Girlie Balaba

Political career In 2019, Balaba ran for councilor in the second district of Cagayan De Oro as part of the slate of reelectionist mayor Oscar Moreno under PDP-Laban (now Partido Demokratiko Pilipino), placing first among all candidates in the district. In her candidacy, she vowed to support the marginalized sectors in the city, and was endorsed by President Rodrigo Duterte.

In 2022, Balaba was one of the principal authors of the ordinance establishing a mental health program in Cagayan de Oro. In 2023, Balaba wrote with councilor Ian Mark Nacaya an ordinance regulating the use of the Halal logo by businesses operating in the city. Later that year, Balaba principally authored an ordinance providing a social pension for impoverished adults and disabled children.

In early 2024, Balaba, as chairwoman of the council committee on social services, filed a proposed ordinance countering the online sexual abuse of minors in the city; the ordinance was passed by August 2024. By March 2025, Balaba's authored ordinance with vice mayor Jocelyn Rodriguez that institutionalizes Cagayan de Oro as a "justice zone" against the online exploitation and abuse of children was passed into law.

Personal life Balaba is known as a "close friend" of President Rodrigo Duterte. According to MindaNews, the relationship was known as a fact in Davao City. In 2015, she was noted to have joined Duterte's nationwide "listening tour" prior to him filing his certificate of candidacy for president, although she did not appear during Duterte's presidential campaign. After Duterte's arrest in March 2025, Balaba led and attended protests in both Cagayan de Oro and the Hague, the Netherlands calling for his release.