Samsam Gullas

Gerald Anthony "Samsam" Vargas Gullas, Jr. (born December 1, 1984) is a Filipino politician from Talisay City, Cebu, Philippines. He currently serves as the mayor of Talisay.[1][2] Gullas previously served as representative for the First Legislative District of Cebu from 2013 to 2019.[3][4]

The Honorable

Samsam Gullas
Mayor of Talisay
Assumed office
June 30, 2019
Vice MayorAlan Bucao
Preceded byEduardo Gullas
Member of the
Philippine House of Representatives
from Cebu's 1st district
In office
June 30, 2013 – June 30, 2016
Preceded byEduardo Gullas
In office
June 30, 2016 – June 30, 2019
Succeeded byEduardo Gullas
Personal details
Born
Gerald Anthony Vargas Gullas, Jr.

(1984-12-01) December 1, 1984
Political partyNacionalista Party
Spouse(s)Rhea Aquino
MotherJosephine Vargas
FatherGerald Anthony Gullas, Sr.
Alma materCentre for International Education
Ateneo Graduate School of Business (M.B.A.)

Early life and education

Gullas is the eldest son of Gerald Anthony "Didi" Gullas and Josephine Vargas.[5] He is also the grandson of former Talisay City mayor and incumbent Cebu 1st district representative Eduardo Gullas.[6] He completed his tertiary education and graduated as summa cum laude in 2009 at Centre for International Education[7] and earned a master's degree in business administration at the Ateneo Graduate School of Business in 2015.[8]

Early career

Gullas started working as assistant vice president for Finance and Administration of the University of the Visayas and also served as manager UV Green Lancers, the school's basketball team.[6]

Political career

House of Representatives (2013–2019)

Running unopposed as representative of Cebu' 1st district in the 2013 local elections, Gullas won with 153,514 votes and succeeded his grandfather, Eduardo Gullas who reclaimed his old post as mayor of Talisay City. At the age of 28, he became the youngest member of the 16th Congress of the Philippines.[5] In his re-election bid in 2016, he ran against then San Fernando mayor Antonio "Abe" Canoy and overwhelmingly defeated the latter by garnering 186,091 votes to Canoy's 83,023 votes.[9]

Mayor of Talisay City (2019–present)

Despite being eligible for a third and last term, Gullas opted to run as mayor of Talisay City which in turn allowed his grandfather Eduardo to run again as representative of Cebu's 1st district in the 2019 local elections.[10] The younger Gullas won in the said election.[11]

In his 2019 State of the City Address, Gullas indicated that tourism was his top priority for the city as it aims to promote food tourism with its lechon delicacy and the historic landing site of American forces located at Barangay Poblacion. He also proposed for the construction of a boardwalk and a site to host lechon stalls.[12] He was confronted by the city's illegal drug problem which was mentioned by President Rodrigo Duterte for the second time during his speech on January 19, 2020 for the Sinulog Festival in Cebu. Duterte previously called out the city police officials on the said problem in a speech last February 24, 2019.[13]

On March 29, 2020, Gullas confirmed the city's first COVID-19 case amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines.[14]

Personal life

Gullas is married to Rhea Aquino[15] and together have two daughters, namely Princess and Samantha Niña.[16][17]

References
  1. "Talisay City - LGA". Local Government Academy. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  2. Gregg M. Rubio (August 5, 2019). "2 millennial mayors to get honors". The Freeman. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  3. Rey Omadlao. "Samsam Gullas Jr.: The Youngest Member of the 16th Congress". metrocebu.news. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  4. "Unopposed no more,Gullas faces first test". SunStar Cebu. May 1, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  5. Lee-Brago, Pia (May 20, 2013). "In Mindanao, women trounce male rivals". The Philippine Star. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  6. Napallacan, Jhunnex (December 14, 2011). "Gullas wants son, grandson in House". CDN Digital. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  7. "Gerald Anthony "Samsam" Gullas Jr". SunStar Cebu. PressReader. November 19, 2012. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  8. "Congrats! Cebu Rep. Gullas earns a business degree". politics.com.ph. August 9, 2015. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  9. Mayol, Ador Vincent (May 10, 2016). "Cebuanos give Gwen Garcia, Samsam Gullas fresh mandates". CDN Digital. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  10. Aroa, John Michael (June 6, 2018). ""Samsam" to run for mayor in 2019". CDN Digital. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  11. De Vera, Ellalyn; Noriega, Richa (May 17, 2019). "Cebu clans win local polls; a few fail to win". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  12. Abatayo, Rosalie (October 8, 2019). "2019 SOCA: Samsam to prioritize development of tourism sites". CDN Digital. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  13. Saavedra, John Rey (January 20, 2020). "Mayor admits drugs still a problem in Talisay City". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  14. "Talisay City reports 1st COVID-19 case; mayor discloses address". CDN Digital. March 29, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  15. "'Better than watching royal wedding on TV'". CDN Digital. August 3, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  16. Bonjoc, Gabriel (December 15, 2019). "Pamilya ni Samsam nanghatag og pinaskohan sa mga bata" (in Cebuano). Retrieved October 18, 2020.
  17. "Meet Samsam Gullas' newest daughter". politics.com.ph. November 9, 2019. Retrieved October 18, 2020.
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