CALINOG, Iloilo – “Indi ako kamaan maghambal English pero indi buot hambalon, indi ako kamaan manghimanwa.”
So said Mayor Francisco “Ico” Lampedario Calvo of the municipality of Calinog, Iloilo.
The neophyte mayor had been underestimated for his shortcomings in terms of both verbal and written communication. But these did not stop him from serving his town with utmost dedication and commitment.
Calvo did not imagine himself becoming a chief executive of a local government unit.
His ambition when he was a young boy was as simple as producing enough vegetables and have a bit of money so he could go to school.
Graduating college was not even his priority when he saw an opportunity in his small vegetable business.
Out of poverty, Calvo, when he was 13 years old, ventured into being a middle man. Capitalizing on his brave heart and strong mind, he was able to earn money without any investment.
He saved whatever penny he had earned, withstood the scorching heat of the sun while bargaining livestock and rice produce. For years, Calvo eventually mastered the ins and outs of the business.
Gradually, Calvo was able to save P30,000, which he used to put up his own “darawatan,” a term used to stores that procure palay at a wholesale price from farmers.
At 19 years old and without a college degree, his “darawatan” business started to bloom.
The first criticism he heard was from a mentor who told him, “Naanu-ano timu? Insaw nagsagad timu tulod ka karito? Waay timu mag-irog sa mga magurang mo nga nagkaratapos?”
Hurting as it may sound, he told himself to ignore the words because for himself, he was already earning more than a thousand pesos a day.
“Why should I study and be employed when I can compensate myself on my own,” said Calvo.
He continued to nurture the business, forgetting to develop his communication skills.
Despite that, there were a lot of things going on in his head, the speed of ideas flowing in often left him overwhelmed. But he firmly stood on his ground.
What was important to him was that he was understood by his suppliers and that business continues to stay good. His network started to grow and he did not have any choice but go out of his shell.
His being an introvert he knows will get in the way. He told himself that his initiatives should be shown through actions and not by words. As much as he can, he spoke less and did more.
God is good. From being a wholesale buyer and seller of palay which he operated in partnership with his elder brother, Bernard, who too is a successful businessman in Calinog now, he started to venture into hardware selling. He started with nails by the sacks poured to plastic whenever someone buys.
Then he bought 10 PVC pipes and then strategized well how to sell them. Without him knowing it, his business prospered, giving him the opportunity to serve a lot of clients.
When the KALAHI projects started, he was able to supply materials to them. This was when he was able to establish a good relationship with the punong barangays who later on encouraged him to run as Sangguniang Bayan (SB) member, a thought he considered.
In 2003, he supported the candidacy of the wife of the late mayor Teodoro C. Lao, a multi-awarded mayor who finished his term. It was former mayor Alex Centena who won that time. On the mayor’s second term, he took in the young Francis as a candidate for SB.
He landed the second notch. As a councilor, he was misjudged as not doing anything because of his limitations in communication. Not many know that he has initiated a lot of initiatives that helped the administration; these included the opening of roads in Barangay Masaroy, three sitios in Barangay Cahigon, Barangay Tigbayog, Barangay Binolusan Grande, and Barangay Guinbunyugan.
In 2019, he ran for mayor. People asked what he could do and what did he know. These questions encouraged him to perform more than what was expected.
Calvo said this was to show his people that public service knows no bounds, does not require English proficiency but requires a lot of courage, industry and heart.
When he won, critics did not stop finding faults. At first, he was shaken but he knows he can do things. People around him know how smart he is, how decisive, how focused, how committed, how passionate. These are but the only requirements for him to do well. He wanted to set an example. He wanted to inspire. So he closed his ears and set his heart to what he has promised.
After 17 months of being the local chief executive of the municipality, this mayor who has just turned 50 years old has accomplished a lot of things with fewer words.
He gave a lot of support to disaster preparedness and response, giving them the equipment they need for excellent performance. His administration bought two ambulance vehicles to augment that of the Rural Health Unit (RHU) and two 4×4 pickups. Lucky as it may seem, these gave the Calinognons the privilege of being served well this pandemic. He also requested for a dump truck and a grader to augment construction and make project implementation fast.
This January a transit mixer to speed up even more the completion of projects is targeted to be procured. He also allowed purchase of a harvester to assist the farmers and a huge water tanker to supply water to areas with less or no water and to augment the two small fire trucks of the Bureau of Fire.
He also encouraged sports enthusiasts to continue with their passion by lighting the whole plaza even at night, organized motocross competitions, sponsored the 1st Mayor Ico Calvo Sports Cup and recently allowed purchase of sports equipment for the youth (they are about to be released).
He also levelled up tourism initiatives by his all-out support in funding thus making Calinog as the only municipality in the province who has finished its comprehensive tourism plan. His respect and regard to the Philippine National Police has also made police operations smooth. In fact, police authorities reported a significant decline in its crime stats with many of those on the wanted list apprehended.
He also gave time to the beautification of the municipality by encouraging communal gardens, construction of cemented roads, improving the terminal complex and adorning it with palms, improving the gym and placing in a beautiful layout for all food kiosks through the funds provided by Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri and Sen. Cynthia Villar, put up a Bagsakan Center near the wet market to streamline market operations, looked into the problems of the slaughterhouse, unclogged drainage in municipal roads, initiated the creation of extension of the public cemetery, opened two new roads (Binolusan and Tigbayog) without proper funding, constructed farm-to-market roads, purchased tents to be lent for occasions and wakes for free, provided support to all sectors during the enhance community quarantine, managed well the pandemic based on his own judgment and many more.
In fact, completed projects under his administration for 2020 alone despite the pandemic are composed of 10 completed road projects, two buildings and a hanging bridge.
Ongoing projects include six road projects, a hanging bridge, three buildings, a centennial landmark, a public cemetery and many other road improvements in mountainous areas.
Upcoming projects include construction of basketball courts in all mountainous barangays and in two years, a covered court for each, opening of road in Barangay Hilwan which will already be concreted through a P7-million fund allocation, additional farm-to-market roads with an allocation of P10 million, rehabilitation of the slaughterhouse to ensure that its operation is compliant to what is standard, construction of cemented roads and deliver it cemented not as flattened rough road.
He also dreams for Calinog to have its own CT scanner and a closed van to serve the people. He just recently signed a contract with South Balibago Resources, Inc. for a joint venture with the Calinog Water District to improve its water system.
Also under his administration, health service is improved after the RHU was transferred in its more comfortable building located at the back of the municipal hall. He also activated the Municipal Nutrition Action Office and assigned an officer. He also re-established telephone and internet communication system within the municipal hall for ease of official communication and ensure attendance to virtual meetings.
The administration is also about to launch a very comprehensive application that can cater all aspects of management that will include DRRM (disaster risk reduction and management), social service, agriculture and more. He allocated P2 million for the realization of this project.
Mayor Ico also maintains an “open door” administration of which, anybody can enter his office at any given time to make sure that concerns are heard. He doesn’t mind reporting to office at 6 a.m. and leaving at 7 p.m. which he did during the start of the pandemic until now.
He may have a timid smile, a conservative way of saying hi and hello to people, but he has a big heart. He is married to businesswoman Evelyn with whom he has two kids, Francis Jan and Francis Gwyn.
These are just tips of the iceberg when it comes to Mayor Ico’s way of public service and he will not stop despite the difficulties he faces. He believes that it is part of the world he entered. He may have been underestimated and judged but his accomplishments fully featured in his Facebook page speak it all.
Mayor Ico Calvo entered the political arena from being a businessman, and he means business, a good business that will not benefit himself but his beloved Calinog./PN
