Cebu gears up for growth comeback, sets sights on expansion
Pamela “Pam” Baricuatro and Nestor Archival pulled off upset victories against their more politically entrenched and moneyed rivals during the 2025 elections mainly due to Cebuanos’ ardent desire for change.
Cebuanos wanted a fresh perspective and a chance to alter the narrative of their home city and province by having new leaders at the helm, thus the radical shift in the local political landscape.
One year after their dramatic win, both Baricuatro and Archival are taking steps to ensure they don’t let down their constituents and fulfill their promise to champion transparency and inclusivity and make the local government more responsive to people’s needs.
For Cebu governor Baricuatro, governance means going back to the basics: upgrading the public health system, education sector and public transportation; improving disaster preparedness and food security as part of efforts to invest in people’s welfare.
She believes these investments in the basics will not escape the attention of both local and foreign investors who are considering to put their money in the province that is open to partnerships and collaboration.
Fostering an environment that is conducive to investments is part of her vision to make Cebu province a premier investment hub and an economically diverse gateway to the Visayas and Mindanao as well as foreign markets.
To achieve these, Baricuatro is spearheading programs organized around good housekeeping (internal order and governance), healthcare, hunger (poverty alleviation and food security), happiness (community welfare), partnerships and infrastructure development.
Like Baricuatro, Cebu City mayor Archival also believes in going back to the basics as encapsulated in his Cebu City 2034 roadmap.
The city blueprint calls for sustainability, smart governance and social inclusion through infrastructure, digital services and resource management initiatives.
The roadmap unveiled in July of this year revolves around sustainability through flood control, food security, waste reduction, renewable energy and water systems; smart governance through digital permits, e-citations, health records and public safety tools; and inclusion through housing, healthcare, scholarships, employment and support for vulnerable sectors.
Archival told the Inquirer that he just wants life to be easier for his constituents and that means focusing on delivering a higher level of basic services without having to resort to any tax increases.
What Archival envisions is a “Sustainable, Smart and Inclusive” Cebu City, which can be achieved with the help of stakeholders including the private sector, civil society and Cebu City residents.
Among his key performance indicators are an increase in medium-rise housing projects, expanded water supply, reduction in nonrevenue water by 25 percent, lower electricity costs, digitalized services and programs for vendors and informal workers.
In formulating and then implementing these programs, Archival is relying on his engineer’s mindset that prioritizes practical and measurable solutions.
“Just like in private sector project planning, we start with the end in mind, work backward and deliver efficiently without compromising the city’s revenues,” Archival said.
Archival has a strong foundation to build on as Cebu City recorded the fastest economic growth in Central Visayas in 2025, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
Cebu City grew by 5.8 percent, while the greater Cebu province grew by 2.7 percent. These are slower than the previous year, thus both Archival and Baricuatro are determined to accelerate the pace by the time they end their current term in 2028.
“We now know where Cebu was,” Baricuatro said, “We have shown how we began moving it forward. Now, we must go farther—and faster.”
