continue the legacy of my father, Mayor Atty. Joel A. Ruma. I will not neglect our town of Rizal.)
This was the younger Ruma’s first dive into politics. However, she has already been exposed to the local political scene as her parents have been switching roles in the municipality’s top two posts since 2010, when Joel was first elected as mayor.
Ruma will serve her term with her mother, Vice Mayor Brenda Ruma, who was also successful in her reelection bid after garnering 6,448 votes. – Rappler.copm
Roland Andam Jr. is a BS Accountancy student and campus journalist from Cagayan State University-Andrews Campus. The editor in chief of The CSU Communicator, he is an Aries Rufo Fellowship candidate from April-May 2025.
