GENERAL SANTOS CITY–A sister-in-law of Senator Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao will soon join the city council here as ex-officio member.
Barangay Labangal chairperson Lorelei Pacquaiao gained the seat after being elected unanimously on Monday as the new president of the city’s Association of Barangay Councils.
Lorelei, who was re-elected to her second term last May, ran unopposed and swept all 26 votes during the election facilitated by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) at the Mt. Sabrina resort here.
“They have seen how I performed as barangay chair these past years. I’m very grateful with this overwhelming support,” Lorelei told reporters in the vernacular following her election.
She vowed to rally the city’s 26 barangay chairs to help promote more development and opportunities for all of the city’s villages.
The other elected ABC officers, who took their oaths before Regional Trial Court Branch 23 Judge Dennis Velasco, were Rolito Blando of Barangay Lagao as vice president and Armando Diamante of Baluan as auditor.
Voted as board directors were Nicanora Vargas of Bula, Rommy Pagaduan of Ligaya, Abdultrahim Paidumama of San Jose, Rock Garay of Dadiangas South, Rogelio Solis of Buayan, Rodolfo Lozano of Sinawal and Jose Jacinto Dinopol of Dadiangas North.
Lorelei is expected to assume as early as next week as the newest member of the City Council, joining her husband Alberto “Bobby” Pacquiao, who was elected to the local legislative body in the 2016 elections.
Bobby, a younger brother of the senator and also a former boxer, also served as a councilor of Barangay Labangal when he won his City Council seat.
Lorelei is the second member of the Pacquiao family to represent the barangays in the city council.
Incumbent Sarangani Rep. Rogelio “Ruel” Pacquiao, another younger brother of the senator, was a former chair of Barangay Apopong here and served as ex-officio member of the council from 2014 to 2016.
Majority of the city’s barangay chairs are allied with Senator Pacquiao’s People’s Champ Movement (PCM), a duly registered political party, under which, incumbent Mayor Ronnel Rivera as well as the 10 members of the City council were elected in 2016. (PNA)
