Sen. Lapid 'visits' UCV: Where was the forum?

Sen. Lito "Leon Guerrero" Lapid takes selfies with UCV students

Classes were suspended as Senator Lito Lapid, famous for his role as Leon Guerrero, the bullet-splitting masked rider of the 80's, "visited" the University of Cagayan Valley last Feb. 3, 2016 in a bid to gather votes for his son, Mark Lapid who is running for senator under the Liberal Party.

The campaign program was held in a Greyhounds gymnasium full of students from the various schools and colleges of the university.

Faculty members and members of the administration such as the Chief of Staff, the Vice Presidents for Legal Affairs, Finance, Research, and Academics, as well as some Deans and Directors also attended the activity.

Sen. Lito Lapid addresses university administrators, faculty,

and students during his "visit" at the UCV Greyhounds Gym

In his speech, Sen. Lapid gave the students a glimpse of his beginnings as a son of a labandera from Porac, Pampanga who was unable to go to college. He emphasized the importance of education saying that "h'wag kayong papayag na masikatang kayo at abuting ng paglubog ng araw na wala kayong natututunan" (don't let the day end without having learned anything).

Later on, he complimented the ladies from the crowd of students, saying that he might recommend them to mother Lily Monteverde, a prominent Filipino film producer, as leading-ladies in future films.

At the end of his speech, Sen. Lapid introduced his eldest son, actor and former Pampanga Governor Mark Lapid, the youngest candidate running for Senator -- at age 36.

Sen. Lapid's first born, former Pampanga Governor Mark Lapid
addresses the UCV crowd last Feb. 3, 2016 at Greyhounds Gym

The younger Lapid's stint in politics started when he was 16, as a Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Federation President, where he concurrently served as the Youth Sector Representative of his province. At age 24, he was elected as the Governor of Pampanga in which during his term, his province was recognized as one of the top-ten most productive in the Philippines. Lapid filed his Certificate of Candidacy for Senator last Oct. 14, 2015, running under the Koalisyon ng Daang Matuwid with Mar Roxas and Leni Robredo.

Lapid was appointed by President Benigno Aquino III as the chief operating officer of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), an agency attached to the Department of Tourism (DOT) which supervises, regulates, and designates tourism enterprise zones under RA 9593, also known as 'The Tourism Act of 2009.'

Lapid's platform focuses on the various forms of tourism such as Agricultural, Educational, Sports, Medical, Ecological, and even Nautical Tourism.  He says that such programs would help Filipinos land jobs in the country, saying that "walang kasing sarap ang magtabaho sa sariling bansa na kapiling mo ang iyong pamilya" (there's no better feeling than to work in your own country while being with your family).

Mark Lapid presents his platform of government to the crowd

Aside from his focus on tourism, Lapid also supports the implementation of the K-12 in which young Filipinos are given skill-sets needed to work abroad without going through college, considering global trends in the labor force due to regional and international economic integration such as ASEAN.

Critics of the 'labor-oriented' tendencies of K-12 however claim that a rapid influx of young laborers could worsen the situation by making scarce jobs ever scarcer, and that foreign companies would feel even more free to decrease wages for cheap labor, given the projected higher volume of skilled workers.

Lapid also expressed his aims at building more hospitals in Cagayan Valley, as well as improving the Internet System of the province to create opportunities for establishing call centers.

Sen. Lito Lapid (second from left) with Tuguegarao City Mayor

Engelbert "Jojo" Caronan (Left), Dr. Manuel Mamba (second

from right), and Mr. Bobot Taruc (far right)

The father and son duo were accompanied on stage by Dr. Manuel "Manny" Mamba, Mr. Bobot Taruc, and Tuguegarao City Mayor Engelbert "Jojo" Caronan. Mamba is a former Congressman of the third district of Cagayan and is currently the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office Secretary.

Mamba is running for Governor in Cagayan with Taruc as his running mate.

Students around the campus however had mixed feelings. At the entrance gate, before the start of the program, students were crowding to exit the campus - most of them did not know why classes were suspended.  Meanwhile, others were wandering around campus, while some huddled under the pagodas.

While some students were confused, others were frustrated at the lack of a dialogue with the speakers.

The program did not include an open floor discussion where students could have "tested" the candidates and raised inquiries regarding their stand on pressing issues affecting the country.

Like the visitors, President Benigno Aquino III is with the Liberal Party.

A student who chose to be anonymous says, “Sayang ang pagkakataon, sana nagkaron ng kaliwanagan patungkol sa kanilang mga posisyon hinggil sa mga usaping kagaya ng Political Dynasties, Pork Barrel, Mamasapano incident, at SSS-Veto” (It could have been an opportunity for the speakers to answer queries regarding Political Dynasties, Pork Barrel, Mamasapano Incident, and the SSS-Veto).

Classes resumed immediately after the event.