Quezon City 5th District Councilor and actor Alfred Vargas has formally endorsed the candidacy of his fellow “Batang Kyusi,” former Senator and senatorial aspirant Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan.
Vargas expressed his backing for Pangilinan during their one-on-one interview, where the former Senator recalled his journey from student leader to Quezon City Councilor and eventually Senator.
“Senator Kiko, you have my support. You have the support of all the Novalenos. Lahat tayo, ibalik natin sa Senado ang isang Kiko Pangilinan,” Vargas told Pangilinan, saying he has looked up to the former Senator as his idol since his student days at Ateneo de Manila University.
Pangilinan said Quezon City remains very special to him for political and personal reasons. Pangilinan was a student leader and activist at the University of the Philippines (UP), where he fought for students’ rights and welfare, before he made his first foray into politics in 1988 as a QC Councilor.
“Idol ko ito. Kasi as a student leader before pa, nababasa ko na siya sa diyaryo hanggang sa ang dami niyang pinasa na mga legacy bills. Saka talagang nag-effect ng positive change hanggang sa pagiging farmer niya. He’s like a brother to me,” he added.
Vargas said Pangilinan also made a lasting mark in the Quezon City Council when he founded the National Movement of Young Legislators (NMYL) during his stint as Councilor in 1991.
Pangilinan said Quezon City remains very special to him for political and personal reasons. Pangilinan was a student leader and activist at the University of the Philippines (UP), where he fought for students’ rights and welfare, before he made his first foray into politics in 1988 as a QC Councilor.
It was also in Quezon City that Pangilinan experienced his first heartbreak and where he started courting his wife, Megastar Sharon Cuneta.
While studying at UP, Pangilinan said his first political awakening came in 1983, when former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. was assassinated.
“The beginning of the end of my political ignorance or my political indifference, my indifference to Philippine realities, was when Ninoy was shot. Beginning, hindi ako agad namulat, unti-unti iyon,” Pangilinan explained.
When the country’s poverty and inflation rates hit 44 and 50 percent, respectively, it was then that Pangilinan realized that the country was in deep trouble and it was time for him to take to the streets and fight injustice.
“Bilang iskolar ng bayan, ang aking edukasyon ay galing sa buwis ng ating mga kababayan, sabi ko, kailangan ibalik. And of course, na-expose na ako sa student leadership. And that’s when sabi ko, kailangan nating labanan ang injustice,” the former Senator explained.
“Noon talagang handa akong mamundok. Dahil diktador eh. Handa akong mamundok noon. In fact, very active ako sa political student leadership and activism,” he added.
Pangilinan said he also considers his stint as a Quezon City councilor crucial to his political career, as it taught him to push and fight for good governance amid adversity.
Pangilinan has taken that to heart since, maintaining that he has never been involved in any case of graft in his 18 years as Senator.
Facebook live (Kwentuhan with Senator Kiko Pangilinan at Alfred Vargas’s Facebook Page): https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1A9XoaD7Jm/