BACOOR MAYOR LANI MERCADO says she and her husband Sen. Bong Revilla were both teary eyed when their youngest daughter Gianna, got a proposal from her boyfriend, Jed Patricio, right on Christmas Day.
“Siempre, siyang baby girl namin, e,” she says. “But then, she’s of age na rin naman at 25. At matagal na rin sila ni Jed. 9 years na, so we gave them our blessing.”
Gianna tried joining showbiz when she became a member of the cast of the GMA-7 youth oriented show, “Teen Gen”, but after some months, she chose to go back to her college studies. In his message for the young couple, Sen. Bong wrote:
"Gianna and Jed, your engagement is an expression of God's love. It is a blessing and gift that you should always cherish. Lagi nyo Siyang gawing sentro ng inyong pagmamahalan at uumpisahang buhay na magkasama.
"Honestly, nagulat ako anak, medyo nalungkot, dahil baby girl pa rin kita, pero siyempre nandun ako sa kung ano ang ikakasaya mo."
As mayor of Bacoor, Lani is an indefatigable public servant.
“We went through so many problems last year because of the pandemic,” she says. “Ang daming nawalan ng kabuhayan kaya una naming inasikaso ang pamimigay ng relief packs sa iba’t ibang barangays ng lungsod.
"Nakailang bugso kami in giving ayuda sa mga tao. We also instituted disinfection and fumigation in all public places and set rules to prevent the spread of the virus.
"We also put up health emergency response teams and isolation and quarantine facilities. Nagkaroon kami ng dalawang malaking sunog last year and we helped in the relocation of the fire victims.
"But still, thankful pa rin tayo na we survived all the trials, pati ang pagkaka-COVID sa husband ko na buti na lang walang ibang nahawa sa household namin.”
She used to do movies and TV shows every now and then. Doesn’t she miss them?
“I do miss acting, meron pa ring offers sa TV, but then, sobrang busy nga ako ngayon as mayor so siempre, priority ko muna ang paglilingkod sa constituents ko.”
