A BUSINESSMAN and scion of a well-known political family has filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) to run as mayor of Minglanilla town in the 2022 local elections.
Engineer Francis Gerard "Jigger" Selma Cañedo formally filed his COC before the Minglanilla municipal election office on Friday, October 8, 2021, or the deadline of filing of COCs for local and national candidates.
Serving as Cañedo's running mate is his cousin, former Minglanilla vice mayor Robert John "Jojo" Selma, the son of the late town mayor Eduardo Selma.
Both are scions of the well-known Selma political clan in Minglanilla.
The duo leads the local group "Bag-o'ng Minglanilla," under the national party Aksyon Demokratiko.
Canedo is known as a newcomer in the political scene but is already known in the business sector, particularly in mining and real estate.
He said he decided to run for the town's top post as he wanted to bring reforms to Minglanilla, particularly when it comes to responsive governance.
"For a long time now, we in the business sector felt that the town is left behind, our neighbour's were cities already in almost 20 years," Canedo said.
He said what the town needs is not a politician but a manager, experienced in leveling up the standards of the workforce and results driven.
Canedo said he has already prepared specific plans to salient immediate necessities of the town such as health, livelihood, housing and a friendlier environment for businesses.
Although not in public service, Canedo is currently leading the Cebu Contractors Association as president, and a Board of Trustee of the Philippine Contractors Association.
He was also sentimental in improving the academe for demand driven skills with his involvement with Technical Education Skills and Development Administration (Tesday) and the Department of Trade and Industry.
He was also a member of the Development Administration Committee of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) and the Pollution Control Association of the Philippines.
He also founded a sports environment youth group in Minglanilla.
Canedo's degrees and advanced studies are in University of San Carlos , Asian Institute Management for Masters in Entrepreneurship and President's Management in Harvard Business School.
He runs Frasec Ventures since 2002, an industry involved in land development and construction, aggregates and mining.
Cañedo and Selma are set to face Minglanilla town councilor and lawyer Rajiv Enad and incumbent mayor Elanito "Lani" Peña, who will be running as mayor and vice mayor under the town's administration bloc. (JKV, PR)