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visionary leader with numerous awards and recognition as an
exemplary performer in every aspect of her life – as
student, law practitioner, mother and politician – Governor
Bellaflor J. Angara-Castillo is strongly motivated to work
for the best of Aurora Province.
She
obtained both her Bachelor of Laws (Class Salutatorian, Cum
Laude) and Bachelor of Science in Jurisprudence (Cum Laude)
degrees, from the University of the Philippines. She was a
Scholarship Grantee for Master of Laws Program at Yale Law
School and was a participant in the Leaders in Development
Program at John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard
University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
In her law practice, she was voted one of the five Outstanding
Women in Law in the Philippines by the Women Lawyers’
Association of the Philippines. She earned a Diamond Award
for Excellence in the Legal Profession/Bar Practice given
by Portia Sorority of the University of the Philippines, College
of Law.
As a mother who brought up her children to achieve successfully
and happily in their own fields of profession, she was chosen
among the 1999 Golden Parent Awardees as the Outstanding Parent-Achiever
of the Year by the National Family Week Awards Committee during
the Parangal sa Pamilyang Pilipino ’99. She was also
awarded the 2002 Ulirang Ina Award by the National Mother’s
Day and Father’s Day Foundation of the Philippines.
As a politician, she is the First Woman Majority Leader in
the history of Philippine Congress (11th Congress). She is
a Congressional Hall of Fame Awardee for having won four (4)
consecutive Outstanding Congressman Awards since 1998 by Congress
Magazine and the Makati Graduate School. In 2001, she was
voted as one of the Most Consistent Outstanding Congressmen
for 3 consecutive years by Makati Graduate School for 2001.
She received special citation for being the Representative
with the Most Number of National Bills enacted into law among
the neophyte Congressmen and Sectoral Representatives during
the 10th Congress.
After her maximum term as Representative of the Province,
she decided to run for gubernatorial seat on May 11, 2004
election where she garnered 66% of the total votes cast. In
order to build the pillars of her programs within the realm
of good governance and leadership by example, Governor Angara-Castillo
capsulized her 6-point development agenda in the acronym HEALTH
which stands for Health, Education, Agriculture, Livelihood,
Tourism & Environment Management, and Human Development.
HEALTH serves as Governor Angara-Castilllo’s guidepost
in crafting sustainable development programs and in pursuing
judicious investment decisions for the province of Aurora.
In her first term as Governor, she was a recipient of the
Regional Kabalikat Award given by TESDA recognizing her all-out
support to skills development and adult education as a measure
to create job opportunities and sustainable livelihood among
out-of-school youth and helpless rural households in the province.
Early on her second term, she has also received the national
award of Outstanding Governor for her exemplary performance
and support to social welfare and development initiatives
given by the Association of Local Social Welfare and Development
Officers of the Philippines, Inc. She also was awarded recognition
for being number one in Region III in the implementation of
the Early Childhood Care and Development Act (RA No. 8990)
of which she was the principal author when she was a Congresswoman.
At present, Governor Angara-Castillo holds the helm of the
Central Luzon Investment Coordinating Council/Central Luzon
Growth Corridor Foundation, Inc. (CLICC-CLGFI) as its President.
She is also a member of the National Executive Board of the
League of Provinces of the Philippines representing Central
Luzon.
All through her life, she aimed for excellence even in selecting
a lifetime partner. She married Atty. Gregorio R. Castillo,
a consistent first honor student from elementary to college
(UP College of Law, Valedictorian and Cum Laude), and First
Placer in the 1957 Bar Examination. They were blessed with
four bright children, all successful in their own chosen fields
of profession namely: Atty. Joseph Gregson, Dr. Joy Arabelle,
Atty. Jerome Patrick, and businesswoman Jo Elinore.
Asked about her feeling as Governor, she often says, “there’s
nothing more fulfilling and challenging than being a ‘hands
on’ local chief executive who is close to the hearts
and minds of the people.”
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