Congressman Nicasio Aliping Jr., the incumbent representative of the lone district of Baguio City has filed his certificate of candidacy today. He is seeking re-election. A lawyer and a graduate of the University of the Cordilleras, Aliping served three terms as a city councilor before getting elected as Congressman in 2013.
Aliping's term as a Congressman was mired by the controversies surrounding the development project around his property located in Mt. Sto. Tomas (a watershed and forest reservation). Trees were burned and cut. Mountain slopes were excavated thus exposing them to erosion. Creeks that serve as water sources for Tuba and Baguio City got polluted.
However, the Sto. Tomas controversy aside, Aliping is one of Congress's more active lawmakers. Aliping has sponsored/authored 25 house bills. These bills include the act prescribing the printing of textual health warnings on tobacco products, the act establishing a national technical vocational highs school in Baguio City, and the resolution urging the Department of Justice to establish a regional prosecution office for the Cordillera Administrative Region in Baguio City.
However, some of the bills Aliping authored were criticized like the act that aims to increase the authorized expenses of candidates and political parties during the campaign period. Aliping also got a lot of flak for the bill seeking to declare portions of Forbes Park as residential areas thus making such properties open for disposition.
Aliping has also co-authored 126 house bills. These include the act providing for a Magna Carta of the poor, the act providing instructional materials allowance for public school teachers, the act granting additional benefits to solo parents, and the act to establish an infant mortality program to reduce the rate of infant mortality in the country.
As Baguio's Representative in Congress, Aliping is Vice Chairperson of two committees and a member of 10 other committees including the committees on Higher and Technical Education, Bases Conversion, Indigenous Cultural Communities and Indigenous Peoples, Public Works and Highways, and Suffrage and Electoral Reforms.
Learn more about Aliping's track record as listed on the official website of the House of Representatives here, here, and here. Aliping is a member of the Liberal Party. Running alongside him in the upcoming polls are Popo Cosalan for Vice-Mayor and the following for councilor: Ron Perez, Arthur Allad-iw, Mylene Yaranon, Joel Alangsab, Jun Urca, Leandro Yangot, Rudy Paraan, and Joseph Cabato.
