Marikina Profile: Newly Elected Mayor Del de Guzman

The 2010 Philippine Elections have come and gone and there have been a lot of things worth noticing.  The very obvious one was that the recent national polls were the 1st automated elections ever.

For Marikenos, it was a turning point since the Fernandos would be officially vacating the mayoral seat after 18 years, thus bringing in a new generation of government servants.   The people have spoken through their ballots in the recent elections and interestingly enough, it's the Liberal party who dominated the top positions for Marikina.  Newly elected Marikina Mayor Del de Guzman, Vice-Mayor Fabian Cadiz and 2nd District Congressman Miro Quimbo all hail from the liberal party.

Del de Guzman is no new name to Marikenos. Born on January 9, 1963 Del has finished his elementary and secondary education at H. Bautista Elementary School and Roosevelt College in Lamuan respectively and earned his degree in Political Science from University of The East in 1985.

As a Marikenyo servant, he has served as Councilor and Majority Floor Leader in the Municipal Council of Marikina from 1988 to 1992 and Vice-Mayor from 1992 to 2001.  He was vice-mayor when Bayani Fernando was the acting mayor during that time.  After serving as Vice-Mayor, he ran and was elected as Congressman representing Marikina City in the Congress since 2001.  He is also the 1st congressman of Marikina City to become the Deputy Majority Floor Leader in the House of Representatives. As he ends his term as Congressman, he will be the 11th Mayor of Marikina City.

Here's a list of organizations and affiliations that Del has been part of:

• National Movement of Young Legislators (NMYL)
• National President, 1998 - 2001
• Deputy Secretary-General, 1995 - 1998
• Public Relations Officer, 1991

• Vice-Mayors' League of the Philippines
• Metro Manila President, 1998 - 2001
• Secretary General, 1998
• President Adviser for Youth Affairs, 1996
• Public Relation Officer, 1995
  

Roosevelt College Marikina Scholarships

Roosevelt College Marikina has been one of the longest running schools in Marikina. Located along J.P. Rizal St, in Lamuan, Roosevelt College was founded in 1933 and have produced thousands of graduates since then.  Roosevelt offers Elementary, Secondary and Tertiary education.   They also have other branches in Cainta, Cubao, San Mateo and Rodriguez.

Their Marikina Campus also offers degree programs such as AB Psychology, BS Information Technology, BS Information Systems, BSBA Human Resources Development Management and BSBA Operations Management.  In addition, they also offer short term programs such as Computer Hardware Servicing and Computer Programming.

Roosevelt also offers 3 kinds of scholarships and financial aid to deserving and qualified college students.  Entrance Scholarships are for honor graduates from private and public schools who can avail of tuition fee discounts.  Earned scholarships are for non-graduating students in any year level who excel academics based on previous semesters.   Lastly, non-academic scholarships are granted to children of full-time Roosevelt College System employees based on order of birth and whether one or both parents are employed.  They may avail of tuition fee discounts as well.  In addition, scholarships are also given to Drum & Bugle Corps members, Members of the PNP, siblings enrolled in any unit/level of Roosevelt, full time personnel enrolled in the undergraduate and graduate leves and athletes.

For more information, visit the official website of Roosevelt Colleges at http://rooseveltcollege.edu.ph or contact them at 941-3584 and 941-3493.

Learn To Drive

I remember that in the 90's, I had to go to Aurora Blvd in Cubao just to take my driving lessons.  And then we'd drive in Marikina.  The last few days of training would be at the inclined portion of Gen Ordonez coming from Marist School.  That's where I learned how to drive a car in "hanging" position.   Unlucky for me that during those times, you didn't have a choice of car and so I had to learn the stick shift type even though our car was automatic.  The car was also a non-airconditioned car which made learning to drive a bit more unbearable and stressful.

Now you don't have to go far away as there are driving schools in Marikina.   Dynamic Driving Institute is located along J.P Rizal St. in Sto Nino.   Their main offices are at 319 and 442 J.P. Rizal, Sto Nino and with other branches at 18 E. Sumulong Highway (before Marikina birdge), Concepcion, Bayan-bayanan Branch (in front of Conception Church) and Bluewave Marquinton Mall.   They are accredited by LTO.  They offer driving training courses for both manual and automatic types with different packages starting from a 2 day rush course to a 15 day course.  All the cars they use are air-conditioned.  Plus they offer lectures on troubleshooting, defensive driving and traffic rules and regulations.   Learning how to drive now is much more easy and convenient.

To inquire and enroll at Dynamic Driving Institute, you can contact them from their main offices at  948-6476, 941-7884 and 0915-3488539 for their Sumulong and Marquinton branches.

Marist School Releases Version 2.0 Of Its Website

Marist School, one of the oldest Catholic school for boys in Marikina, recently released their newly revamped version of their Official website at http://www.maristschool.edu.ph.

The site includes a list of admission policies, requirements, enrollment procedures & schedules, payment fees & schedules and other pertinent information about the school.  Marist School is located at 50 Champagnat Avenue, Marikina Heights, Marikina.
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The Fernandos Turn Over The City To New Mayor

Before Bayani Fernando became MMDA Chairman and eventually ran for Philippine Vice-President, he served as Mayor of Marikina from 1992 to 2001.  His wife, Marides Fernando replaced him as Mayor in 2001 and was re-elected in 2004 and 2007.  Both Fernandos have made a huge impact on the city which enjoyed progress and growth throughout the years.

After 18 years of the Fernandos assuming the role of Mayor, Marides Fernando will officially step down this June 2010 as her term ends.

Comelec hasn't declared the official winner for the 2010 elections but Congressman Del de Guzman who is running for the position of Mayor commands a good lead of votes.

We hope that whoever may succeed the Fernandos will continue to pursue the city's best interests in the name of progress and cityhood.  To the Fernandos, thank you for serving Marikina City.  To de Guzman, we welcome you as the next mayor of Marikina.

Election Results Per Precinct

If you want to check out the actual totals per precinct in Marikina City, you can check them out here at electionresults.ibanangayon.ph.  There are several precincts listed so you'll have to know your precinct number to view the actual results for your precinct.

The results are comprehensive, starting from the President, vice-president, senator and party list positions down to the city level of Marikina (mayor, vice-mayor, congressman, and councilors). Here's a sample for precinct 0004A (San Roque).

Marikina City Voting Precincts & Voter Registration

There are 21 voting centers come this May 10 for the 2010 Philippine National Elections.  

Here are some official stats on Marikina for this upcoming election:

• Total No. of Barangays: 16
• Total No. of Established Precincts: 1,618
• Total No. of Registered Voters: 222,787
• Total No. of Clustered Precincts: 277
• Total No. of Voting Centers: 21

If you're not familiar yet with your precincts and where they are located, you can check them out here:

• 1 San Roque - San Roque Elementary School, Shoe Ave.
• 2 Calumpang - Kalumpang Elementary School, Kagitingan St.
• 3 Santa Elena - (pob.) Marikina Elementary School, Shoe Ave.
• 4 Malanday - Malanday Elem. School, Malaya St.
• 5 Santo Niño - Sto. Niño Elem. School, Agricultores St.
• 6 Jesus De La Peña - Leodegario Victorino Elem. School, A. Bonifacio Ave.
• 7 Tañong - Multipurpose Center, Columbia St., Loyola Grand Villas
• 8 Tañong - Tañong High School (formerly Tañong Elem. School), Lopez Jaena St.
• 9 Barangka - Barangka Elem. School, A. Bonifacio Ave.
• 10 Industrial Valley - Monte Vista Multi-purpose Hall, Aguho St., Monte Vista Subd.
• 11 Industrial Valley -  Nativity Of Our Lady Parish Multi-purpose Bldg., Major Dizon St.
• 12 Industrial Valley -  Industrial Valley Elem. School, O. De Guzman St.
• 13 Concepcion Uno - Concepcion Elem. School, J. Molina St.
• 14 Tumana - Marikina High School Formerly Part Of Concepcion Elem. School, F. Torres St.
• 15 Tumana - H. Bautista Elem. School, J.p. Rizal St.
• 16 Concepcion Dos - Sss Elem. School, Lilac St.
• 17 Marikina Heights (Concepcion) - Marikina Heights Elem. And High School, Champagnat St.
• 18 Parang - Parang Elem. School, P. Paterno St.
• 19 Fortune - Fortune Elem. School, Santan St.
• 20 Nangka - St. Mary Elem. School, Concepcion St.
• 21 Nangka - Nangka Elem. School, Twin River St.

To find out which precinct you are assigned to, you can visit, http://www.findyourprecinct.ph , type in "Marikina" (City Of Marikina, National Capital Region - Metro Manila will appear) and select that as your city and enter your precinct number. Your precinct number is found on your Voter's ID.  A map will appear with the actual voting center mapped and tagged for easy directions.

To know which precinct you are registered in, you can use the Precinct Finder online tool located on the Comelec Official Website.  Enter your name, age and it will retrieve information about your voter's registration including your precinct.

Exercise your right to vote and choose the best candidates you think will continue to maintain Marikina City's top-notch status. For a list of candidates running in Marikina, check this out.

Trash To Cash At SM City Marikina

TRASH to CASH is a program that SM City Marikina holds every first Friday and Saturday of the month.
"Reduce, Reuse and Recycle" is SM's slogan as initiative for environment preservation.

SM Rewards people by trading your used items for cash.  Among the items you can bring to reduce, reuse and recycle are the following:

• scrap paper and cardboard
• empty ink toner cartridges
• plastic bottles and plastic straps
• used lead batteries (from cars, UPS, voltage regulators)
• aluminum from cans, busted rechargable lamps
• styrofoam, junk cellphones, cellphone batteries

Trash To Cash will be held on May 1 (Saturday) and 7 (Friday) at the SM City Marikina Open Parking A from 8am - 2pm.

Part of the proceeds will be donated to various environmental causes.