I DON’T know Jojo Ang from Adam. What I know about him is culled from Facebook postings and other social media platforms. From the Internet, I learned that he was awarded as one of the outstanding alumni of a private Chinese educational institution based in Iloilo City.
Coming from certain members of the local Chinese community are bits and pieces about how his uncle, Ponso Tan, stood as a father figure and raised Jojo like his own son. Everybody in the neighborhood knows who Ponso is. Now popularly called Don Ponso, he is the owner of the biggest construction company in Panay Island and Region 6.
From a classmate, we learned that Jojo was an amiable student who was “a friend to everyone in the classroom”. He never figured in any trouble, much less engaged in petty quarrels.
Such friendly demeanor carried him in his chosen career path – marketing. He is the number one salesman of International Builders Corporation. Talk of big IBC contracts and Jojo Ang’s name pops up. The man has talent. In the words of a departed journalist, “Jojo can sell ice to the Eskimos”.
Persons close to Mr. Ang attest to his burning desire for public service. Even as a young man, he showed glimpses of political attributes. Years of prowling the corridors of power must have awakened his interest in politics hibernating in his genes. Thus, they were not surprised when he finally decided to run as the first nominee of partylist Uswag Ilonggo in 2022.
Not even a year in office as a congressman, Rep. Ang is making waves…I mean making sure to make his mark. Unlike other partylist groups, he does not settle for empty promises or run-of-the-mill activities like distribution of this and that government dole-outs. He is aware that all members of Congress play the hero’s role in the distribution of cash-for-work, in the handing out of medical assistance and the like to needy constituents. He knows that there’s nothing spectacular about this. Every politician named Tom, Dick and Harry has been taking advantage of government dole-outs for as long as he can remember. Obviously, he wants to make something different, more tangible to separate his Uswag Ilonggo from the traditional image of partylist groups, most of which come from political dynasties and moneyed families.
That’s why he has made an effort to be ubiquitous in the halls of the various executive departments and, especially, Malacañang. Penciling the budget for specific public infrastructure projects is not enough. He makes sure his projects get the support and endorsement of Cabinet secretaries. So do not be surprised if, just in his first year in office, Rep. Ang has already delivered millions in solid infrastructure projects in various towns and cities across Western Visayas.
There are those who begrudge Rep. Ang’s proximity to almost everybody in the political firmament, local and national. For obvious reasons. Rep. Ang crisscrosses the political divides with the savvy of a musical virtuoso. During the 2022 presidential elections, his presence at the BBM mammoth rally in Barotac Nuevo was well publicized. The following day his campaign team posted on Facebook his attendance at the grand rally of Leni Robredo at the Iloilo Sports Complex.
In the local political scene, various political giants may choose to fight tooth and nail with Mr. Ang comfortably nestled in their midst. He is almost in all nooks and crannies, unmindful of the kutso-kutso and intrigues that may come his way. This ability to navigate and survive the heaviest of political discord and traffic is seemingly unparalleled in the modern history of Iloilo’s politics.
Mr. Ang is a blur in the clearing, the soft wind sweeping the grass in the prairie. Mr. Ang is nature’s equivalent of modern mine detectors given his innate talent to walk through the minefields of political distrusts and discords.
The fact that Rep. James “Jojo” Ang morphed himself from a simple student to a never-say-die marketing man to a better-than-good political upstart is a strong indication that he will go places in his passion for public service.
His uncle, now popularly known as Don Ponso, must be doubly proud.
