Zion Mhar Kaezer Corpuz

Jamila Ruma was proclaimed on May 13 as the new mayor of Rizal, Cagayan, making her the youngest mayor in the Philippines at just 21 years old.

Photo Courtesy of Facebook/Jamila Ruma.

Based on the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Media Server, with 100% election returns as of 10:07 p.m. on May 13, the young mayor leads the mayoral race with 6,533 votes (60.07%), over 2,000 votes ahead of her closest rival, Ralph Mamauag, who garnered 4,167 votes (38.31%). 

Ruma is the daughter of the late Mayor Joel Ruma, the incumbent mayor of the same municipality, who was gunned down last April 23 in Barangay Illuru Sur.

Following her father’s assassination, she substituted in the mayoral race. 

Her mother, Brenda Ruma, also won the vice-mayoral race with 6,683 votes or 63.23%, making the mother-daughter tandem the town's top elected officials.

"I promise to all of you that I will continue the good service that my father, Mayor Atty. Joel A. Ruma, started, and I will strive to live up to the trust that has been given to me. I will never abandon our beloved town of Rizal," she pledged, assuring the continuation of her father’s SAPAT at TAPAT brand of public service.

"I hold on to my father's promise—to keep Rizal a happy and safe place, for the progress of every Rizaleño," she added. 

Ruma graduated from De La Salle University Manila, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Development Studies, and is reported to have been a consistent dean’s lister, with some special academic awards such as Best Thesis and Best Thesis Presenter awards.