A SOCIALLY-distanced, roller-coaster ride.
That’s the general atmosphere we experienced observing the filing of Certificates of Candidacies (COCs) for the 2022 National and Local Elections this week. While bets place themselves for candidacy in person, reactions flooded social media and conversations online.
No surprise there, however. This activity, after all, is the “biggest jobs fair in the country,” open to applicants of all backgrounds, even for one independent candidate, Danilo “CRUSH NG BAYAN” Villanueva, who is gunning for the presidency.
By May 9 next year, “Crush ng Bayan” and the rest of us will determine which candidates are hired, by way of an electoral victory.
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In the far south, similar fanfare is felt.
For General Santos City, 2022 is a big year for hopefuls desiring to inject a new brand of leadership. With the current mayor’s term ending on June 30, 2022, after three consecutive terms, all eyes are set on mayoralty contenders who wish to prove executive potential.
A major contender is Shirlyn Bañas – an Ilongga – who currently serves as congresswoman of the 1st District of South Cotabato and General Santos City. The official candidate of PDP-Laban for mayor of the city, Bañas filed her COC on Monday, October 4.
“We’ll let the walking do the talking,” she said in her post-filing media interview. “I hope, with you, we can lead the city in moving forward,” she said.
With 14 years under her belt, the congresswoman is definitely no stranger to public service.
In 2004-2007, she was elected as councilor.
She chaired multiple committees which include the Tourism and Cultural Affairs. As its chairperson, Bañas led the recognition of the city’s Klaja Karsts in Barangay Conel as a Historical and Cultural Site given its significance in World War II history.
From 2010-2019, she served as city vice mayor.
During her stint, she led the city’s Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) towards two sets of awards bestowed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government: (1) Most Outstanding Sangguniang Panlungsod in Region XII (Highly-Urbanized Cities Category) for 2016 and 2019, and (2) runner-up for Most Outstanding Sangguniang Panlungsod in the Philippines (Highly-Urbanized Cities Category) for 2016 and 2019, competing against powerful cities in Metro Manila.
She instituted reforms in the SP during her term as vice mayor, including the zero-budget codification of the city’s local laws, the SP website, SP YouTube channel for session livestreams, tracking system for local legislations, and the transformation of the city’s public library.
Also during her term was the official inclusion of the Indigenous Peoples’ Mandatory Representative or IPMR, giving a voice to the city’s indigenous Blaans.
An advocate of cultural heritage preservation, Bañas chaired two Technical Working Groups (TWG): TWG on the establishment of the city museum, and TWG on the city’s Cultural Mapping Project. Results from the TWGs include a string of cultural heritage ordinances, creation/improvement of bodies and offices, and a City Museum standing near-completion in the government center.
In those nine years, she established her Biyaheng Barangay livelihood program which organized women, Lumad, drivers, and unemployed constituents into self-sustaining associations with profitable small enterprises, providing dividends to every member.
By the end of her term, she was awarded Best in Public Service Award by the Vice Mayor’s League of the Philippines.
After securing a landmark victory in the Supreme Court case “Vice Mayor Bañas vs. COMELEC,” with fourteen justices voting in favor of recognizing her 2019 congressional election win, Bañas commenced work in Batasan.
Despite the delay and with COVID-19 afflicting the country, she was still able to match the performance of congressional colleagues, leading them to tease her as “masipag” during House sessions.
Today, she has authored 208 House measures, including the establishment of the General Santos International Airport Authority, the College of Medicine in Mindanao State University-General Santos (MSU-GenSan), and the increase of bed capacity in the overburdened city hospital.
She also initiated various infrastructure projects, like the Baluan Balut Park, medical laboratory, and library for MSU-GenSan, and the Tampakan Infirmary. Bañas, with DOH, DSWD, TESDA, and CHED, also continues to aid people impacted by COVID-19.
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Food for thought
“…Our track record will speak for itself,” Shirlyn Bañas.
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Writer can be reached at belindabelsales@gmail.com. Twitter @ShilohRuthie./PN
