Former Customs commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz was adopted Tuesday as a member of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s political party, the Partido Federal Ng Pilipinas (PFP).

Atty. Leandro B. Verceles Jr., the national president of PFP, said that Ruiz was background checked and found very qualified to be their party’s mayoralty bet in Cebu City.

“He was not only a former chief of BoC. He also came from a poor family. He started as a waiter, and became a salesman. I like that, coming off as poor and you’d think that’s as far as he’d go, but he had risen,” Verceles said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Verceles stressed that he saw in Ruiz all the qualifications of a good leader, which was why he was easily nominated to be the party’s official bet in Cebu City.

Ruiz expressed appreciation for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s support.

After taking his oath as a new member, Verceles designated Ruiz as the new Central Visayas regional chairman and concurrent Cebu City chairman of PFP.

Ruiz also served as a Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency regional director.