Yogi Ruiz/Photo from his Facebook account
CEBU CITY, Philippines — As early as January this year, several personalities have expressed their interest in running for mayoral position in Cebu City for the 2025 midterm polls.
One of those planning to be aspirants for mayor is Yogi Ruiz.
In an exclusive interview with CDN Digital, Ruiz shared some bits about his life, his vision, and his motivation to run for mayor in next year’s elections.
READ: Mayoral candidate Yogi Filemon Ruiz aims to make Cebu City the ‘best city’
Who is Yogi Ruiz?
Yogi Filemon Ruiz, or notably known as Yogi Ruiz, is a native in Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City.
He shared that at present, he was a “full time farmer” and a “private citizen” and a “public service specialist.”
However, before he became a full time farmer and private citizen, Ruiz had served in various government agencies.
He was also known to be the former director of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Central Visayas (PDEA-7) from 2006 to 2017, and former director of the Enforcement and Security Service (ESS) of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) from 2017 to 2022.
Later, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. appointed him as the head of the BOC, took his oath on July 20, 2022, and served seven months as the commissioner until February 2023.
READ: Ex-PDEA regional chief vows city-wide sports program in Cebu City mayoral bid
What motivated him to run as mayor?
From traveling Cebu City to Manila and vice versa, he said that had seen how Manila, Pasig, and Baguio had progressed through the years.
“I have seen how these cities progressed…but Cebu City—deteriorated. Cebu City lost its luster,” Ruiz said.
After he observed that Cebu City “lost its sparkle,” that was when he decided to “give back” to his hometown. And that is to run as its leader.
He said that he would use his abilities and competencies that he was equipped from all his previous assignments.
“I want to present myself to the city to be the better alternative. Meaning to say, if you’re the better there’s no point in arguing there. I want to be the better alternative. I want to give back to the city. I want to provide to the city what the city really needs,” Ruiz said.
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What can he offer?
Furthermore, Ruiz said that if the people would give him a chance to serve, he would focus on five basic services:
- Solving traffic mobility solutions
- Waste management and disposal
- Flood control and drainage
- Peace and order
- Health and social services
Ruiz said that if he could “solve” the five basic services, “then everything else will follow.”
READ: Torion to spearhead Yogi’s ‘Sports for All’ basketball program
‘Safe streets for Cebuanos’
He said he would not delve into “grandiose plans,” if those basic services would not be achieved.
Moreover, he also clarified that he would not go into details about his plans as of now to not give ideas to other aspirants.
“Cebu City will be a much better city. Atong ihatag sa Cebu City ang unsay dapat madawat sa Cebu City (We will give to Cebu City what Cebu City deserves to receive),” Ruiz said.
He added that as a former enforcement officer, he wanted to underline peace and order.
“I want to provide the Cebuanos, safe streets, nga maka lakaw-lakaw magabii nga safe ka, wala’y manghilabot nimo… As a father I am not happy letting my daughters go out at night because nagkadaghan ang mga addict, nagkadaghan ang badlungon but what are we doing with it? Are we just closing our eyes?,” he said.
(I want to provide Cebuanos, safe streets, that they can walk safely at night, no one will hurt them…As a father I am not happy letting my daughters go out at night because of the increasing number of addicts, increasing number of bad people, but what are we doing with it? Are we just closing our eyes?)
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“What is the city doing with it? How are they utilizing the intelligence fund? Are they utilizing it properly to establish systems to find out who these criminals are?” he added.
Meanwhile, the former BOC commissioner also said that he would be willing to bring back programs that were implemented under the previous administration which ended during the present administration. However, he did not go into details.
“I will bring it back with a bang, with improvements,” he said.
Ruiz revealed on Friday, March 1, that he would be running under “Partido Cebuano,” his political party. However, he did not reveal his potential lineup of candidates yet.