Political life
Co served as city councilor before becoming vice mayor,replacing Henry Dogon when the latter ascended as mayor upon the death of Warlito Pulmones. [1] In 2004,he ran against Henry Dogon to win his first election as mayor of Pagadian.
| Position | Duration of office |
|---|
| Mayor of Pagadian | 2004–2013
2019–2028 |
| Vice Mayor of Pagadian | 2003–2004 |
| City Councilor of Pagadian | 2001–2003 |
| City Councilor of Pagadian | 1998-2001 |
|
It was during his second term of office,in consortium with former Zamboanga del Sur Governor Aurora Enerio-Cerilles,that the transfer of the regional offices from then regional capital,Zamboanga City to Pagadian City commenced. The order of the transfer was approved and ordered by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in November,2004,in accordance of E.O. 429 issued by the late President Corazon C. Aquino on October 12,1990.
He initiated the move to rehabilitate,improve,and expand the Pagadian City Domestic Airport in Muricay,Pagadian City,Republic of the Philippines. The airport is a major entry point to the region for tourists from Manila and Cebu and is now served by the country's two biggest airlines,Cebu Pacific and AirPhil Express.
The sudden decline of consumer interest on malls was downplayed by the local government in the establishment of the City Commercial Center Mall or C3 Mall. Mayor Co received a number of citations from his fellow City Mayors from all over the Philippines for exploring a potential market changer in the future.
He had two successful reelection bids in 2007 and 2010. In the 2010 mayoral race,he won with 93.99% of the votes against 6.01% of opposition Crisostomo T. Lagare,Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino. [2] During his incumbency,he oversaw the rehabilitation of the Pagadian City Airport and the construction of the Philippines's first government-owned mall,the C3 Mall.
After three terms as mayor,he ran for the congressional seat of the first district of the province of Zamboanga del Sur under the Liberal Party. [3] Marred by his alleged involvement in the Aman Futures Scam,he lost to Victor Yu. His wife Priscilla,who was running for mayor of Pagadian,lost to Romeo Pulmones.
Regional center dispute with Zamboanga City
During Co's second term in office,Pagadian started its now-protracted dispute with Zamboanga City on the regional center issue. On November 12,2004,Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita,under the authority of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo,issued Memorandum Circular No. 75,s. 2004,ordering the transfer of regional offices of departments and agencies from Zamboanga City to Pagadian,except those of the Departments of Trade and Industry,Labor and Employment,and Tourism. [4] The three exempted departments were to remain in Zamboanga,the city being the commercial and industrial center. The same memorandum cited Executive Order 429 issued by President Corazon Aquino which declared Pagadian as the "regional center" of the Zamboanga Peninsula. [5]
Zamboanga City contested the transfer of regional offices to Pagadian. [6] Then Zamboanga Mayor Celso Lobregat rejected a proposition to distribute the regional offices across the region.
In 2010,Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa,Jr.,under the authority of President Benigno Aquino III,issued Memorandum Circular No. 11,s. 2010,halting the transfer of regional offices. The order also maintained status quo,noting that,"The Regional Offices that are already in Pagadian City shall continue to operate thereat." [7]
In 2011,the Regional Development Council (RDC) voted 26–4 in favor of recommending Zamboanga City as the regional center,despite protests from Pagadian. [8] Regional offices that were transferred to Pagadian remain in the city however. [9] The City of Government of Pagadian pursued for the development of the President Corazon C. Aquino Regional Government Center,a government complex in Balintawak which now hosts regional offices of several agencies,including the National Economic and Development Authority. [10]
On June 30,2020,President Rodrigo Duterte Duterte has signed Memorandum Circular (MC) 79, [11] lifted Memorandum Circular No. 11 (issued by previous administration),allowing the remaining regional offices to transfer to Pagadian after almost 15 years. However,the departments of Trade and Industry,Tourism,and Labor and Employment will remain in Zamboanga City,being the region's center of commerce and industry.
Aman Futures controversy
Considered as one of the Philippines' biggest ponzi schemes, the Aman Futures Scam robbed investors an estimated PHP 12 billion ($ 294,000,000). [12] The scheme offered a 30 to 60 percent return on investment, enticing 15,000 people, mostly from the low-income class.
In a letter to the National Bureau of Investigation, Zamboanga del Sur Governor Antonio Cerilles implicated Co in the scheme citing the latter's distribution of checks to investors. [13] Co brushed aside the accusation as "character assassination" led by Cerilles, claiming it was aimed at discrediting him to his colleagues in the Liberal Party and derailing his candidacy for the congressional seat of the first district of Zamboanga del Sur. [14] [15] [16]
Co maintained his innocence, but the special panel formed by the Department of Justice found him to have “acted not merely as an investor but also as an agent of Aman.” [17] He was charged of syndicated estafa with Aman Futures founder Manuel Amalilio and other executives of the fraudulent investment firm. [18]
Mayor Samuel Co was one of the first to complain against Aman Futures for syndicated estafa. Despite the subsequent attempts to implicate him and the pending preliminary investigations, these are the unalterable facts: [19]
Mayor Co revoked the business permit of Aman Futures, until it complied with the local government requirements for its particular type of business. Policemen serving the closure order were blocked by people lined up around the office who were waiting to invest. His constituents begged him not to implement the said order. Later, he was informed by police and justice authorities that in the absence of a complainant or assertion of damage, the alleged investment company could not be shut down.
With all the foregoing and other such actions, Mayor Co has clearly shown that he has been on the forefront of the challenge to the said company. His repeated challenges failed, however, due to the lack of complainants to support his suspicions that the company was engaged in illegal activities. The preliminary investigation by the Department of Justice eventually commenced in Pagadian City on December 17, 2012. Pagadian Mayor Samuel Co swore to his complaint affidavit and respondent executives of Aman Futures committed, through their counsels, to submit their counter affidavits on 27 December 2012. [19]
Meanwhile as the hearing was ongoing, hundreds of people gathered outside City Hall to demand justice for the mayor. According to the citizens gathered outside, the counterpart charges filed by the National Bureau of Investigation against Mayor Samuel Co are merely political attacks against him by rival Zamboanga del Sur Governor Antonio Cerilles. Both are allegedly running for office this 2013 in different parties. [19] However, on December, 2013, Co was ordered arrested by a court in Bonifacio Global City in Metro Manila. [20]
Zamboanga Peninsula is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region IX. It consists of three provinces including four cities and the highly urbanized Zamboanga City. The region was previously known as Western Mindanao before the signing of Executive Order No. 36 of 2001. The city of Zamboanga was designated as the regional center until Pagadian was designated as its new regional center, although Zamboanga City remains the region's cultural, commercial, economic, and educational center.
The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao was an autonomous region of the Philippines, located in the Mindanao island group of the Philippines, that consisted of five predominantly Muslim provinces: Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi. It was the only region that had its own government. The region's de facto seat of government was Cotabato City, although this self-governing city was outside its jurisdiction.
Pagadian, officially the City of Pagadian, is a 1st class component city and the capital of the province of Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines. It is the regional center of Zamboanga Peninsula and the second-largest city in the region and in the province, after the independent city of Zamboanga. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 210,452 people. The city will be converted to a highly urbanized city by the virtue of Proclamation No. 1247, signed by President Rodrigo Duterte dated November 8, 2021.
Ozamiz, officially the City of Ozamiz, is a 3rd class component city in the province of Misamis Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 140,334 people.
Mahayag, officially the Municipality of Mahayag, is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 48,258 people.
Molave, officially known as the Municipality of Molave, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines. In the 2020 census, it had 53,140 people. It is in the eastern part of the province of Zamboanga del Sur, and has an area of 21,685 hectares. The name "Molave" refers to the tree that was common in the area. Its economy is focused on agricultural production, and 1,378.5 hectares of fertile land is irrigated and planted with rice. Corn, coconut, cassava, banana, camote and various vegetables are also grown. These are marketed to neighboring towns and cities, and reach Cebu. Due to its strategic location, Molave is becoming the commercial hub of the Salug Valley. It is the most populous municipality in Zamboanga del Sur, and the third most populous in Region IX.
Tukuran, officially the Municipality of Tukuran, is a 4th class municipality in the province of Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 42,429 people.
Pagadian Airport, classified Principal Airport Class 1 or major domestic by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), is an airport serving the city of Pagadian, the rest of the province of Zamboanga del Sur, and the province of Zamboanga Sibugay in the Philippines. The CAAP is the arm of the Department of Transportation which operates all the airports in the Philippines except the major international airports.
Saint Columban College is a private, Catholic, coeducational basic and higher education institution run by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pagadian in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines. Founded in 1957 as Saint Columban School, it is the largest among the Diocesan Schools of Pagadian. Columban offers primary, secondary and tertiary education. The Accountancy and Information Technology programs are distinguished as a Center for Excellence and Center for Excellence and Development, respectively.
Zamboanga City, officially the City of Zamboanga, is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Zamboanga Peninsula region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 977,234 people. It is the fifth-most populous and third-largest city by land area in the Philippines and also the second most populous in Mindanao after Davao City. It is the commercial and industrial center of the Zamboanga Peninsula Region.
Antonio Herrera Cerilles is a former Governor of Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines, from June 30, 2010, until June 30, 2019. He ran and lost during the 2019 elections for Representative of the 2nd Legislative District of Zamboanga del Sur to Bayog Mayor Leonardo L. Babasa, Jr.
2013 in the Philippines details events of note that happened in the Philippines in the year 2013.
Aman Futures Group was an investment and privately held company based in Malaysia with branches in the Philippines. It has also been allegedly engaged in a pyramid scheme. The group was founded by Manuel K. Amalilio, a Filipino of Malaysian descent.
The Zamboanga City crisis or Zamboanga Siege was an armed conflict in Zamboanga City, Philippines between the government forces of the Philippines and Moro rebels from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) that began on September 9, 2013 and ended twenty days later on September 28. The conflict began when MNLF rebels, under the command of Nur Misuari, attempted to occupy several coastal communities in Zamboanga City in protest of the Philippine government's failure to implement the 1996 final peace agreement with the MNLF.
The Mayor of Zamboanga City and is the head of the executive branch of the Zamboanga City's government. The mayor holds office at Zamboanga City Hall. Like all local government heads in the Philippines, the mayor is elected via popular vote, and may not be elected for a fourth consecutive term. In case of death, resignation or incapacity, the vice mayor becomes the mayor.
An autonomous region of the Philippines is a first-level administrative division that has the authority to control a region's culture and economy. The Constitution of the Philippines allows for two autonomous regions: in the Cordilleras and in Muslim Mindanao. Currently, Bangsamoro, which largely consists of the Muslim-majority areas of Mindanao, is the only autonomous region in the country.
The following are the events in related to Philippine law in 2016. This includes developments in criminal investigations of national notability.
The Kapa-Community Ministry International was one of the biggest financial investment fraud scandals in Philippine history. An estimated five million people were duped by the religious company Kapa-Community Ministry International, which promised a 30% monthly return on investments for life. Kapa started in 2016 as Kapa Coop Convenience Store and General Merchandise in the city of Bislig, founded by Pastor Joel Apolinario. The City Economic Enterprise Department (CEED) shut down the business for failing to comply with some provisions. In August 2017, Apolinario was charged with 102 cases for not settling claims; 27 arrest warrants were issued. However, all the cases were dismissed with the complainants compensated. Apolinario's company moved south, becoming Kapa-Community Ministry International. The company enlisted new recruits, who became member-donors and in turn recruited new members. On June 8, 2019, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the corporation to be shut down over the scheme.
Local elections were held in the province of Zamboanga del Sur of the Philippines, on May 9, 2022, as part of the 2022 general election. Voters will select candidates for all local positions: a municipal and city mayor, vice mayor and councilors, as well as members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, the governor, vice governor and representatives for the two districts of Zamboanga del Sur.
Divina Grace Yu is a Filipino politician who currently serves as the representative of the first district of Zamboanga del Sur in the 17th and 18th Congress of the Philippines. She previously served as city vice mayor of Pagadian. Yu is among the 70 representatives who voted to reject the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN.
