AMONG the incumbent senators running for reelection, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian is one who is worthy to be re-elected for a second term.

The three brothers, Sherwin, Rex and Wesley Gatchalian, opted to be in politics and public service instead of joining their other brother, Kenneth, and their father, William, in business.

The Gatchalian family has interests in the hotel and restaurant industry, in real estate, mining, manufacturing, banking and finance, and in many other businesses.

It seems that despite the family’s many business concerns, the three Gatchalian brothers have been bitten by the political bug. Rex is currently mayor of Valenzuela City. Wesley is the incumbent district representative. All three have performed very well as public servants, for which reason they have been unbeaten for more than 30 years in their home city of Valenzuela. All three are known for their industry and honesty.

The incumbent Sen. Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian has served as mayor of Valenzuela City and as representative for the city’s first district. He is now running for reelection as senator. He completed a bachelor’s degree in finance and operations management at Boston University in Massachusetts.

Unlike many other politicians, Win has never been involved in any scandal or anomalies. His honesty and ardent dedication to serve our people are, indeed, sterling virtues that we hope other politicians would emulate and practice.

He holds the record of having a perfect attendance in all Senate sessions in his six years in the Senate. He chairs the Senate Committee on Basic Education, Arts and Culture, the Committee on Energy, and the Committee on Economic Affairs. He chose these committees because his major advocacies are for affordable quality education for all, cheaper, reliable electricity, and sustained economic growth for the country. He has authored 37 laws, among them Senate Bill 1304, the “Affordable Higher Education for All Act,” which was eventually enacted into law as Republic Act 10931, or the “Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.” His commitment to providing affordable energy and electricity has been translated into several laws: the Murang Kuryente Act, the Electric Cooperatives Emergency and Resiliency Fund Act, the Energy Virtual One Stop Shop Act, and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act. He also authored the Philippine Innovation Act and the Mobile Number Portability Act.

As mayor of Valenzuela City, he presided over the city’s transformation from a sleepy factory town into a first-class city, an achievement recognized in 2012 by the Galing Pook Award as a Center for Innovations and Excellence. Under his mayoralty, Win Gatchalian instituted the Valenzuela City School of Mathematics and Science. Another achievement was the establishment of Disiplina Village. Through his call to help the 1,860 Valenzuela victim families displaced by Typhoon “Ondoy,” businesses and industries based in the city pulled together resources to raise funds for the construction of housing units to take them away from the danger zones along Tullahan River and to rebuild their lives in a safer place. The World Bank cites Disiplina Village as an example of a sustainable multi-partnership which other LGUs can emulate to effectively realize their slum-upgrading programs.

As congressman, he continued his advocacy to reform the educational system by filing the bill on free higher education. This has since become a law, enabling students in government colleges and universities to pursue tuition-free tertiary education.

Various surveys indicate that Senator Win is among the top six most favored candidates to win the May 9, 2022 elections. Rightly so as Senator Gatchalian has performed well as senator, as representative and as city mayor. In the Senate, he authored many landmark legislation on education reforms, on energy and economic development.

Many observers note that politics is slowly but surely being dominated by politicians whose credentials to be legislators are at best doubtful and whose only advantage is their popularity, whether gained as an actor, or a television and radio personality.

In the 1960s, a radio and television host with a deep resonating voice got elected as senator. Many other media personalities have since followed. One radio-television personality was elected vice president and another became mayor, senator, vice president and then president. This actor turned politician was impeached on corruption charges. After he was impeached and removed from office he again became mayor. Indeed, being popular does not guarantee that one will be an honest and effective public servant.

This is the drawback of a democracy where it is assumed that the voters know best and whose will is expressed through the ballot and should be respected. Voters do make wrong choices of who their legislators and government executives should be. This is not how democracy should work. But this is the way it sometimes works and in the Philippines often works.

At present, there are senators who hail from the movie and television industry. If popularity alone guarantees victory in an election, I woe the day that our Congress will be dominated by actors and boxers. Of course, there are exceptions.

One very notable exception among actors-cum-legislators is Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto 3rd who is now running for vice president. He was a television and movie personality before he got into politics. He has performed well as a Senate president.

The incumbent president of Ukraine was a television comedian before he got into politics. President Zelenskyy is now proving to be a courageous president and commander in chief as he leads his army and people in valiantly resisting the two-months-old brutal invasion of his country. We can also recall that one of the best presidents of the United States was once the very popular movie actor, Ronald Reagan.

I am not an advocate of meritocracy but I certainly want to see that public servants, whether elected or appointed, have the appropriate qualifications and creditable records in public or private service, apart from integrity and honesty. Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian did not become senator based merely on good looks, and surely not for being a heartthrob, but on the strength of his character, his many accomplishments as mayor, member of the House of Representatives, and as senator.

He has a solid record for vision, industry and honesty. Surely, he deserves a second mandate as senator. I will definitely vote for him.