Vice mayor of UN-awarded Cebu town dies

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The capitol mourns the death of San Francisco Vice Mayor Allan Arquillano after he succumbed to cancer at 8 am Monday, March 23.

Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III said during his regular press conference that the late vice mayor – his political ally since the 2010 campaign – proved to be a great leader of his town, which was among those hailed for minimizing the death toll during Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in 2013. 

The municipality of San Francisco, in the Camotes Group of Islands, has received the United Nations Sasakawa Award for disaster preparedness and wholistic development.

It also got the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s Seal of Good Housekeeping and the provincial government’s Our Cebu awards in 2014.

Provincial Board Member Jude Durano Sybico, who authored a resolution on Monday to express condolences to the vice mayor’s family, remembers Allan Arquillano as the one who did most of the leg work in organizing communities in San Fransisco for disaster preparedness. He did this with his brothers Mayor Ali Arquillano and former Mayor Al Arquillano.

The provincial board’s resolution cited Arquillano for “his service to the people of his municipality, which was marked by selfless dedication that reached beyond the call of duty and by a visionary leadership that consecrated sustainable development and disaster-resilient communities.” 

Arquillano is survived by his wife and 3 children. – Rappler.com