The women I dream of
6:40 AM at 6:40 AM Filed under: Author:
with one of my dream girls: Pauleen Luna
Anne Hathaway: My international celebrity crush
Kristine Reyes: My local celebrity crushSept. 19, 2008
I have always had a certain type of girl which I get easily attracted to...
As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder..
In my case, I have always been attracted to the model type of women. Until now, I am still attracted to that kind of woman but one who also has substance.
She is someone who knows how to stand up for herself and also one who knows how to stand up for her man. A woman who does not only have superficial beauty but more importantly inner beauty..
I am searching for that form and substance "right" woman...I am praying to have the permanent and last gf in my life soon...
My wealth is my health
6:49 PM at 6:49 PM Filed under: Author:
Sept. 18, 2008
Health is something that should be ascertained by every individual.
In my case, I have started valuing taking care of my health by eating right, sleeping well and exercise when I started going to high school. Factors such as my asthma before, my yearning to be fit and to feel good about myself have lead me to become a health buff. Right now, I continue such by eating less junk, getting at least 8 hours of sleep a day and hitting the gym every other day.
It might have all started with the superficial benefits of being healthy but it eventually is about becoming more productive and active.
I hope each and everyone would spare some time to live healthy and for sure you will see and reap the benefits of doing so.
I can't be Governor of The Province of Iloilo
10:06 PM at 10:06 PM Filed under: Author:
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 GordonPictures above with some of the national personalities were taken before the 2007 Elections
Sept. 16, 2008I 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.
Marangal na Kabataang Liberal
7:28 PM at 7:28 PM Filed under: Author:
with the Western Visayas Delegates and the Marka Liberal Natioanl Board Officers with LP Sec Gen Cong. Jun Abaya
With Ilocos Sur Boardmember and Marka Liberal Pres Zuriel Zaragoza and former Sec. and Batanes Cong. Butch Abad
With LP President, Sen. Mar Roxas
September 9, 2008
Things happen for a reason and when one decides and commits, it’s all systems go.
I have been part of Kabataang Liberal ng Pilipinas (Kalipi) for over four years already and I have been elected unopposed as its National Vice President for Students in the 5th National Congress in the year end of 2004 in Roxas City, Capiz with the overwhelming support of over a hundred delegates from different provinces, cities and schools of the Philippines that are composed of elected Philippine government officials, appointed government officials, professionals and students below 35 years old and above 15 years old. It is the youth wing of the Liberal Party (LP) of the Philippines. Kalipi is part of the start of my political career in the local, national and global scene.
I am very honored and humbled to have been given the chance to serve KALIPI. In my almost four years as the incumbent National VP for Students, I have been able to re-found Kalipi QC and Kalipi UP Diliman and I saw the birth of Kalipi Miriam and Kalipi Ateneo. These were just dreams before but with God’s grace and the support of others, it became a reality. I have also taken part in various events of Kalipi Ilocos, NCR and have visited Mindanao. I am also happy to report that I was able to organize the biggest BOLD Seminar ever and it was in Iloilo City having almost 300 new memberships in just one time. I am also thankful that Kalipi Western Visayas became a strong force with the birth of Kalipi Guimaras, Kalipi Negros Occidental, Kalipi Antique, Kalipi Aklan, Kalipi Iloilo Province, Kalipi Iloilo City and Kalipi Capiz. I have also represented not only Kalipi but the Philippines when I became delegate of the Seminar on Running Successful Political Campaigns in Indonesia, the Young Political Leaders Summit in Denmark and the Intergenerational Global Leadership Forum in the United States of America. Furthermore, I was also chosen as one of the Philippine-China Youth Ambassadors that went to Beijing, Shanghai and Huangzhou, China and I was also tasked with the blessing of LP to be an observer in the Taipei and Kaoshung Local Elections in Taiwan. I definitely grew professionally and personally with my stint in Kalipi and with my affiliation with LP. My successor as National VP for Students is former Roxas City ex-officio Councilor Pepe Del Rosario, son of Capiz Congressman Tony Del Rosario.
Just this September 8, 2008, I was again given the honor and privilege to be elected unopposed and unanimously as the new National Executive Vice President of Marangal na Kabataang Liberal which is the youth wing of the Liberal Party. The current LP President is Senator Mar Roxas. I would like thank the overwhelming support by the majority of the national board officials who were my colleagues, the delegation from Northern Luzon (Cordillera Region led by MARKA Liberal National Treasurer Abra Mayor Jendrix Luna and Ilocos Region led by MARKA Liberal National President Ilocos Sur Boardmember Zuriel Zaragoza) and Southern Luzon (Bicol Region led by the MARKA Liberal National VP for Community Naga City Barangay Captain Elmer Baldemoro ), Visayas (Panay led by myself, Tweety Tupas-Balleza with the support of City Councilors, Boardmemebrs and Municipal Councilors of Panay, Guimaras, Negros Occidental and Eastern Visayas) and Mindanao (Davao Region led by MARKA Liberal National Auditor Ernie and other provinces) and a number of NCR delegates.
I hope and pray that with this new challenge and with a higher position entrusted to me (just a heartbeat away from the Presidency), I will continue to do well and provide excellent service to my fellow youth of Iloilo City, of Western Visayas and of the whole Philippines…so help me God.
I can relate with Sen. Barack Obama but I admire Sen. Clinton
7:45 PM at 7:45 PM Filed under: Author:
Turning Dreams into RealitySeptember 2, 2008
Before I start, I would like to make it clear first that I write this not as a local official of the Philippines but as a student of global politics. Given such, I would like to share not my political take on the US Elections since I am not a US Citizen but more of how I see the two former presidential rivals for the Democratic Party’s Presidential Nomination.
I was seen as an outsider of Iloilo City before since my family traces its roots from the Province of Iloilo and my parents and other siblings are actually government officials of the province. My father is the incumbent Governor, my mother was a former Municipal Mayor, my eldest brother is an incumbent Congressman of the 5th Congressional District and my other brother is an incumbent Town Mayor. Iloilo City is a highly urbanized City with almost 300,000 voters and is independent of the province which means the city does not vote for the governor and is not under any provincial official. In terms of my political career, what I did was unexpected; I transferred my residency about two years before the 2007 elections from the Province to the City and then ran for the City Council. The current set up right now is that a City Councilor is voted City-wide and the city has 180 barangays. I was a fresh face, probably not yet seen by the majority of the electorate and I was practically unknown. Some political pundits said I had no chance of making it. Some even laughed when my name was being floated as a possible candidate for the City Council and some even did bet that I would lose. I was perceived to be too young being 27 years old. I did not have the support of the local administration. I ran as the lone candidate of my local political party, UGYON, which was like running as an independent but was then adopted as a guest candidate of the Genuine Opposition. A lot of the established political personalities didn’t want me to make it. A lot of mudslinging, maligning, story making and destructive politics were used against me. When the dust finally settled, I am blessed and privileged to be given the chance to serve against all odds with one of the highest number of votes for a first time candidate in the city and the youngest at that. The once seen as a non-serious, non-viable and long shot candidate made it. Immediately after, some members of the media and political observers considered me as a possible candidate for a higher position in an election that was too far away.
I felt that my political story kindda resembles that of Sen. Obama. I could relate to him. He worked hard to get respect, admiration, achievements and broke stereotypes and glass ceilings. He was able to inspire the youth and to make the seemingly impossible a reality. He is now the Presidential nominee of the Democrats. He is the first African American and one of the youngest too. I have the greatest respect and admiration for what he has achieved.
On the other hand, I feel for Sen. Clinton. She is such an outstanding woman. She is a great achiever and a form and substance lady. She has also earned her merits. She seemingly is the type who can stand up for herself and who knows when to stand by her man. She was also able to make a great transfer from being born in Illinois then becoming first lady of Arkansas and then becoming US Senator representing the state of New York. She also made history by becoming the first woman presidential candidate to win more than one primary state election. She won more than twenty and almost becoming the first female presidential nominee of a major political party.
I don’t know why I am so amazed with Sen. Hillary. I even want to have a wife like her. She is someone who is strong, determined, passionate in her beliefs, a trail blazer, a good mother and apparently a steadfast wife. What I also liked about her is that she was good at the background when she was first lady of the State of Arkansas when her husband was then State Governor and when she was first lady of the US of A when her husband became President and was excellent when she took the fore ground by becoming a government official herself. I wish, hope and pray to have a wife like her.
In fairness to the other presidential contender, Senator McCain, he is also a war hero and a political maverick which are traits that are uncommon and admired by others. Who could go against the powers that be especially if they come from your political base that easily?
I would have liked to meet these amazing global leaders. Well, at least, I am honored to have been able to visit the US Capitol where they have their offices, session hall and conference rooms. It was the closest I could get but maybe some time in the future, God willing, I would be given the chance to meet them and that would be a great day.
