Unity, the road to progress

By NILO G. ABROGUEÑA
National Unity Party .

FORMER vice governor Julio Uy started his political career after he was called by former senator Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel in his residence. He was asked to join politics and run for mayor of Villanueva, Misamis Oriental. Atty. Uy pondered on it, apprehensive because his family has no relatives in the town although he grew up there while helping his father Lucio Siwa Uy, a well-known copra buyer. Julio Uy then decided to run for mayor and as a neophyte politician, he united the less fortunate people of Villanueva with this battle cry: “Unity, the Road to Progress” or “Panaghiusa, Dalan sa Kalambo-an.”

This was in 1992 when Uy lost to Emeterio Neri by a margin of only 130 votes. But Uy, a kind of person, never surrendered because he believed that “A quitter never wins and a winner never quits.” Uy, again, challenged Neri in a rematch in the 1995 mid-term elections and luckily, he won with a margin of 112 votes.

Uy assumed as mayor of Villanueva, a sixth class municipality then with empty coffers and heavily indebted to Cepalco. He implemented reforms and fully paid all the town’s debts. He was reelected and served full three terms.

As mayor, he implemented various projects like Villanueva public market in Barangay Katipunan, Municipal Gymnasium, road concreting, social services, medical services, and energized hundreds of households in hinterland barangays.

From a sixth class municipality, Uy was able to make Villanueva into a third-class town.

Julio Uy later convinced his wife Juliette to continue what he started by running for mayor so that the momentum of Villanueva’s development will not stop. He knew Juliette can continue of what he started.

Juliette Uy is a successful businesswoman in Mindanao who has been active in civic organizations. She was the president of the Rotary Club of Cagayan de Oro-East Urban in 2003, and is a member of Zonta International of the Philippines, Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and San Lorenzo Ruiz Ladies’ Circle.

In 2004, Juliette decided to join politics and run for mayor of Villanueva. She won with a convincing lead of five thousand plus votes. Juliette made a difference as she able to boost the economy of Villanueva by inviting investors. Many companies invested in Villanueva like Coca-Cola Femsa Philippines (the biggest plant in Southeast Asia of the Coca-Cola Company), Yanyan Foods International, FDC Misamis Power Corp., Steag State Power Inc., Cargill Feedmill Philippines, Limketkai Manufacturing Corp.. With all these investments, the entire province of Misamis Oriental, including Villanueva, and the people benefited.

Juliette built a one of its kind Municipal Hall building (worth over P100 million) with a basketball court at the ground floor, and a multi-purpose covered court. When she was mayor, she concreted roads — she stepped down with 90 percent of Villanueva’s roads concreted and many jobs created as a result of her projects and programs.

Juliette Uy was able to make Villanueva develop economically and No. 1 in terms of real property tax collections in the province, No. 2 in northern Mindanao and No. 8 in the country.

Now, Villanueva has been classified as a “Class A” municipality in the Philippines.

Based on data in the Philippine Statistics Authority’s Good Governance Index, Villanueva came out to be No. 11 in Misamis Oriental, No. 2 in the region. Now, under the leadership of Mayor Jennie Rosalie Uy, Villanueva continues with the development started by her parents.

In her first term of office, she was elected as the president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines-Misamis Oriental chapter, and national business manager for LMP-National Executive Committee. Now, Mayor Jen-jen Uy is implementing her own projects: multi-purpose covered courts in almost all barangays, school buildings, eco-bricks boulevard, livelihood projects, social services, medical services and scholarship programs.

When Juliette Uy was elected congresswoman in the 2nd District of Misamis Oriental in 2013, she applied what she started in Villanueva, believing that through “unity which is the road to progress,” the aspirations of the people for a better government and society would be realized.

After five years in Congress, despite the absence of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), Rep. Juliette Uy serves her constituents in the 2nd District of Misamis Oriental and manages to deliver projects, livelihood programs, social services and medical assistance to name a few.

Juliette Uy has joined the National Unity Party (NUP) founded by Ricky Razon. She is currently the vice president for social development of the party and vice president for Mindanao of the Association of Women Legislators Foundation Inc., an aggrupation of all the 87 lady members of the House of Representatives, vice chairperson of the House Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Development. Congresswoman Uy is also a member of the House majority and 15 house committees to include the powerful Committee on Appropriations, Agriculture and Food, Energy, Mindanao Affairs, Public Works and Highways, Tourism, Women and Gender Equality, among others.

The role of our representatives in Congress is to do two things: (1) make laws and initiate inquiries in aid of legislation and (2) seek and ensure that government programs and services get the needed funding and reach the districts and the whole country in general. Cong. Juliette Uy co-authored the General Appropriations Act, the national budget of government in the years 2014-2018 and got the adequate funding from national government for local priorities and programs. And in her second term in Congress, she has authored 96 and co-authored 105 House bills and resolutions of national and local significance that reflects the lives of the Filipinos and our national economy.

(Nilo G. Abroguena is a former correspondent of this paper.)