CEBU, Philippines - Apart from nine regular district representatives for Cebu, another Cebuano will take a seat in the 16th congress this coming July.
With the Commission on Elections having proclaimed the Magdalo Party-list of Senator Antonio Trillanes, it also formally welcomed into congress the party-lists’ Secretary General and 2nd congressional nominee Francisco Ashley Acedillo.
Based on the Comelec record, Cebu gave Magdalo Party-list 20,778 votes, landing them 15th in Cebu among all the party-lists.
In an interview with The FREEMAN, the former member of the Air Force said he is elated for the start of the 16th congress where he can pursue more than a dozen of bills he already has in hand.
While some are still being drafted, Acedillo said most of the bills they will be pushing for are already in place which is intended for three sectors primarily for the former and retired police and military personnel which is the main sector they are representing.
He aims to enforce their security through the strengthening of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Law.
Apart from which, Acedillo said they would be focusing on their agenda for the youth to intensify their global knowledge competency where the younger generation would be ready to compete even with the youth from other countries not only in academics but also in other arenas.
Acedillo added that a bulk of their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) would go to scholarships and state colleges and universities.
This is why they consider the importance of the PDAF, said Acedillo, since they know a lot can benefit from their pork barrel. He said though he can support any move to abolish the pork barrel if it remains to be a concern as far as graft and corruption is concerned. But Acedillo explained that instead of the total abolishment of the PDAF which could greatly affect the mainstream legislators, he said it can be gradually decreased until they can work without it.
Aside from the bills, Acedillo said that with the congress being a collegial body, he will get to know all the other legislators in his 100 days.
Among the Cebuano representatives, he said he already had the chance to know 6th district Congressman Luigi Quisumbing and Cebu city north district Representative Raul Del Mar.
“I am looking forward to working with him,†said Acedillo, referring to Del Mar whom he said he would learn a lot from. Despite differences in the past considering that Acedillo ran against Del Mar’s daughter, outgoing Cebu city Representative Cutie Del Mar, he acknowledged that the elder Del Mar was a stalwart in the congressional body, reason that he was a deputy speaker. “A neophyte like me would definitely learn a lot from him.â€
While Magdalo-leader Senator Trillanes is allied with the Liberal Party (LP), Acedillo said the presence of the Magdalo Party-list in Congress is not on choosing sides but on pushing for bills for their sector and the public in general.
Also, Acedillo said he is looking forward to working with other politicians especially those he has supported like Governor-elect and Vice Governor-elect Hilario “Junjun†Davide III and Agnes Magpale, respectively.
Acedillo was seen in most Liberal Party (LP) sorties in Cebu, representing reelected Senator Antonio Trillanes during the campaign sorties prior the May 13 election.
Same as Trillanes, Acedillo was detained for five years when he joined other Magdalo soldiers in the Oakwood mutiny.
He currently resides in Banilad Cebu City but lived for a lot of years in Camp Lapu-Lapu in Lahug with his family led by his father retired Army Colonel Francisco Acedillo.
The former soldier took his primary education at the Philippine Christian Gospel School and his secondary education at the University of the Philippines Cebu. (FREEMAN)