Former Malabon Mayor Antolin “Lenlen” Oreta III — the city’s bet for its lone congressional district, having served for 10 years as its local chief executive — is setting his sights for a more progressive Malabon.

Most residents say that while two wives of contesting political figures are vying for the mayorship, the congressional seat is already reserved for Oreta, who is challenged by three other political figures close to the mayoral candidates.

Running under the National Unity Party, an allied political party of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, Oreta is banking on the shared beliefs of both parties — unity and sustainability.

In an interview with DAILY TRIBUNE, Oreta said he believes he could be of greater service if elected as a member of the House of Representatives, representing the people of Malabon.

He added that once in Congress, he would push for a “stunting bill” to address malnutrition not only in Malabon but nationwide.

Oreta argued that for a city or a country to prosper, it should focus on three aspects — health, education and livelihood.

“I was able to trim down malnutrition (in Malabon) from 24 percent to 5 percent,” Oreta said, but after his term, the problem rose due to the present administration’s neglect in continuing past administrations’ plans, programs and policies, bringing the city back to a lost state.

Anchoring his platform with a slogan using the word “POGI” (good looking), Oreta said that as a congressman for Malabon, he will be of service to all.

POGI, he said, stands for P-Pondo diretso sa tao (funds go directly to the people), O-organisadong ayuda sa panahon ng krisis (organized distribution of aid in times of crisis), G - garantisadong tulong (guaranteed help), and I- infrastructure.

Lenlen is the second of four children of former Senator Tessie Aquino Oreta and businessman Antolin Oreta Jr.

Born on 16 September 1971, he attended Ateneo de Manila for his elementary and high school education. He then earned a bachelor’s degree in Japanese studies at Sophia University in Tokyo.

He served as an associate for Keppel Securities in 1995-1997 and assistant vice president/dealer at Merrill Lynch. He also served as vice president for finance at Intra Strata Assurance Corp.

Lenlen wants to continue the legacy of his mother, the principal author of the Early Childhood Care and Development Council Law.