BG party-list to advance welfare on Bisaya Filipinos

MANILA, Philippines — Alelee Aguilar-Andanar, an entrepreneur for over 20 years, has found her calling in public service early, having been raised in a family of public servants. She is versed in both public service and business management.

Being the wife of Presidential Communications Secretary and acting presidential spokesman Martin Andanar, who is a Bisaya, Alelee believes that promoting the welfare of the Bisaya should be considered in the country’s bid to further develop and progress.

The Bisaya Gyud Partylist 108 aims to focus on four areas of concern, namely food security, shelter and education – these are aligned with her personal advocacy to help alleviate the incidence of poverty in the country.

“We are making progress in the country, that’s obvious, but we cannot turn a blind eye to the long standing inequities that are still present in terms of economic and academic opportunities for our kababayans in Visayas and Mindanao,” she said.

Her positions include supporting policies that will encourage more Filipinos, especially the youth, to be food producers. She also stressed that rolling out plans to jumpstart the country’s recovery have to be contextualized in terms of providing more opportunities, such as livelihood recovery projects, for areas in the Visayas and Mindanao where economic growth is stunted.

“When we sit in Congress, we already know what problems we would want to address. As we navigate our way out of the pandemic, this is the best time to be able to contribute to solving them,” she said.

Unknown to most, Aguilar-Andanar has long engaged with reaching out to the marginalized sector in Las Piñas City and Siargao Islands in Surigao del Norte province while pursuing her own entrepreneurial ventures.

She is the head of the Nene Aguilar Foundation, whose main thrust is to provide scholarship and educational allowances to indigent students in Las Piñas City.

“Every day our home has been open to many people who are seeking help and assistance in various situations, and I believe it’s a privilege to witness that, live it and be able to help them,” she said.

Aguilar-Andanar is a member of Sons of Siargao which was founded by her husband. When in Siargao with her family, she makes sure to bring with her books they have collected from donation drives initiated with their relatives in Australia. This was a small advocacy, started in 2006, that helped put up mini-libraries for children in villages in Siargao.

Aguilar-Andanar admitted that her interest in politics has always been present, however, it only sparked at the height of the pandemic when she personally witnessed how local government units grappled to make ends meet for their constituents. She was also a witness to the struggles of poor families whose lives were greatly affected by the health emergency.

“We’ve been going around lately. But no matter how tiring it gets, when you see that the people you are engaged with are happy and satisfied, it makes you want to do more for them,” she said.

Endorsed by President Duterte himself, she vowed that the group will pursue and improve the platforms and reforms initiated by the Duterte administration in the said sectors.

She also committed to bring the ‘Aguilar’ brand of public service to the Bisayan people.