Guia Gomez

Guia Guanzon Gomez (; born April 20, 1942) is a Filipino actress, businesswoman and politician. She is the former mayor of San Juan, having won 75% of total votes during the 2010 elections. She is known for her previous relationship with former president Joseph Estrada, with whom she has a son, Senator JV Ejercito.

Early life and education Gomez was born in Bacolod to Silaynon Doctor Dominador Gomez and Paz Guanzon of Iloilo City. She was the valedictorian during her elementary years at the University of Negros Occidental - Recoletos (formerly Occidental Negros Institute) and completed her high school studies at the Philippine Women's College in Davao City. She graduated from the Philippine Women's University with a degree in Business Administration and a major in Accounting.

Relationship with Joseph Estrada While in college Gomez starred in several films, including Cuatro Cantos (1960), Rancho Grande (1960) and Isang Paa sa Hukay (1958). She was in the film Asiong Salonga whose lead actor was Joseph Estrada. She halted her film career to finish her college degree and pursue a career in business.

She later helped Estrada when he ran for mayor of San Juan in 1967. During his tenure as mayor she served as his first lady and their son JV Ejercito was born.

While first lady of San Juan, Gomez set up over thirty of her own businesses in real estate, food, and trading. She owns several of these companies together with her son.

One of her most important programs, together with architect Jun Palafox is the transformation of San Juan into a vertical green city, with "elevated sidewalks, monorail, high-rises and greenery". This is in response to the danger of floods in the city.

2013 Elections

Gomez ran for re-election as mayor of San Juan. She won against Reynaldo San Pascual and Glenn Angeles.

2016 elections On September 30, 2015, she decided to run again for the mayoralty position. Gomez ran for a 3rd and final term as the city mayor against Vice Mayor Francis Zamora. She ran together with her niece of former President Joseph Estrada, Jana Ejercito for congress representative and Jinggoy Estrada's daughter, Janella for vice mayor. She narrowly won re-election against Zamora. She finished her last term as mayor on June 30, 2019.

Other organizations Gomez is the president of Balikatan sa Kaunlaran (BSK) Movement, an NGO created by the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) dedicated to "uplifting the quality of life of women and their families". It supports livelihood programs and training for female entrepreneurs including the creation of Christmas decorations and dolls.