Former San Francisco Municipal Mayor Alfredo “Al” Arquillano in the Camotes Groups of Islands is now the town’s vice mayor following the demise of Vice Mayor Allan Arquillano, his younger brother.
The town mayor, Ally Arquillano, is also their brother.
Alfredo, the town’s first councilor, took his oath of office on Thursday after before Gov. Hilario Davide III at the Capitol.
His brother Allan died of neuroendocrine cancer on March 23.
Al said he was happy for the opportunity to serve his constituents and that he aims not just to craft ordinances but to implement all approved measures.
In 2011, San Francisco town received the United Nations (UN) Sasakawa Award for disaster risk reduction in Geneva.
It was Alfredo, the town’s mayor then, who adopted the “purok system” as a grassroots response in preparing for calamities.
The community is involved in disseminating information during disasters and taps the initiatives of every resident.
Alfredo said the town will still continue the strategy they started and will improve their disaster preparation and response plan.
He said every LGU should have a multi-hazard early warning system where people can get specific details of how to prepare for a calamity.
“That’s the kind of system that we want to put up because we expect that what we’ve experienced before will happen again,” Arquillano said, referring to 2013 supertyphoon Yolanda.