Mary Therese Sitoy-Cho took her oath of office on Thursday last week after being elected mayor of Cordova town in Mactan Island.
Sitoy-Cho, together with her family, took her oath before Barangay Captain Magdaleno Pinote of Buagsong, the barangay where she resides.
She later administered the oath-taking of her father, former Cordova mayor and Vice Mayor-elect Adelino Sitoy, and elected municipal councilors Victor Tago III, Allan Tiro, Cesario Munez, Jose Wahing, Cesar Suan, Lemuel Pogoy, Teodrico Casquejo Jr. and Angeles Gairanod.
The oath-taking was held at the municipal gymnasium.
Vice Mayor Sitoy said in his speech that he decided to choose his daughter over his son Arleigh to run for mayor as the latter has physical limitations.
He assured the Cordovanhons that he would help his daughter carry out her responsibilities to serve the people and bring development and progress to the town.
“Dagko ang mosunod nga mga proyekto sa Cordova ug kinahanglan niya ang akong giya (There are upcoming big projects for Cordova, and she needs my guidance),” said Vice Mayor Sitoy.
Mayor Sitoy-Cho, the first woman mayor of Cordova, in her speech recalled that her first ambition was to become a CPA lawyer. She even studied in the United States, but she met Korean Charlie Cho there and eventually got married.
She thought her family would stay in Korea permanently, but they came back to the country after her father asked her to run for vice mayor in 2013 elections. Luckily, she was elected.
“Thank you very much Cordovanhons for the trust you’ve given me and for believing in my capability,” said the lady mayor.
Mayor Sitoy-Cho promised to bring in more investments. She also vowed to improve the tourism activities, prioritize education, health, environment, youth and women empowerment and maintain peace and order.
She challenged her constituents by saying, “Soar high Cordova! Kaya pa Cordova!”