Bercede vows neutrality as council faces even split

VICE Mayor-elect Glenn Bercede will preside over an incoming Mandaue City Council that is evenly split by two opposing camps—six allies of Mayor-elect Thadeo Jovito “Jonkie” Ouano and another six who belong to the camp of former mayor Jonas Cortes. 

Bercede, whose role—a task that he is already familiar with—is to break ties in votes, is allied with Cortes, who lost to Ouano in the midterm elections on May 12, 2025. 

The vice mayor-elect said he will not be biased against the Ouano camp, saying he will not be an oppositionist for the sake of politics.

However,  it is not only the recently elected 12 councilors who will be voting for the passage of an ordinance or approval of a resolution. Two ex-officio members, Sangguniang Kabataan Federation President Flueritz Gayle Jumao-as and Association of Barangay Councils President Dante Borbajo, can also cast their votes.  

Bercede might not even break a tie in the incoming council, as Jumao-as and Borbajo are reportedly allies of Cortes, the leader of Team Mandaue coalition.  

The outgoing mayor told reporters on Thursday, May 15, that he would collaborate and support the initiatives of the incoming administration as long as they are for the good of the city. 

“The true goal…is the future of the people of Mandaue,” Bercede said in Cebuano.

The vice mayor-elect became mayor in August 2024 after Cortes, then mayor, was suspended for one year without pay by the Office of the Ombudsman due to grave misconduct. The suspension stemmed from Cortes’ appointment of Camilo Basaca Jr. as officer-in-charge of the Mandaue City Social Welfare Services Office in 2022, which was deemed illegal because Basaca allegedly lacked the qualifications for the position. 

The anti-graft office later dismissed Cortes from service and perpetually disqualified him from holding public office by the Ombudsman based on a separate case involving his failure to stop the operation of a concrete batching plant in Barangay Labogon from 2020 to 2022 despite lacking the necessary business, sanitary and environmental permits. 

Cortes has challenged both decisions in courts. 

Councilor Nerissa Soon-Ruiz replaced Bercede as vice mayor. She was unsuccessful in her bid for vice mayor in the recent polls as part of the Ouano-led  One Mandaue.  

Cortes’ Team Mandaue has secured six seats in the council, won by Jimmy Lumapas, Maline Cortes-Zafra, Jun Arcilla, Jennifer Del Mar, Raul Kevin Cabahug and Carlo Fortuna, a former vice mayor making his return to the council. 

One Mandaue, led by Mayor-elect Ouano and Congresswoman Emmarie “Lolypop” Ouano-Dizon, also captured six seats.  The winning councilors include Joel Seno, Ting Sol Cabahug, Anjong Ouano, Eugene Andaya (a former barangay councilor from Paknaan), Fritz Villamor (a former Opao barangay councilor) and Ben Basiga (a former city councilor). 

Bercede, who served as presiding officer during his time as vice mayor, said he always maintained neutrality in handling the council’s affairs.

“During my tenure, the council remained peaceful because I know how to work with the councilors and adjust accordingly. I don’t oppose just for the sake of politics. I stay neutral and treat all parties equally,” he said. / CAV