MA. JOSEFINA ‘JOY’
BELMONTE

Ma. Josefina Belmonte is the newly-elected Mayor of Quezon City. Recently, she was chosen as one of the Top Ten Outstanding Mayors of the Philippines by the Gawad Filipino Awards. Aside from being the Local Chief Executive of Quezon City, she is currently the Executive Vice President of The League of Cities of the Philippines.

 Prior to this, she served as the Vice Mayor and Presiding Officer of the 18th to 20th Quezon City Councils from 2010 to 2019 where she was awarded with various recognitions from international and local organizations such as Most Outstanding Vice Mayor by the Gawad Sulo ng Bayan, one of People Asia’s Women of Style and Substance, and the Mothers’ Heart Heritage Award as Outstanding Woman in Local Legislation and Service to Women and Children by the Women’s Federation for World Peace, among others. 

In her first year as City Mayor, Quezon City was able to demonstrate its commitment to aggressive climate action by joining other pioneering cities in achieving the goals of the C40 Clean Air Cities Declaration as well as the Good Food Declaration. Quezon City also enhanced its Local Climate Change Action Plan to align with the Paris Agreement, and have made a commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% in 2030.  Her administration also pursued the enactment of legislations banning plastic bags and single-use plastics and has enhanced the City’s urban farming program to ensure food security, among others. These climate change and environmental sustainability actions are part of a greater plan to build a livable, green, sustainable and climate resilient city.