Daly City Mayor: Pinoy at heart

From his appearance and his distinct American accent, you would need a second glance to know that Daly City mayor Mike Guingona is Filipino. Once you talk to him, however, it is evident that he is not only a proud Filipino but someone the Philippines can be proud of.

Born in San Francisco to Filipino parents, Guingona credits his mother Connie Limjap, who emigrated in 1948, as the one who instilled Filipino values in him. They retained family ties in the Philippines and visited frequently—his first trip to the Philippines was when he was only 16 months old. He grew up very aware of his Filipino heritage. "I knew that I had to excel," he says of expectations of him especially of those back in the Philippines. "I grew up knowing that the Filipinos were a unique and gifted people," he says.

It was his mother as well who instilled discipline in him as a young boy. Guingona was never given an allowance when he was growing up, so he would work hard for his own money. His first job was at the age of nine as a newspaper delivery boy. "Waking up at 5:30 in the morning when everyone else was still asleep is what made me realize, at a very young age, the meaning of hard work," he recalls.

Guingona attended the University of California at Los Angeles where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. He then studied at the University of San Francisco Law School and went on to become a public defender for ten years. Now he is a criminal defense attorney with his own private practice, which he considers his "real job." Though he is currently mayor, he explains, he still needs to keep his job–unlike in the Philippines, being mayor only pays like a part-time job.

Coming from a political family, Guingona, a nephew of former Vice President Teofisto Guingona, says that "success is expected" from him when it comes to his political career. He adds that, as part of this prominent family, "we have the duty to give back." Going into politics, though, was never really one of his plans while growing up, but it seems to be his destiny to become a leader. In his early days studying law, he came across two American police officers harassing some Filipino children at a mall. This incident, which still agitates him just by recalling it, is what pushed him to run for office in Daly City. "I remember that incident," he says. "It shaped the way I see the world."

In Daly City, one is not voted directly as mayor. Rather, citizens vote politicians into the City Council. It is the members of the City Council who vote among themselves for the mayor. 2005 marked Guingona’s fourth term to be serving as mayor. He is the youngest mayor ever to be elected in Daly City and also its first Filipino-American mayor. By becoming a community leader, Guingona is able to carry out his plan: "Change the system from within."