Gerald Anthony "Samsam" Vargas Gullas Jr. (born December 1, 1984) is a Filipino politician serving as the mayor of Talisay, Cebu since 2019. He previously served as representative for

Cebu's 1st congressional district Cebu's 1st congressional district is one of the seven congressional districts of the Philippines in the province of Cebu. It has been represented in the House of Representatives of the Philippines since 1916 and earlier in the Philippine Assembly ...

from 2013 to 2019.

Early life and education

Gullas is the eldest son of Gerald Anthony "Didi" Gullas and Josephine Vargas. He is also the grandson of former Talisay City mayor and incumbent Cebu 1st district representative

Eduardo Gullas Eduardo "Eddie" Rivera Gullas Sr. (born October 13, 1930) is a Filipino politician from Cebu, Philippines. The son of Vicente Gullas and Pining Rivera, he has been elected to five terms as a Member of the House of Representatives of the Philippines ...

. He completed his tertiary education and graduated as

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

in 2009 at Centre for International Education and earned a master's degree in

business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

at the

Ateneo Graduate School of Business , mottoeng = Light in the Lord , type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution , established = December 10, 1859 , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Jesuits) , academic_affi ...

in 2015.

Early career

Gullas started working as assistant vice president for Finance and Administration of the University of the Visayas and also served as manager UV Green Lancers, the school's basketball team.

Political career

House of Representatives (2013–2019)

Running unopposed as representative of Cebu' 1st district in the 2013 local elections, Gullas won with 153,514 votes and succeeded his grandfather,

who reclaimed his old post as mayor of Talisay City. At the age of 28, he became the youngest member of the

16th Congress of the Philippines The 16th Congress of the Philippines ( fil, Ikalabing-anim na Kongreso ng Pilipinas) composed of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives, met from July 22, 2013, until June 6, 2016, during the last three years of Benigno Aquino III's ...

. In his re-election bid in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, he ran against then

San Fernando San Fernando may refer to: People *Ferdinand III of Castile (c. 1200–1252), called ''San Fernando'' (Spanish) or ''Saint Ferdinand'', King of Castile, León, and Galicia Places Argentina *San Fernando de la Buena Vista, city of Greater Buenos ...

mayor Antonio "Abe" Canoy and overwhelmingly defeated the latter by garnering 186,091 votes to Canoy's 83,023 votes.

Mayor of Talisay City (2019–present)

Despite being eligible for a third and last term, Gullas opted to run as mayor of Talisay City which in turn allowed his grandfather Eduardo to run again as representative of Cebu's 1st district in the 2019 local elections. The younger Gullas won in the said election. In his 2019 State of the City Address, Gullas indicated that tourism was his top priority for the city as it aims to promote food tourism with its lechon delicacy and the historic landing site of American forces located at Barangay Poblacion. He also proposed for the construction of a boardwalk and a site to host lechon stalls. He was confronted by the city's illegal drug problem which was mentioned by President

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...

for the second time during his speech on January 19, 2020, for the

Sinulog Festival The Sinulog-Santo Niño Festival is an annual cultural and religious festival held on the third Sunday of January in Cebu City and is the centre of the Santo Niño Catholic celebrations in the Philippines. The festival is considered to be the fi ...

in Cebu. Duterte previously called out the city police officials on the said problem in a speech last February 24, 2019. On March 29, 2020, Gullas confirmed the city's first COVID-19 case amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines.

Personal life

Gullas is married to Rhea Mae Aquino and together have two daughters, namely Princess and Samantha Niña.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gullas, Samsam Living people Nacionalista Party politicians Mayors of Talisay, Cebu Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Cebu 1984 births People from Cebu