Multimedia

At around six in the morning of May 12, 2025, I sat on a wooden chair inside a classroom at the Las Piñas City National Science High School and fulfilled my duty as a citizen. It was a long ballot but I already have my list of candidates I will vote for. It was an efficient voting process thanks to our dear public school teachers and other volunteers who were there to serve their country with courage and patriotism. There have been the usual reports of some glitches in the voting machines, confusion on the voting lists, and sporadic violence but as I write this article I continue to pray for a peaceful, honest and meaningful midterm elections.

I am reprinting this article which I wrote after Camille began her journey to become the new voice of her generation in the Senate. As our people exercise their democratic right to choose their leaders, I am confident that our kababayans, as they have done in the past, will focus on what is important for the country and ignore the political noises that are simply intended to divide rather than unite us. That is Camille’s message—prosperity for all, unity for the nation.

Cynthia Villar, my wife, mother to our three wonderful children, is running for the lone congressional seat of our beloved city of Las Piñas. And frankly, I cannot think of anyone who has the experience, dedication, and fervor to do the job for the people of Las Piñas. It is that fire that some people misinterpret and which her opponents intentionally misconstrues to paint her in a bad light. But it is the same fiery devotion to the people of Las Piñas that made her an unstoppable force in its development as a city.