Last 12 May marked my first year as an elected councilor. It felt surreal looking back at the long and emotional journey of the 2025 campaign. The memories remain vivid: the early mornings, the late nights, the endless house-to-house visits across barangays and the countless conversations with ordinary people whose stories shaped my purpose.

I remember introducing myself not just as a candidate, but as a woman carrying advocacies close to my heart: family, health and education. As a neophyte in politics, I knew I had to work twice as hard. Together with a dedicated team of young leaders from every barangay in District One, we built our campaign from the ground up. We celebrated small victories together: a warm welcome from a neighborhood, a mother who said she believed in our vision, a student who shared dreams of finishing school despite hardship.

But we also carried the painful stories we heard along the way.

There was an elderly grandmother we met who quietly sold vegetables outside her home so she could buy maintenance medicine. One tricycle driver told us he skipped meals just so his children could continue studying. A sari-sari store owner tearfully shared how difficult it had become to keep her small business alive amid rising prices. These encounters stayed with me long after the campaign ended.

Politics, I realized, is not only about winning positions. It is about understanding people’s burdens and responding with compassion and action.

Coming from the corporate and entrepreneurial world, I approached the campaign with discipline and structure. We planned every house-to-house activity carefully. We mapped out postering schedules, organized leafleting operations and maximized social media so our message could reach every voter possible. Like many entrepreneurs, we learned to operate with grit, creativity and perseverance.

At the start of the campaign, awareness about me was low. I initially placed fourth in surveys in the First District of Las Piñas, where only six candidates could win. But through hard work, faith, and the support of so many people, we achieved something I will forever treasure: finishing number one in the district and number one overall in Las Piñas with 71,492 votes.

That overwhelming trust humbles me until today. And I have learned that gratitude becomes more meaningful when it is translated into service.

In the past 12 months, I am grateful to have principally sponsored the amendment of the GAD Code, and supported the implementation of Hakbang through the help of the CSWD and Ateneo public health students. We also have our weekly activity to support people who seek financial help for medicines, students who need financial assistance for their education, and the continued strengthening of the HakHak Grocery Challenge Program for sari-sari store owners. 

These programs are deeply personal to me because they focus on empowering women, supporting families, and helping small communities thrive with dignity.

True generosity is not measured by grand gestures alone. Sometimes it is found in listening to someone’s story, helping a mother start a livelihood, mentoring young leaders, or simply showing up consistently for people who need hope.

As I reflect on this first year in public service, I carry one lesson very closely: victory is not the finish line. It is the beginning of a greater responsibility to serve with sincerity, humility and heart.

As it is written in The Holy Bible: “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

One year later, my heart remains grateful, and even more determined to serve.