mingling with the people of Iloilo City
with barangay folks in Iloilo City
With Senator Noynoy Aquino
With Senator Loren Legarda
with Senate President Manny Villar
With Senate Majority Floor Leader Kiko Pangilinan
with former Senate President Frank Drilon
with former Senate President Jovito Salonga
with Makati Mayor Jojomar Binay
with Sen. Richard Gordon
Pictures above with some of the national personalities were taken before the 2007 Elections
Sept. 16, 2008
I have decided to transfer my residency in Iloilo City in the year 2005. Since then, I have been a Syudadnon and in 2007 was elected as the youngest City Official of Iloilo City.
Iloilo City is a highly urbanized city which is independent of Iloilo Province. It is comparable to Makati City, Quezon City and the City of Manila. It has its own set of elected officials having a City Mayor which is the highest elected post in the city. We can't vote for provincial officials like the Governor, Vice Governor and Provincial Boardmembers. Thus, I couldn't even vote for my father and siblings when they also ran for public office in the province and they couldn't also vote for me...
At present, Iloilo City is considered as a lone Congressional District that has only one Congressman but there are current moves to redistrict the city to accommodate two Congressmen and there will be 8 city councilors elected per district which will now have a total of 16 councilors. At present, there are only 12 city councilors elected city-wide and a total population of over 400, 000. The voting population is a little less than 300,000.
I am not talking about politics right now...it is more about sharing some facts and figures with the current set up of governance in Iloilo City.
As such, I can't be Governor of the Province of Iloilo until I am still a resident of the City of Iloilo and an elected City Official. I am proud of my roots which can be traced from the Municipality of Barotac Viejo, 5th Congressional District and the Province of Iloilo but for now, I love Iloilo City and this is where I was given the mandate to serve. For now, I will work to the best of my ability to make Iloilo City great and one of the best cities to live in.
I am honored and priviliged to be given the opportunity to work with different kinds of people from the biggest political leaders and to the simplest people who have become my friends. Let us work well together as I go beyond political affiliations. It is not important if you are with the administration, opposition or an independent. What matters is we unite and work for the good of the Ilonggos and the Filipinos in general.