Mayor Joy Belmonte is the first elected woman Mayor of Quezon City, the largest city in Metro Manila.
She has consistently championed the protection of women, children, and the LGBTQIA+ community, along with climate action, and inclusive economic empowerment, among others.
Under her leadership, the city government has earned more than 400 local and international awards and recognitions, including the highly-coveted five consecutive unmodified opinions from the Commission on Audit.
The city government has also received five straight Seal of Good Local Governance from the Department of Interior and Local Government; four consecutive Most Competitive City recognition from the Department of Trade and Industry, and Most Business-friendly City awards from the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry. City programs iRISE-UP , a multi-hazard monitoring system, GrowQC, an urban farming and food-security initiative, and the QC Birth Registration Online system were also recognized in the Galing Pook Awards as outstanding local government programs.
Mayor Belmonte was honored as the regional winner of the Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award by the Civil Service Commission – National Capital Region for three consecutive years since 2023.
She is also the National Chairman of the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP) and the Acting Executive Vice President of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP).
She has earned numerous prestigious accolades for her dedication to environmental sustainability, human rights, and gender inclusivity. She was recognized as a Resilience Champion by the National Resilience Council for her environmental and disaster resilience programs and named a Champion of the Earth by the United Nations Environment Programme, the UN’s highest honor for environmental advocacy.
In September 2024, she was included in Forbes’ inaugural list of 50 Sustainability Leaders for her unwavering commitment to combat the climate crisis.
Additionally, she received the Gawad Tanggol Karapatan Award from the Philippine Commission on Human Rights for her steadfast commitment to human rights. She was also bestowed with the Equality Champ Award by the Philippine Financial and Inter-Industry Pride organization.
She espouses servant leadership, good and participatory governance, and data-driven decision-making.