Wedding bells for Lino Cayetano

MANILA, Philippines - By the time he celebrates his birthday on Jan. 4, 2014, Taguig City Second District Rep. Lino Cayetano should be married to UAAP volleyball player Fille Cainglet. This piece of good news was shared by Lino the other day over merienda at the Via Mare Café. The young representative was stingy with the wedding details but generous in sharing how the whirlwind romance started.

“I met her summer (this year) in an all-star volleyball tournament,” said  Lino. “When we met, I had liked her already. We had dinner with all-star (players). But it took a month for us to go out on a date.”

And months after, Lino had mustered his courage to ask Fille’s hand. Then a wedding date was set, so to speak. It will be a “small-family wedding” for the couple to be held this month.

“Our courtship was longer than Alan and Lani,” said Lino, referring to brother Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano and sister-in-law Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano. “We got engaged before Yolanda. We decided on a family wedding. We are going to have receptions for friends.”

Volleyball is not a new territory to Lino since he and sister Sen. Pia Cayetano were University of the Philippines volleyball players. While studying film at UP, he was also playing for the university’s varsity team. The sport is one of the things that Lino and Fille share in common. 

According to Lino, “there was always adjustment,” in his previous relationships. But this time, it’s “swak… Yung hindi ko kabisado na mundo niya, gusto kong kabisaduhin at kilalanin.” Getting into a relationship, of course, means adjustments but Lino doesn’t see “a big compromise” in spending his life with Fille.

How’s life as Taguig City representative?

“What makes (being part of) congress different is that you’re both national and local, unlike a mayor whose focus is local and a senator is national,” said Lino. “The public voted for us to create laws for national. I want to help Mayor Lani make Taguig the best place to live in. Then, there’s the second aspect (which is) helping share with the rest of the country our success in Taguig.”

Lino passed a bill called Iskolar ng Bayan in which graduating public high school students in Taguig who passed Ateneo, La Salle and UP will receive P40,000 from the local government. If one finishes with an average GPA of 1.5, one gets P10,000. If the student makes it to the Top 10 of his class, he receives P20,000.  There are seven classifications under the scholarship scheme where P5,000 is the lowest amount given to students. The bill also aims that scholarships will be given to top students around the Philippines. This is in line with the belief that education is a great equalizer. So far, the local government of Taguig City has graduated engineers and architects who could buy business and residential spaces in Taguig.   

Lino is also aware that “it’s not enough that the economy does well” but it’s different when children of workers can go to school.

As for the entertainment industry, Lino wants to come up with a comprehensive bill and wishes the national government to see the industry as asset and partner in nation building. He shared that the entertainment industry seems to be a good collaborator of the Department of Tourism. “In Brazil, they were able to eradicate a disease because (its) DOH (Department of Health) partnered with a soap opera introducing the (benefits of a particular vaccine),” Lino says. It was also the case when the entertainment industry became a partner in propagating micro-lending in Latin America. The government can tap entertainment “in communicating (its) messages” to people.

Lino is promising as young congressman who can bring new perspective to public service. And he is a picture of a happy man, who did not only find the right time to get married, but did find the right person to be with. Anytime now, Lino and Fille will begin their ever-after.