Breezing through the pages of the Philippine History, one can't ignore the niche of this peaceful paradise in the south. Just like any other ancient civilizations in Asia, the natives known as the Subanens has established its community along the river or suba banks. Migrants from the Visayas then came to seek refuge in this corner of the Land of Promise. Then, came the Hispanic colonization, which saw the conversion of the Subanons to Christianity, establishing a permanent Christian Mission in this part of the south. Being one of the strongest citadels of power during the Hispanic era, the province became temporary abode to the national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal prior to its execution. From then on the peaceful paradise has found its place in the history.
The American occupation paved the way to the creation of the Provincia Mora, which was later known as Zamboanga Province where the seat of power was established in Dipolog. In 1952, the late Pres. Elpidio Quirino signed Republic Act 711 dividing the Zamboanga peninsula creating the Provinces of Zamboanga del Norte and Sur.
Today, the province brings to its visitors the unique spirit - a blend of the sense of history and competitive economy juxtaposed by a peaceful natural environment.
GENERAL INFO
| PROVINCE NAME | : Zamboanga del Norte |
| CAPITAL | : Dipolog City |
| AREA | : 6,612 sq. km. |
| POPULATION (2000) | : 823,100 |
| AVG. POPULATION GROWTH RATE | : 1.32% |
| AVG. ANNUAL FAMILY INCOME (1994) | : Php 42,158 |
| LABOR FORCE (2002) | : 536, 000 |
| EMPLOYMENT (2002) | : 504,912 |
| CITIES | : Dipolog and Dapitan |
| MUNICIPALITIES | : 25 |
GEOGRAPHY
Zamboanga del Norte is a 720,594-hectare province, composed of 25 municipalities and 2 component cities -- Dipolog City, the trading and commercial center, and Dapitan City, the tourists haven. It is situated in the western border of Mindanao and lies in the northwestern edge of the Zamboanga Peninsula. With more or less 400 kilometers of irregular coastline facing Sulu Sea, it is bounded by the province of Misamis Occidental in the north, the provinces of Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay in the east, and Zamboanga City in the south. It is strategically situated relative to the rest of the Philippine Archipelago.
TOPOGRAPHY
The province is predominantly hilly and mountainous. Hills and mountains cover an area of 609,399 hectares or 84.7 percent of the total land area.
CLIMATE
Zamboanga del Norte belongs to the fourth type of climate and enjoys generally good weather with even rainfall year round with no pronounced wet or dry season. It is not within the country’s typhoon belt, and winds seldom exceed 40 kilometers per hour.
PEOPLE
With an actual population count at 823,130 as of 2000, Zamboanga del Norte has an average of 114 persons per square kilometer. The population is predominantly Christian and Cebuano speaking.
NATURAL RESOURCES
Endowed with vast and rich natural resources, Zamboanga del Norte is home to almost all of the major minerals of the country --gold, manganese, white clay, copper, silica, guano, asbestos, among others, all of which are in huge commercial volumes. Likewise, the province is a major producer of agricultural crops such as coconut, mango, banana, corn and rice, not to mention its affinity to growing ornamental plants like the orchids. Meanwhile, its marine resources are an envy to a number of provinces as it has at least seven (7) fishing grounds, namely: Murciellagos Bay, Dapitan Bay, Dipolog Bay, East Sulu Sea, Sindangan Bay, Coronado Bay, Sibuco Bay and Siocon Bay. From these fishing grounds are harvested sardines species, yellow fin tuna, anchovies, mackerels, snappers, round scads, and marlins which are popular both domestically and internationally.
WATER SUPPLY
The existing water supply is continously being operated to service the growing population. The province has 15 Level lll water supply systems, of which 8 are gravity-fed and 7 are pressure-pumped.
TRANSPORTATION
The influx of domestic and foreign tourists is facilitated by a regular schedule of land, air and sea transport. Equipped with relatively modern facilities, Dipolog City Airport can accommodate Boeing 737, Fokker 50s, and other light crafts. Dipolog is just less than an hour’s flight from Cebu City and less than a couple of hours from Manila. With the advent of the Strong Republic Nautical Highway project of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Zamboanga del Norte is brought closer to the provinces in Luzon and Visayas.
COMMUNICATION
Communication facilities in the province include 30 government postal offices, and several express delivery couriers; telecommunication like the telegraph, telephone with digital system, telex and facsimile; the broadcast media comprising 2 AM radio stations and 6 FM, 1 government TV- station, and 2 cable stations; and the print media providing 10 local weekly newspapers and all national dailies and magazines. Telecommunication companies like Smart and Globe are operating in the province. Internet services are also availabe via Moscom.com and Q-mile.com, both in Dipolog City.
POWER SUPPLY
The province has 3 power franchise holders -- Zamboanga del Norte Electric Cooperative (ZANECO), Zamboanga del Sur Electric Cooperative (ZAMSURECO), and Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative (ZANCELCO). ZANECO has 3 substations: Obay, Polanco with 10 MVA transformer, Pres. Roxas and Salug, each with 5 MVA transformers.
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
The province has 3 power franchise holders -- Zamboanga del Norte Electric Cooperative (ZANECO), Zamboanga del Sur Electric Cooperative (ZAMSURECO), and Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative (ZANCELCO).
DOMESTIC MARKET LINKS
Zamboanga del Norte’s location is convenient to major domestic markets and settlement areas in Cebu City. Within 1,400 kilometer radius live approximately 10% of the country’s population accounting for about 9% of its disposable and manufacturing income. With Dipolog City, Dapitan City, Pres. Roxas and Liloy as takeoff points, these profitable markets are easy to reach.
Investment Priority Areas in Zamboanga del Norte
| Agri Business | Mango exports, Aqua culture, Feedmill, Industrial tree plantation, High value crops, Tissue Culture |
| Processed Foods | Sardines production (expansion program) |
| Gifts and Furnitures | |
| Strategic Services | |
| Strategic Trading | |
| Eco-Tourism | |
| PIC Infrastructure | (Provincial Industrial Center) Agri-tech Training Center, expansion of existing area, development of basic infrastructure |
| Investment Promotion Center | |
| Marble | Intensive promotion for joint venture schemes |
Source: DTI, Dipolog City
BIMP-EAGA Market Links
The province is also readily accessible to the expanding markets of the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asia Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), particularly to the eastern Malaysian island-states of Sabah and Labuan, and Brunei through the international port of Zamboanga City. Direct sea and air links with these countries for increased inter-regional trade cooperation in the near future is not remote.
BANKING SERVICES
There are 8 commercial, 2 government, 1 cooperative and 12 rural banks operating in the province.
ZaNorte MAP
BIMP-EAGA Market Links
The province is also readily accessible to the expanding markets of the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asia Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), particularly to the eastern Malaysian island-states of Sabah and Labuan, and Brunei through the international port of Zamboanga City. Direct sea and air links with these countries for increased inter-regional trade cooperation in the near future is not remote.
BANKING SERVICES
There are 8 commercial, 2 government, 1 cooperative and 12 rural banks operating in the province.
ZaNorte MAP
 Map of Asia |
 Map of the Philipines |
 |
ZaNorte Hymn (Visayan Version)
HISTORY
Zamboanga del Norte was born on June 6, 1952 when the mother province of Zamboanga was divided into two provinces.
Zamboanga del Norte was born on June 6, 1952 when the mother province of Zamboanga was divided into two provinces.
Inhabited by peaceful Subano tribes who lived along the river (suba) banks, it had its beginning in the old Zamboanga province when the Spanish conquistadors imposed the corregimient militar government of Zamboanga. In 1837, this corregimiento was changed to gobierno militar". Zamboanga was one of the six districts of Mindanao and Sulu in 1860. By the end of the Spanish rule, these districts were increased to seven with Zamboanga town (now city) enjoying the role of being the capital of Mindanao since the beginning of the Spanish rule, except during the period between 1872 and 1875.
Northern Zamboanga, or Zamboanga del Norte today, was occupied by the colonizers through Dapitan in the north, and Siocon in the south where an old Spanish fort, atop a hill beside the sea, still stands today at Port Sta. Maria. Dapitan was created by a politico-military commandancia in 1863 up to 1905. It was in this former town that the late Dr. Jose P. Rizal, our National hero, was exiled by the Spanish rulers. In 1897, a year after Dr. Rizal left Dapitan, a rebellion broke out in the Zamboanga province under the leadership of Isidoro Midel and Melanio Ramos. This uprising, however, was shortlived and did not accomplish important results.
When General Vicente Alvarez was appointed head of Revolutionary Forces in the region in 1898, he attacked the Spanish stronghold in Zamboanga town and finally took possession of the province. With the coming of the Americans, the Moro Province was created with Zamboanga as one of the districts. By this time, Cebuanos, Boholanos, and other migrants from the Visayan islands had already settled in the many part of the vast virgin lands of the province. They now form part of the majority ethnic groups. In 1914, a civil government was established as the Department of Mindanao and Sulu by the Americans. Later, under the Bureau of Non, Christian Tribes, Zamboanga became one of the duly constituted provinces of the department with the town of Zamboanga as the seat of government. After the Second World War, residents began to develop their agricultural-natural resources, cultivating the logged-over fertile lands after the Lumbermen has done their thing. There is a plywood and Veneer plant of the Misamis Lumber Co. in Sirawai, near Siocon in the South. Governing the entire 1,532 square kilometres of the Zamboanga peninsula, however, was a tedious task for an administrator of an underdeveloped province.Thus, it came that on June 6, 1952, the Province of Zamboanga was divided into two. Zamboanga del Norte came into being.
DISTINGUISHED GOVERNORS OF THE PROVINCE
A. The Moro Province*
MAJOR GEN. LEONARD WOOD. He became the American Governor-General of the Philippines from 1921 - 1927.
DISTINGUISHED GOVERNORS OF THE PROVINCE
A. The Moro Province*
MAJOR GEN. LEONARD WOOD. He became the American Governor-General of the Philippines from 1921 - 1927.
BRIG. GEN. TASKER LISS | *Republic Act No. 787 issued on June 1, 1903 under the Insular Government created the Moro Province, encompassing the whole of Mindanao with Zamboanga as the capital. |
 BRIG. GEN. JOHN PERSHING 1909-1913 | BRIG. GEN. JOHN “BLACK JACK” PERSHING. He was a famous swashbuckling military officer, who made a name for his successful but bloody pacification campaign against the Moros. In 1916, he led a U.S. Army unit that defeated the forces of the popular Mexican Pancho Villa during the U.S.-Mexican War. During World War I, in 1917, he headed the American Expeditionary Forces to France, and conducted its operations with great success. Because of his superb military record, he was made General of the U.S. Army, the highest rank ever attained by an American military officer. |
B. The Province of Zamboanga
 LUIS G. LIM 1914-1917 | LUIS G. LIM. The first civilian appointed governor of Zamboanga Province. He was the brother of Antonio Lim, the father of Justice Roseller T. Lim, the author of R.A. 711 creating the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur. |
 AGUSTIN L. ALVAREZ 1917-1922; 1928-1931 | AGUSTIN L. ALVAREZ. He was the second civilian appointed governor of the Province of Zamboanga in 1917-1922. In 1928-1931, he was the elected Governor. He was again appointed governor of the province during the Japanese occupation. He was also appointed governor of the provinces of Bukidnon, Lanao and Sulu. He was also appointed Mayor of Davao and Zamboanga, and appointed assemblyman for Mindanao and Sulu’s first district from 1931 to 1934. Governor Alvarez was one of the early Filipino pensionados to the United States to study public administration. Governor Alvarez was a lawyer and a journalist. |
 FLORENTINO A. SAGUIN 1922-1925 | FLORENTINO A. SAGUIN. He was the first elected governor of Zamboanga Province, 1922-1925. Born in Dapitan on October 16, 1890 to Exequil Saguin and Pilar Adaza , he finished his law studies as a scholar in Ateneo de Manila. He was a top legal practitioner during his time. He got elected as delegate to the 1934 Constitutional Convention representing the whole Zamboanga province. He was appointed Judge at Large for Davao in 1940. During the Japanese Occupation, he was the Military Governor and Director for Civil Affairs for the provinces of Zamboanga and Misamis Occidental. And because of his honesty, President Quezon placed under his charge the Emergency Currency Committee for Mindanao, which printed the so-called “Saguin Money”. In 1944 he was fetched by a plane on orders of President Sergio Osmeña, Sr. and brought to Papua New Guinea in preparation for Mc Arthur’s landing in Leyte. In 1965, he capped his colourful public service as Justice of the Court of Appeals. |
 JOSE D. ASENIERO 1925-1928 | JOSE D. ASENIERO. He succeeded his townmate, Governor Saguin, as Governor-elect of Zamboanga Province in 1925-1928. Born to Agapito “Pitong” Aseniero and Margarita “Itang” Dalman, Aseniero was described as the “star pupil” of Dr. Jose P. Rizal, always a shining example in class with his various exemplary activities in and out of the classroom. He was a “cut above the rest”, so to speak, for he was there when the hero needed him. Aseniero was among the four students of Rizal in Dapitan whom he took to Manila to study. During Rizal’s incarceration in Fort Santiago, Aseniero managed to visit him towards the end of November 1896. In December 29, 1896, on the eve of Rizal’s execution, Rizal told Aseniero to retrieve something from the alcohol lamp and give it to one of his sisters. It turned out to be Rizal’s classic “Mi Ultimo Adios” written in Spanish. Aseniero’s career in government started when he was hired as interpreter after his release from prison in Iligan by the Americans in 1897. Then he was appointed customs inspector, and later joined the BIR. At one time he was an escribiente of the court. Having served the classified civil service under General John J. Pershing, he was appointed President Municipal of Dapitan in the newly organized Department of Mindanao and Sulu. He built the Dapitan-Dipolog road by cutting through the rocky hills of Larayan, and opened Puluan wharf. In 1918, he was appointed Municipal District President of Lubugan (now Katipunan) by Governor Frank Carpenter and worked for its conversion into a regular municipality. After serving as provincial governor, he returned to Dapitan to till the soil and attend to the education of his children. |
 CARLOS H. CAMINS, SR. 1931-1934 | CARLOS H. CAMINS, SR. He was elected governor of the Province of Zamboanga in 1931. His father was a member of the Spanish Navy Unit stationed in Zamboanga. His mother was a Portuguese descent. He was educated in Manila became a journalist, publisher and editor of various Spanish language newspapers, three of which were El Fenix, La Antorcha and El Sur. During his term as governor he developed the Cebuano Barracks, now the seat of the municipality of Aurora, Zamboanga del Sur. |
 FELIPE L. RAMOS 1934-193 | FELIPE L. RAMOS. A politician to the core, who had no college degree but survived all odds to become presidente municipal of Zamboanga, and then governor of the Zamboanga Province. He won all hi political battles with his famous, “Yo cuidao”. |
 MATIAS C. RANILLO, SR. 1937-1940 | MATIAS C. RANILLO. He served as Governor of the Province of Zamboanga for two terms, elected in 1937, and re-elected in 1940. A true – blooded Dipolognon, he was born on February 24, 1898 in the town of Dipolog to Primo Ranillo and Laureana R. Castillon. Governor Ranillo was a consistent scholar during his high school days in Ateneo de Manila. He proceeded to study Law at Manila Law College, and was the only graduate who passed the Bar Examinations given in 1926. A year after, he was appointed Municipal Judge of Basilan. After his second-term as governor, he was elected Congressman on November 11, 1941. During his stint at the House of Congress, he was chosen to chair the prestigious House Committee on Provincial and Municipal Governments. In his capacity as Supreme Head of Guerilla Movement in Mindanao, he was appointed Military Governor by Brigadier General Wendell W. Fertig on December 23, 1942. As military Governor, he ordered the clearing of the area where Dipolog Airport is situated at present, to be used as landing field of the American Liberation Forces. Among his projects as Governor were the construction of the following: Dipolog – Sicayab Access Road, and Zamboanga – Misamis Occidental Road. |
 FELIPE B. AZCUNA 1941-1945; 1948-1945 1952-1955; 1964-1965 | FELIPE B. AZCUNA. Governor Azcuna was considered a political superstar during his time. He continues to be the pride of Katipunan until now, his birthplace. Articulate and very talented, he graduated from his law studies as the class valedictorian, and went on to bag fourth place in the 1937 Bar Examinations, an honor shared by his son, Adolf Azcuna, when he took the Bar Examinations. Cut out for a political Career, he started at a very young age of 28 when he got elected Provincial Board Member. He got elected governor of Zamboanga province elections held in 1940, 1948 and 1951. When Zamboanga Province was divided into 2 provinces, Governor Azcuna who was then Governor of the whole Zamboanga, was appointed Governor of the newly created province Zamboanga del Norte by President Elpidio Quirino. This was followed by another stint as governor in 1964-1965, In 1969, he was elected Congressman, representing the lone district of Zamboanga del Norte until the House of Congress was abolished in 1972 when Martial Law was declared by then President Marcos. |
 LEONCIO S. HAMOY 1946-1947 | LEONCIO S. HAMOY. Leoncio Sagario Hamoy was the second son of Mariano Balsomo Hamoy and Pilar Acaylar Sagario of Dapitan. His early education was spent on a Parochial School in Dapitan. Then he went to Ateneo del Manila for higher studies where he was a consistent honor student, and graduated Magna Cum Laude. He entered the University of Philippines for his law studies, completed it in 1922 and passed the Bar that same year, 5th place. Afterwhich, he went back to Dapitan and practiced Law. During the Japanese occupation, he was appointed Provincial Fiscal of Zamboanga Province. In 1946, he was appointed by President Osmeña as Governor of Zamboaga. However, after Osmeña lost to Roxas in the first postwar general elections, he resigned and returned home to Dapitan. He helped organized Chapter of the Order of the Knights of Rizal, and Piñan Agro-Industrial Coconut Cooperative, Inc., early realizing the value of cooperativism. He was also a prime mover in the organization of the Community Rural Bank of Dapitan, and together with close associates inspired the conversion of Dapitan town to a city. |
 SERAPIO J. DATOC 1949-1951 | SERAPIO J. DATOC. Atty. Datoc of Pagadian City was appointed by President Quirino as Governor of Zamboaga Province after Governor Azcuna filed his certificate of candidacy ofr congressman in 1949. He was the first governor to come from the southern part of the Zamboanga Peninsula Province. He served twice as governor, first for Zamboaga Province, and later as the first Chief Executive of the newly-created Province of Zamboanga del Sur. In both occasions, he held the positions in an appointive capacity. He did not win in any election, perhaps due to his handicap with the Cebuano dialect. He had done a lot of follow-up work for the creation of Zamboanga del Sur. As Governor of the newly created Province of Zamboanga del Sur, Governor Datoc was able to set up its provincial government and managed its affairs practically from scratch. |
 ROMULO G. GAROVILLO 1956-1959 | ROMULO G. GARROVILLO. He as born in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental on February 8, 1941 to Cipriano Garrovillo and Carmen Garganera. He was married to Luna Macahilig Centuranza with whom they had eight (8) children. He graduated his elementary in Dipolog Elementary School in 1927 as Valedictorian, finished his secondary education at Silliman Universityin 1940 and passed the Bar Examinations in the same year. He was elected Provincial Board member of the province of Zamboanga in 1946 to 1949 and elected Provincial Governor of the province of Zamboanga del Norte in 1956 to 1959. in 1960, he was appointed Technical Assistant to the Office of the President of the Philippines, and later appointed City Fiscal of Dapitan City in 1967 until he retired in 1979. |
 GAUDALUPE C. ADAZA 1955; 1960-1963 | GUADALUPE C. ADAZA. The eldest of the ten children of Leoncio Cadavedo Adaza and Maria Dalman Carreon, she started to manifest the attributes of a leader when as a young student of the Philippine Women’s University (PWU), she strongly lobbied before the legislative the retention of Jose Rizal Memorial Hospital in Dapitan. She was a role model to many Filipino women of her time when she became the first Filipina applying for homesteads in the Moroland. She started her political career when she ran for the third member of the Provincial Board in 1937 and won. She held the position for 2 terms becoming the first woman board member. She was then catapulted to the governorship when President Ramon Magsaysay appointed her Governor in 1955 after Governor Azcuna was suspended for 3 months, becoming the first woman governor of the country, and of the province. In the 1959 election she was elected Vice-Governor. And by a twist of fate she assumed office as Provincial Governor in 1960, when Governor-elect Alberto Q. Ubay, chose to continue serving the province as Congressman. To this day Governor Guadalupe C. Adaza remains the one and only lady governor the Province of Zamboanga del Norte ever had |
 VIRGINIO B. LACAYA 1965-1980 | VIRGINIO B. LACAYA. Governor Lacaya or Ver to family, close friends and associates, spent 20 years of his adult life serving the people of the Province of Zamboanga del Norte in various capacities – 1 year as Barrio Lieutenant of Poblacion Dipolog in 1958; 4 years as Mayor of Dipolog starting in 1959; 2 years as Vice-Governor (1963-1964), and 15 years as Provincial Governor starting in 1965 when he assumed the position by succession. Born to an industrious couple, Felipe Belarmino Lacaya and Magdalena Zorilla Barbaso of Barangay Guinles, Polanco, he finished pre-law studies at Silliman University in Dumaguete City, and attended and completed Law proper at M.L.Q. University in Manila in 1956. He passed the Bar a year after. He had endeared himself to the barrio folk because of his amiable, approachable, almost meek and unassuming self. Hence, when he ran for Governor in 1967 against a strongly fortified political opponent, he won by a wide margin. Throughout his service in government, he had implemented a number of infrastructure projects. He retired from politics on March 3, 1980 because of glaucoma, and devoted his time to his family, managing his farm, and served as consultant and/or adviser to barangay councils, and to the Association of the Welfare of Disabled Persons in the province. |
 ALBERTO Q. UBAY 1980-1986 | ALBERTO Q. UBAY. A native of Merida Leyte, Alberto Q. Ubay was Governor, Congressman and Jurist in all his years of service in government. His quest for education was no bed of roses, so to speak. He was a selfmade man finishing, his elementary studies in Pilar Cebu, his high school and pre-law studies at Silliman University in Dumaguete, and earned his degree in Law from the Philippines Law School in Manila. He graduated in 1935 and passed the Bar in that same year. He served 16 years (1953-1969) in the House of Congress. In 1959, he was elected Governor of Zamboanga del Norte but opted to continue his term in Congress, hence, Vice-Governor elect Guadalupe Adaza assumed his position as Governor. While in Congress, he was Chairman of the Judiciary Committee for 8 consecutive years, for which he was cited as one of the Most Outstanding Congressmen during his term of office. His dedication to government service did not go unnoticed. On November 12, 1980, the City Government of Dapitan presented him the Award of Distinction “in recognition of his dynamic, and tested leadership, uncorruptible honestly’. The Integrated bar of the Philippines, Caloocan Chapter awarded him as the most Outstanding Judge of the Court of First Instance of Caloocan, Malabon and Navotas, Metro Manila in 1980. In 1981, Silliman University conferred to him the Silliman Award in the Field of Public Service “in recognition of his sterling qualities as Governor, Congressman, and Jurist, and for his long dedicated public service characterized by numerous contributions to the commonweal”. |
 ROLDAN B. DALMAN 1995-1998 | ROLDAN B. DALMAN. He is the grandson of Jose C. Dalman, one of Dr. Jose P. Rizal’s pupils during his exile in Dapitan and founder of the municipality of Ponot, and the son of former Municipal Mayor Iniego G. Dalmanand Luz F. Bilog of Katipunan. Atty. Dalman excelled in all his academic pursuits. He graduated Valedictorian both in the elementary and high school, Magna Cum Laude in Bachelor of Arts in Silliman University in Dumaguete City and Second Honors in his post graduate studies at Ateneo de Manila College of Law and 6th placer in 1975 Bar Examinations. He served as research attorney, regional legal officer and practicing lawyer until he joined politics and was elected Vice-Governor of Zamboanga del Norte in 1988. In 1995, he was elected Governor of the province. During his term he introduced a micro-lending program called Provincial Sustainable Development Program (PSDP) aimed at providing loan assistance to cooperatives in the province. Between 1999 and the early part of year 2001, he served the government as Presidential Assistant for Northwestern Mindanao. |
 ISAGANI S. AMATONG 1986-1995; 1998-2003 | ISAGANI S. AMATONG. He is the youngest son of Amado Borja Amatong, an educator, and Felicidad M. Sybico, a businesswoman. A freedom fighter, who along with family members and close associates in the law profession never sulked from fighting the Marcos dictatorship. He was “pirated’, so to speak, by then President Corazon C. Aquino from the City Council of Dipolog, to serve as Officer-In-Charge (OIC) Governor of Zamboanga del Norte immediately after the EDSA Revolution in 1986. As Governor then and now, he presides over the affairs of the province with solid grounding in law and economics. He is a hands-on manager, pro-active, innovator, and firm believer in local autonomy and in the Constitutional maxim, “Public Office is a public trust’. In 1995, he was recognized by the Philippine Graphic Magazines as one of the ten (10) Outstanding Governors in the country for his successful intervention in completing the asphalting of a total of 236.55 kilometers of national highway connecting Calamba, Misamis Occidental, thru the cities of Dapitan and Dipolog – Zamboanga del Norte, up to Ipil in Zamboanga Sibugay Province (formerly Zamboanga del Sur). Under his leadership, the province made giant leaps. Among the province’s latest achievements were the Best LGU Award for landmark programs in social welfare and development, the Presidential Award for Excellence in the fight against illegal drugs; and the Kabalikat 2000 Award from TESDA. Before assuming public office, he was an academician, practicing counsel, law associate, management consultant, financial comptroller, hospital administrator and publisher |