Former CDN columnist Perry Fajardo files his certificate of candidacy for Dalaguete town Councilor. | Photo courtesy of Perry Fajardo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Former CDN columnist Perry Fajardo has finally thrown his hat into the political arena as he filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) for Councilor of Dalaguete town for the 2022 elections.
The 73-year-old Fajardo, who wrote engaging columns for CDN and CDN Digital for about 21 years, said that despite his age, he loves his birthplace so much that he wants to contribute more good things to it.
The veteran columnist said that he even wanted to run for a higher position, may it be in the district or province, if not of his limited finances.
Fajardo, who is running as an independent candidate, said that he is almost certain to win despite having no political party to support him.
“I’ll win, I’m sure though I have no money to buy votes as most candidates do in the country or a party to help me. But instead of buying, I am selling myself to our people as one of the most qualified candidates in the field based on my work and experience in the past, my education, and character,” he said.
When asked how he would sell himself to the registered voters in his hometown, Fajardo simply said that he can count on the help of his clans and even his friends from the media.
He said that he will be using traditional platforms during the campaign period, which include giving leaflets and posters.
Apart from that, he said he is set to visit all the 33 barangays in the town, talk to the people, and listen to them.
The feeling 37-year-old Fajardo, who prepared the first Dalaguete town plan sometime in 1994 to 1995, said that he still has to see the most important thing he proposed in the plan – the By-pass road.
He said that through the By-pass road, the town proper will be spared from congestion due to the trucks and buses going to the south and Negros Oriental.
Fajardo, who also claimed to have prepared the feasibility study for a college in his town, which is the University of Visayas-Dalaguete, said that he also wanted to do more, particularly in developing Barangay Mantalongon.
He said that Mantalongon, long considered the little Baguio in the south, can be turned into a full-blown tourist destination by improving its basic services and infrastructure.
Not only that, but Fajardo said he also wanted to help the kids in his town become more useful and productive by instituting massive skills training in various crafts.
“Also our farmers and fishermen. I want them to apply the new methods of farming and fishing on a small scale basis and help in the marketing of their produce, especially that of our vegetables from our highlands,” said Fajardo.
Fajardo said that what he mentioned are just a few of his numerous plans for Dalaguete.
Currently, Fajardo is still doing consultancy work and teaches at a private higher education institution (HEI) in Cebu City.
Prior to his journey with CDN Digital, also known as Cebu Daily News from 1998 to 2018, Fajardo was an economics professor from 1969 to 1973 in the same HEI.
In 1974, he worked as a professional economist at the National Economic and Development Authority in northern Mindanao (NEDA-X) in Cagayan de Oro City.
Fajardo also taught at a graduate level, particularly in Masters in Public Administration Program in a private school there.
In 1988, he was appointed as NEDA-7 assistant regional director, prior to his invitation to teach economics in the same HEI here, and also accepted the offer of Cebu Normal University (CNU) years after.