Here is man, who is more than ready to become a City Councilor.
Edgar “Ed” Avila, a true-blue blooded Baguio Boy is born of an accountant and a public school teacher. He is a person of qualification, competence, independence and integrity, coupled with youth, idealism and honesty, the mandate for which the office he is vying for would best be served.
He is a former CONGRESSMAN and a lawyer by profession having passed the Philippine Bar in 1985. He was born, educated, reared and worked in the City and a public school product from the Lucban Elementary School where his mother was a teacher.
As an accomplished lawyer, he has distinguished himself in the field of social engineering as a Member of the House of Representatives representing the Youth Sector in the 9th and 10th Congress from 1992-1998. During his stint in Congress he was a member of the Committee on Justice, Education, Constitutional Amendments, Public Order and Safety, Tourism, Youth Sports and other significant committees. He was Chairman of the Oversight Committee on Duty Free. He has not only infused innovative ideas into the Congressional debates but also likewise steered policies and programs towards being more responsive to the specific needs and aspirations of our people and the country. In his six year stint in Congress, he authored 84 Bills and Resolutions, 54 of which were of National Significance. As a neophyte Congressman he was able to sign into law, four (4) bills and was in the list of the country’s TOP TEN CONGRESSMEN in 1996. Sometime in August 1998, he was invited to the Academe as the new Dean of the College of Law of the Saint Louis University effective June 1, 1999 and at 39, became the youngest LAW DEAN all over the country. He is not a stranger to the academe though, as he previously served as Professor at the Commerce Department of the Baguio Colleges Foundation and the Saint Louis University, where he obtained invaluable scholastic experience. He has lectured at the PNP REGIONAL TRAINING CENTER, Teachers Camp and presently a Civil Law Reviewer at CCDC.
The sparks that ignited the fame of his passionate quest for social change, justice and fairness started when as a young student, he was elected to the Federation of Kabataang Barangays in the City of Baguio as its Vice President where he spearheaded moves for wider youth representation in government and promoting programs to make them self-sufficient. Early on he was an outstanding Boy Scout who achieved the highest possible rank in Scouting – the JOSE RIZAL AWARD. Significantly he was a Philippine Delegate to the 14th World Jamboree, in Oslo, Norway in 1975 as well as a 1976 Youth Forum in Switzerland where he presented a paper on the role of the Youth in Nation Building. He was the lone Filipino Speaker during the World Scout Parliamentary Union Conference in 1997. He was likewise a Fellow at the University of New Orleans on Legislative Bill Drafting in 1996.
He carries with him almost twenty years of practice in the field of law, having been associate of the CABATO LAW OFFICE from 1985 to 1992, before he became a Congressman. He now has his own LAW FIRM with eight associates. He is the CHARTER PRESIDENT of the Rotary Club of Downtown Session and wrote columns in both national and local dailies particularly the Journal Manila Times, Baguio Reporter, Skyland News, the Weekly Tribune, Sun Star Baguio and the Cordillera Post.
In 2002, he was nominated by the Association of Law Students of the Philippines (ALSP) and Speaker Jose C. De Venecia to be Ombudsman, and even if he was not able to get the post, the mere fact that he was one of the chosen few out of the hundreds of thousands of lawyers in the Philippines, was enough to make him and his family proud. In 2003, he was Deputy for the Videogram Regulatory Board (VRB). He was a co-founder of the LAMP (LEGAL ASSISTANCE FOR MILITARY AND POLICE PERSONNEL) assisting policemen filed with harassment suits or meritorious cases.
He is married to BERNADETTE AREVALO-AVILA, a businesswoman who has single handedly and successfully ran the family owned MUSAR MUSIC CORPORATION into becoming the biggest School of Music in the entire Luzon Area. They have four children, JOHN PAUL, CHARMAINE MARIE, ANTON LUIS and YSABELLE THERESE.
When he became a full-fledged lawyer in 1985, he turned away from a life of luxury and comfort and instead poured his passion and attention to rendering service from the heart and legal aid to the poor, the disadvantaged, and the marginalized. He has made a commitment to public service, and his unblemished record and reputation for integrity, honesty and dedicated service, make him an asset to the city./The Junction News Team
