CEBU, Philippines - Mayor-elect Jun Mercado Diamante of Tuburan town promised his constituents their long-awaited change – a pro-poor administration that will always look after the needs of the Tuburanons – which, he said, the people have been deprived of for years under the leadership of a political clan.
Diamante said that political dynasty in Tuburan is now a thing of the past when he conveniently defeated Gerona-Suezo family.
In a news statement released yesterday, Diamante said that it is his passion to empower the poor in his town by giving them easy access to mass-based education.
“The more knowledge the person gets, the more he realizes what areas he is ignorant in and a person who thinks he knows everything has the most to learn,” Diamante said quoting his favorite Hindu author.
He is known to many as a person who came from rags to riches. The eldest of eight siblings, he used to walk six kilometers to finish his elementary in Tuburan Elementary School where he graduated with honors. He is now a successful business executive.
“Our family is very poor but that did not hamper my desire to learn,” he said.
He recalled that in 2008, in a gathering of all 1,000 valedictorians in Tuburan schools, he was the one chosen to speak before his fellow valedictorians where he delivered a piece he titled “Dili Diay Babag ang Kalisod sa Kalampusan.”
It was during that time when a former classmate asked him to be the mayor of their town. He told that classmate, “from your lips to the ears of God.” (FREEMAN NEWS)