There is a saying in the vernacular that goes, “Ang indi makabalikid sa ginhalinan, indi makakadto sa palakadtuan”. We should learn and understand our past, to appreciate the present and prepare well for our future.

Heritage is about legacy, inheritance, tradition and custom. In our history subject, we have discussed the glory of the past including the time Iloilo was colonized as well as it being called the Queen of the South. It has been decades since then but Iloilo’s glorious past can still be seen and remembered through the stories of the heritage structures, buildings and houses that stood the tests of time.

One of the many ordinances I have authored, worked for, and passed in the City Council is the Ordinance adding incentives for houses, buildings and structures that have been declared or to be declared as heritage sites by the Iloilo City Cultural Heritage and Conservation Council (ICCHCC). This all started when Engr. Ramon Hechanova, one of the philanthropists who live in my home barangay MV Hechanova, talked to me in one of the events I went to. He mentioned that he and other people who have long lived in Iloilo City have opted to allow their homes and buildings as tourist attractions as they symbolize the rich culture and past of Iloilo City. The ICCHCC is given the mandate to recommend and to declare heritage sites the City Tourism Office (CTO) is responsible in the tourism promotion of the city. Engr. Hechanova added that he doesn’t live in the house anymore and is responsible for its preservation, reconstruction and maintenance and further asked if the city can possibly help him and others like him in their endeavor of making sure that structures that can be considered or are considered as heritage sites are preserved well. I told him that I will see what I can do. I then requested for a meeting with Dr. Kristin Trenas, the head of the ICCHCC and with the other members as well as the Iloilo City Planning and Development Office together with the City Tourism Office. We talked about what was presently happening, what would be the ideal and what they would suggest we can do about it. I also listened to the concerns of people working in the tourism industry as well as tourists who have visited the city in terms of the need to have more tourist attractions and destinations in the city worth visiting. I then decided to amend the existing ordinance on Heritage sites and to give an additional incentive to the owners of the declared and to be declared heritage sites by the ICCHCC as a form of support by the Iloilo City Government. Furthermore, I also talked to the City Treasurer’s Office, the City Assessor’s Office and the Office of the City Mayor as the ordinance deals with assessment and taxation. The incentive I proposed to be added was a 50% reduction on their annual Basic Real Property Tax on Structure. The amount was not that big to affect the collections, expenses and expected income of the city but it was good enough to support the owners of the structures to preserve, reconstruct and maintain as they usually do not use the structures anymore for residential or business purposes but mainly for heritage. In other cities, the local government units even give monetary support to maintain and preserve their heritage structures but checking with the Local Chief Executive that Iloilo City has a limited budget, we thought of making their basic RPT on structure as incentive instead.

It took about a year and six months before the ordinance was finally approved due to certain reasons but it was worth the work and the wait. I have already met with the stakeholders I initially talked to before I worked on the ordinance and even with the various groups who work on tourism promotion as well as the business groups. In the next weeks to come, I will be meeting with the ICCHCC as well as the owners of the heritage sites. This particular ordinance aims to to preserve heritage, boost our local tourism and further enhance the local economy of the City of Iloilo.

I would like to thank again all the stakeholders including ICCHCC, tourism focused groups, business groups, all the members of the city council (past 2007-2010 and present 2010-2013) for supporting my ordinance, the media, Engr. Hechanova for talking to me about the issue, my staff and the Lord for making this happen. It feels great to see a plan pan out until its final approval and implementation. Each and every ordinance that passes on final reading that I have authored or co-authored gives me a different feeling of fulfillment. In addition, since this ordinance talks about taxation, its collection with the additional incentive will happen during the next tax collection cycle which is next year.

I still have a number of ordinances that I am currently working on to be passed on final reading by the present council that deals with the environment, the attraction of more investors to choose Iloilo City, the moral guidance of young people in using the internet and for the safety and well being of the residents and guests of the city.

I will constantly listen to the people of the city and always observe on what we could possibly do to help make Iloilo City a better place to live in. I will do my part in the legislative body and even go beyond it by bringing innovative special programs and projects to the city with the help of the people of Iloilo City. I can’t do this alone. I continue to need the support of Iloilo City. When we are united, we can make great things possible.

I am proud to be an Ilonggo. I am proud to be born in Iloilo City. I am proud that my roots can be traced from the Municipality of Barotac Viejo in the 5^th District of Iloilo. I am also proud to have chosen to reside in Iloilo City specifically in MV Hechanova, Jaro.

I am honored and privileged to be given the strong support and trust of the Ilonggos especially the city residents for giving me a chance to serve them as the youngest city councilor at age 27 in the year 2007 and re-elected as the number 1 city councilor in the recently concluded 2010 elections. Service has no boundaries and limitations. It has been my boyhood dream to be of service to Ilonggos in an official and elected capacity. To the almost hundred thousand Ilonggos who support me, I will forever be grateful. I will continue to give you excellent public service. You are my strength and my boss. Iloilo has not only been good to me in terms of my public service career but also in my other endeavors.

When I transferred my residency to Iloilo City, I was blessed to be given a chance to mold young minds by being a teacher and professor. I was even ranked as number 1 teacher of Iloilo National High School. Moreover, I enjoyed the exchange of ideas with my students in the post graduate lectures and courses in John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University, the Philippine Christian University and the St. Roberts International Academy. Aside from teaching, I have been also invited to be guest lecturer, guest speaker and resource person by various schools, universities and organizations.

In the field of communications, another blessing came my way when I was invited by Y’d Screen Productions to co-host a cable TV show that focuses on youth issues and activities. Until today, now with my own tri-media production outfit, LEX Express Artistic Productions (LEAP), I am the solo TV host, radio anchor and newspaper columnist of LEX Talk. It is said to be the first tri-media youth oriented show in Western Visayas. Thank you to everyone who has supported it for almost four years already.

It is also in Iloilo City that I took up further education and just last year earned my Doctor of Management with concentration in Public Management Degree from the Central Philippine University and I am said to be one of the youngest to have earned such at age 30. It is the first school I attended in Iloilo since I attended various schools (LSGH, ADMU, AIM, UPD) from kinder to Masters in Metro Manila. Thank you to all of those who believed that I can earn it even at a young age especially to my professors in CPU as well as the Dean. I believe in continuous education and that we have to improve ourselves always.

In my personal life, I have met my closest friends, associates and God parents here in Iloilo City. As they say, real friends are few and that’s why I cherish them. One of my closest friends (God brother) who I met in Iloilo City is even the reason why I met my wife. He set us up and convinced me to take a chance on a very beautiful, pure, religious, compassionate, honest, trustworthy, intelligent woman who is a medical doctor and who comes from a good family. I am so blessed to have found and kept a rare find, an awesome girl and a great catch in the person of my better half.

Thank you Iloilo especially Iloilo City for changing my life for the better.