House bet Ali Atienza gets support of 50,000-strong group

Ali Atienza, son of Rep. Lito Atienza, a former Manila mayor, greets some of his supporters in the 5th District of the national capital, which he hopes to represent in the House. (Contributed photo)

MANILA, Philippines — Ali Atienza, who is seeking to represent Manila’s 5th District in the House of Representatives, has gained momentum in his campaign for the 2019 elections by getting the support of the Best Friends of the Fifth District (BFF).

The BFF is headed by Mayor Maritz Ochoa Montejo, mayor of Pulilan, Bulacan, who says the group has around 50,000 members, including barangay chairmen and their spouses, barangay coordinators from the women and youth sectors, senior citizens and persons with disabilities.

According to Montejo, the BFF is now acting as Atienza’s “strong and proactive campaign leaders.”

Atienza has been in public service for two decades in various positions — as barangay chairman, city councilor, and head of key departments in the city government during his father’s term, then Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, who is now a House member.

The 5th District is composed of Intramuros, Ermita, Malate, San Andres and South Paco — which are home to most of the major historical landmarks of the Manila, including Bagumbayan, which would later become Rizal Park, where Jose Rizal was executed.

“That’s why I want to bring back the old glory that was Manila in District 5 — to preserve culture and heritage, instill love for country, attract more domestic and foreign tourists, and consequently, create more job opportunities primarily for its residents and the neighboring areas as well,” Atienza said in a statement issued on Monday.

In his campaign sorties, Ali emphasized that his vision was for his district to achieve the following:

• incorruptible service, or “malinis na panunungkulan”
• honest intention, or “malinaw na hangarin”
• bright future, or “maliwanag na kinabukasan”
• happy community, or “maligayang pamayanan”

But long before deciding to run for Congress, he had public consultations with barangay leaders, during which he learned a primary need of the growing population of his district was for job opportunities.

So he came up with a Job Placement Assistance (JPA) Program focusing on identifying job openings in business establishments in the district that could be offered to the residents.

The program also offers skills training and direct assistance in job application processing, including procurement of document requirements such as NBI clearance, Philippine Statistics Authority authenticated birth certificate, enrolment in the Social Security System, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG.

Ali became popularly known for his street-lighting project during his stint as a councilor.

“Well-lighted streets will help a lot in keeping both residents and visitors safe and secure,” he explained. “Once in Congress, I will continue to undertake street lighting again and will make sure that the workers will come from District 5. This will definitely increase job opportunities in the district.”

“I will continue to hold consultative meetings and even undertake district referendum to take up issues of national significance with my constituents and bring their voice to the Congress under my ‘Boses N’yo, Boses Ko sa Kongreso’ Program,” he added.