by Dong de los Reyes January 29, 2022 Lucena City vice mayor Philip M. Castillo LUCENA CITY - Silent waters run deep. And current Lucena Cit...
January 29, 2022
 |
| Lucena City vice mayor Philip M. Castillo |
LUCENA CITY - Silent waters run deep. And current Lucena City vice mayor Philip M. Castillo runs silent--and deep-- if people are to seek him out through the Internet search engines. Not much reportage, not much controversy, not even a mote of mud can be flung at the man who was more likely, a silent worker. And arguably the best mayor we never had.
He had made known to all and sundry his bid to be elected as Lucena City's chief executive in the 2022 polls. And such move had roiled a political hornet's nest.
Suddenly, he is a target for the slings and arrows of dirty politicking.
Suddenly, political rivals and foes have drawn daggers, thrown obstacles onto his path to the city's plum post.
He was more of a family man-- in the mould of what Greek philosopher Plato and Tao sage Lao Tzu had always insisted on, "More vital to the state than politics, diplomacy, warfare, lawmaking, and such, is the sound rearing of children."
And he must be quite good at doing so, being a doting provider and father to his children and loving husband to his wife.
How do you assail an unassuming man who, for years, was content on working in the background, just letting the publicity hounds hog the limelight and grab the credit for themselves to earn pogi points in the eyes of the voting populace?
Mudslinger gets hands muddied
Ka Philip's life reads like a constant struggle to keep himself and his family protected from the vagaries of unpredictable circumstances. Going through such struggles imparted a sense of composure, a dedication to toughing it out through thick and thin. Somehow, he prevailed, even emerged triumphant despite the odds.
His early foray into politics was motivated by a willingness to serve his community, just as he had served early on as a young chap hired as a clerk by the Philippine National Railways. He even had a stint as jeepney driver plying the Dalahican-Red V route to support the family and pay for his way through college.
Through dint of hard work and an unblemished service record-- no shenanigans, no hanky panky-- he rose from the ranks.
He even ventured into raising pla-pla (Tilapia brassica) in fishpens which proved lucrative until typhoons devastated the pens, and ruined his working capital.
But the dedicated family man with a brood of several children won't be brought down; he went into fabrication of cement floor tiles and balusters. Later, he learned buying of old coconut trees, selling them off as coco lumber. The returns from this enterprise allowed him to buy some 100 hectares of coco famlands in various parts of Pagbilao, Quezon-- and procure three ten-wheeler trucks, a dump truck, and an SUV to keep the business going.
His land acquisitions provided detractors and political foes to accuse him-- land grabber!
The unscrupulous has to plunge his hands into mud to hurl out mud, only to find that by doing so, his arms and hands had turned muddy, dirty, and smelly.
Proof bashes false accusations
The unfounded accusations merely indicate that Castillo's political rivals are apprehensive that he may likely win as Lucena City mayor-- after all, he had been in government service for over two decades, and he wasn't the type who would trumpet his achievements or rouse rabble to gain popularity.
And no politico-- even those seeking the Palace post-- can lay claim to success in business through sheer sincere work and astute commitment to get a project off the ground.
Sto. Tomas, Batangas-born Ka Philip Castillo whose family moved to Lucena City in 1957 grew up bereft of a father; he was no stranger to becoming the pillar of a household. And pillar of his community.
All he did was show the land titles and documents that establish his ownership of the real estate that critics were saying he grabbed-- that silenced them.
So he was serving as punong barangay of Mayao Crossing, but his constituents pushed him to run-- and get elected-- as Lucena City councilor.
On the side, he went into subdivision development beginning with the five-hectare spread of land that he and his siblings inherited from their parents.
From 1998 to 2004, he served as city councilor-- but his constituents took notice of his performance, and pushed him some more, made him win as city vice mayor and head of the sangguniang panglungsod from 2007 to date.
Unassuming still but poised
Lucena had already voted him into office as city mayor-- but he was denied the post owing to legal complications that were not his doing; political foes moved hell and high water to quash the people's mandate and get him off the city plum post.
Castillo feels that the Lucena City citizenry won't be denied of their chosen leader this time, a father to seven children, shaped and made tough by decades of struggles and hardships, someone who managed to stay atop the difficulties while leading his community, his city.
He remains as friendly and amiable as he was in his early years as a PNR clerk, as a jeepney driver, as a struggling student who had to settle for a vocational course because he had to be a breadwinner for his mother and siblings.
Remember that Lucenahins had elected him once... and they were denied of their choice to lead them.
Not this time, though.
No comments