Jenny Barzaga wins Dasmariñas congressional seat, replacing expelled son Kiko

BACK IN CONGRESS. Mayor Jenny Barzaga on August 29, 2026, casts her vote in a special election for House representative, which she eventually wins. She had served as congresswoman before.

Dennis Abrina/Rappler

With Jenny Barzaga set to assume the congressional seat, her other son, incumbent Vice Mayor Thirdy Barzaga, will replace her as city mayor

AT A GLANCE

• Jenny Barzaga won the special congressional election in Dasmariñas, replacing her son Kiko Barzaga, who was expelled from the House of Representatives.
• Despite heavy rains, voter turnout was 57.75%, with Barzaga receiving 201,893 votes, significantly ahead of her rivals.
• Residents expressed their needs for basic services like housing and healthcare, highlighting the priorities for their new legislator.

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CAVITE, Philippines – Last-term Dasmariñas Mayor Jenny Barzaga won the special congressional election in the city to replace her son Kiko Barzaga, who was expelled by the House of Representative for disorderly behavior, conduct unbecoming of a member, and violations of the House’s Code of Conduct.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) proclaimed Barzaga at past 3:21 am on Sunday, August 30, a day after the special poll.

Barzaga garnered 201,893 votes, commanding a huge lead over her four rivals, including former vice mayor Raul Rex Mangubat and former councilor Jacinto “Jesse” Frani Jr., who got 30,373 and 24,350 votes — the second and third highest numbers — respectively.

Mangubat had conceded his bid as early as 7:42 pm on Saturday. In the 2025 congressional election, Frani gave Kiko Barzaga a close fight, losing by only around 15,000 votes. Historically, that margin is slim for any Barzaga candidate.

With Jenny Barzaga’s victory to assume the congressional seat, her other son, incumbent Vice Mayor Thirdy Barzaga, will replace her as city mayor, while the vice mayoralty seat will be filled in by 2025 polls’ top councilor Rudy Lara.

Jenny had been congresswoman before, swapping posts with her husband, the late Elpidio Barzaga Jr., each time they reached their term limits as mayor and district representative.

High turnout despite the rains, disinformation

The Comelec reported a 57.75% turnout, with 258,361 of the 447,387 registered voters braving the heavy rains on Saturday, August 29, to cast their vote. This means Barzaga captured 78% of the votes cast.

In the morning of the special election, Comelec Chairman George Garcia had said that voter turnout in Dasmariñas in regular elections were usually at 65% at the least, but that, given the inclement weather, “Masaya na tayo kung mag-50%” on Saturday (We’d be happy if it hits 50%). Cavite, among other areas in Mega Manila, experienced heavy rains on Saturday.  

The rains were so bad that the Comelec en banc unanimously decided to extend the voting by two hours, from 3 pm to 5 pm.

Still, the special voting hours very early in the morning — 5–7 am — indicated that Dasmariñas constituents were intent on casting their votes despite the bad weather. The two-hour window, exclusive to the elderly, persons with disabilities, and pregnant voters, saw more than 25,000 votes already cast, Garcia said.

“Yung mga kababayan natin kahit sobrang lakas ng ulan, nandun pa rin sa labas ng gate ng mga paaralan. Ang unfair naman na hindi sila makakaboto kasi sinuong nila ‘yung ulan kaya napagdesiyunang i-extend nang dalawang oras man lang,” Garcia said.

(Our fellowmen are outside the gates of the schools despite the heavy rains. It would be unfair to stop the voting after they braved the rains, so we decided to extend the polling hours for even just two hours.)

Aside from the weather, voters had to contend with disinformation during the early hours of the voting. An AI-generated video circulated, making it appear that Frani had dropped out of the race. He immediately denied it through a statement in his Facebook page.

Aspirations of Dasmariñas voters

At the voting centers, Dasmariñas residents shared with Rappler their needs that they wanted their new legislator to help address. These included targeted basic services, like healthcare and housing. 

Maria Ignacio, 53, said housing should be prioritized, particularly for those who face threats of demolition in the creekside area in Barangay Burol 2.

“Ang amin lang naman ay may malipatan kami. Basta maayos na malipatan na di na kami papaalisin. Para nang sa ganun wala na kaming pangamba,” said Ignacio. 

(We only want a place to permanently settle in. As long as it’s a safe place where we will no longer be evicted. We don’t want to live in fear [of eviction] anymore.)

Meanwhile, 73-year-old Salvacion Ballesteros said ensuring free medical services should be prioritized by the next district representative. – Rappler.com

Axel John Cainglet is a political science student at the University of the Philippines Manila. An Aries Rufo Journalism Fellow for 2026, he is also the editor-in-chief of The Manila Collegian.