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Goodbye mayor

HE MAY HAVE been seen by the generation of today as loose cannon, a nuisance candidate whose main purpose during elections is to make us laugh. But before all these, former Laoag City Mayor Cesar A. Ventura was a purpose-driven, results-oriented local chief executive.

It was during his first and only term as mayor in 1992 that he foresaw the potentials of building a road leading to Laoag’s sand dunes at Barangay La Paz. Once built, it was unofficially named after him. And it is this very road today that has given life to the tourism industry not only in the city but also of the province.

Ventura may have been a lot of things, but he was a gentleman of the first order and a public official worth emulating. Unfortunately for him—and for the city—he lost when he ran for reelection in 1995. And as much as this practically ended his political career, his contributions to the city’s progress then and now can—and should—still be felt.

And as we bade farewell to the man, we hope we could all remember him for all he was and not just for what we think he might have become.


Fare thee well, Mr. Mayor.

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