03/09/2026
Congratulations Cong/Mayor Junard "Ahong" Chan for the prestigious award bestowed upon you!
Angay ug tukma ang mga titik nga nahasulat sa paghatag kanimo niining maong AWARD!
IKAW ANG GARBO SA LAPULAPU ๐
'๐๐๐๐. ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐: ๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐-๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐-๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐'
๐
๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฎ-๐๐๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฒ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ซ๐ โ๐๐ก๐จ๐ง๐ โ ๐๐ก๐๐ง, ๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐, ๐๐จ๐ง๐จ๐ซ๐๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌโ ๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐๐ง; ๐๐๐๐๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐ข๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐
๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐
There are leaders remembered for the positions they held.
And there are leaders whose connection with the people remains even when the position changes.
For ๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ซ๐ โ๐๐ก๐จ๐ง๐ โ ๐๐ก๐๐ง, leaving Lapu-Lapu City Hall for the House of Representatives did not mean leaving the Oponganons behind.
๐๐ญ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐๐ซ๐ซ๐ฒ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ ๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ก๐ข๐ฆ.
For six years as Mayor of Lapu-Lapu City, Ahong Chan developed a distinctly hands-on leadership styleโvisible in communities, accessible to constituents, and grounded in the belief that government should never become distant from the people it serves.
His mayoral record reflected that approach: ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐๐๐ญ๐ฌ, road and drainage improvements, expanded government access through satellite offices in Olango Island, and the โ๐๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐จ ๐ง๐ข ๐๐๐ฒ๐จ๐ซโ platform that gave residents a direct channel to City Hall.
But his leadership was never defined by infrastructure alone.
More than 37,000 senior citizens benefited from birthday cash gifts and financial assistance. At the same time, programs for solo parents, vulnerable families, housing, healthcare, and social protection brought government closer to people in moments when they needed it most.
The philosophy was simple:
๐๐จ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ซ๐.
๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง.
๐
๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ.
๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ซ.
Then came Congress.
The office changed.
The responsibility became greater.
From running a highly urbanized city, Ahong Chan entered the complex world of ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง, ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ, ๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ฒ๐ฆ๐๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ , ๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐ ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ง๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐๐ฌ.
But the principle did not change:
๐๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ง ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐.
Even with the demands of Congress, Congressman Chan has maintained the accessibility that characterized his years as Mayorโreturning to communities, meeting constituents, listening to concerns, and ensuring that representation does not end when the session hall closes.
His congressional priorities likewise remain closely connected to the realities of Lapu-Lapu Cityโfrom traffic decongestion and major road projects to healthcare, hospital development, social services, classrooms, and infrastructure.
But one figure best illustrates what that representation means on the ground.
More than โฑ๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ข๐ง ๐ฆ๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐ has been extended through his congressional office to patients in private hospitals and dialysis beneficiaries.
Behind that number are not just statistics.
They are people.
A dialysis patient returning week after week for treatment.
A family suddenly facing a hospital bill they cannot afford.
A parent searching for help for a sick child.
A senior citizen trying to stretch limited resources.
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ง ๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ.
Congress may be hundreds of kilometers from Lapu-Lapu, but meaningful representation brings government back to the hospital room, the household, the barangay, and the family asking for help.
And this is why Ahong Chanโs public-service journey cannot simply be divided into two separate chaptersโ ๐๐๐ฒ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐๐ง.
It is one continuing story.
๐
๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ.
๐
๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐ฑ๐๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐จ ๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง.
๐
๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐จ๐๐๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ฉ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง.
๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐ฅ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐.
His responsibilities today extend far beyond Lapu-Lapu City. Every law he helps shape, every committee deliberation he joins, and every national policy he advances carries consequences for Filipinos throughout the country.
Yet the greater the responsibility becomes, the more important it is to remember where that responsibility began.
๐๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐.
Following RPMDโs assessment of ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐๐, ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ, ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ, ๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐, Congressman Junard โAhongโ Chan earned the national distinction of:
๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐โ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
More than a ranking, the recognition affirms a standard of leadership built on ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐๐ง๐๐, ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ.
In recognition of this achievement, ๐๐๐๐ ๐
๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ง๐., ๐ญ๐จ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐! ๐๐๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐ฐ๐ฌ.๐๐ก proudly presents Congressman Chan with the prestigious:
๐ฅ ๐
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
Created by world-renowned Filipino artist ๐๐ข๐๐ก๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐ง๐ข๐จ, the ๐
๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ symbolizes ๐๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฌ๐, ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฑ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐.
For Ahong Chan, the flame carries a particularly fitting meaning.
A flame continues to burn despite difficulty.
It gives light without asking who will see it.
And the stronger the responsibility placed upon its bearer, the greater the duty to keep that flame alive.
From ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฒ๐จ๐ซ ๐ญ๐จ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐๐ง, Ahong Chanโs journey demonstrates that public service is not defined by where one sits.
It is defined by ๐ฐ๐ก๐จ ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ฎ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐.
As Mayor, he brought government closer to Oponganons.
As a Congressman, he now carries those same people into the national conversationโwhile accepting the greater responsibility of helping to shape policies for the entire Filipino nation.
Public positions change.
Terms eventually end.
But people remember something far more lasting:
๐๐ก๐จ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐.
๐๐ก๐จ ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐๐.
๐๐ก๐จ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฉ.
๐๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐จ ๐ซ๐๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ก ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ง ๐ ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ง๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐ง๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ.
That is the deeper meaning of representation.
And that is the flame this national recognition seeks to honor.
๐ฅ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ, ๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ซ๐ โ๐๐ก๐จ๐ง๐ โ ๐๐ก๐๐ง โ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐โ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.
๐
๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฒ๐จ๐ซ ๐ญ๐จ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐๐ง.
๐
๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฎ-๐๐๐ฉ๐ฎ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ก๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ.
๐
๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง.
๐
๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฉ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐จ ๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฑ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐.
๐ฅ ๐
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐
๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ฉ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐
๐๐๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง. ๐๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐๐ง๐๐. ๐๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง.
