More than 150 years ago, in 1865, a military man from Sto. Tomas, Batangas took the cudgels for his people, fighting valiantly in the 1896 Philippine Revolution and the Philippine-American War of 1902.
He was General Miguel Carpio Malvar, the last Filipino general to surrender to the Americans, and his manifesto bore this call: “Determination, determination, and always determination, without hesitation about sacrifice.”
Today, a man from a military family, leads the now component City of Sto. Tomas, Batangas by his constituents—identifies determination as the driving force of his Aksyon Bilis credo for the city’s 251,908 Tomasinos based on the 2022 Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS) of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) initial results.
FAMILY & EDUCATION
Born in Sto. Tomas, Batangas on February 26, 1978, Arth Jhun Aguilar Marasigan (AJAM) grew up as a true-blue Tomasino before spending his college years in Laguna.
His father and his four brothers were all military men; their household characterized by discipline, dedication, and concern for the less fortunate, with the loving support of his mother Aniceta, a full-time housewife.
As a child, AJAM dreamed of becoming a pilot. His father, however, encouraged him to take up law, perhaps realizing that there were already too many military men in Marasigan family.
AJAM took up Law at Arellano University, successfully becoming the first lawyer in their family.
LAWYER YEARS
Upon graduation, he worked as a litigator at the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) of the Pasig City District.
This was followed by a stint in PAO-Lipa City and a year after, he became Officer-in-Charge of the Tanauan City PAO office.
Having spent five years as a PAO lawyer, AJAM ventured into private practice. He joined the Punzalan, Faustino, Punzalan, Marasigan and Associates Law Offices. The law firms have offices in Calamba, Laguna and in Tanauan, Batangas.
It was just a matter of time before AJAM became a managing partner at the firm’s Tanauan office.
In 2004, he became a corporate lawyer for the companies owned by the family of the late Batangas Gov. Armando Sanchez.
Three years after the governor suddenly died of a heart attack in 2010, AJAM served as head legal counsel of the late governor’s wife Edna Sanchez, who was running for Sto. Tomas mayor in 2013.
After winning, AJAM became her Administrator. Accepting the post, the then 34-year-old lawyer, who spent the early years of his young career litigating cases, found himself entering the world of politics full time.
‘AKSYON BILIS’
For five years, AJAM served as City of Sto. Tomas Administrator. In that span of time, he learned first-hand the strengths and weaknesses of a municipality undergoing transition to cityhood.
In 2018, then Pres. Rodrigo Duterte signed into law, an act converting the municipality of Sto. Tomas into a component city of Batangas province.
One year later, in 2019, a plebiscite formalized the declaration of Sto. Tomas as the first component city of Batangas.
To better synthesize his experience in local governance, AJAM participated in a Leadership
Program offered by one of the most prestigious universities in the United States—the Harvard Kennedy School of Executive Education.
In 2019, he ran but lost in his mayoralty bid. Three years later, he won as mayor, this time with an overwhelming majority.
Observers said that AJAM won because voters were captivated by his Aksyon Bilis campaign.
Aksyon Bilis is the iconic name for the type of public service AJAM presented to his constituents. It is a 12-point agenda jumpstarted right from Day One of his administration.
“Delays create wastes, and wastes can lead to failure to deliver the needed services of the people. We need to do things fast, efficiently, and with determination,” AJAM said.
He added that 70% of the
Aksyon Bilis agenda are already being implemented. “Given the limited funds of the city government, we are determined to strengthen the different sectors of the city by implementing programs that deliver services where these are needed.”
For AJAM, the quest for quality public service is a full-time, unceasing determination to get better.
“Although various ways and means have been identified to improve the delivery of public service, a city leader will always persist until the doing becomes easier, not because the nature of the task has changed, but because one’s ability to do so has increased. I am determined to continue the plans that I have set as city mayor and to continue the journey toward a better, more progressive City of Sto. Tomas,” AJAM said.
Mayor AJAM has been recognized for his efforts to fast-track the development of the City of Sto. Tomas.
This year, he became the third best-performing mayor in the province of Batangas and the 6th Best City Mayor in the Southern Tagalog Region.
In recent years, Mayor AJAM likewise earned his Masters in Public Governance at the Philippine Christian University.
He was likewise designated as an auxiliary Commander by the Coast Guard District of Southern Tagalog for his industry and leadership.
