Jose Chaves Alvarez (born June 29, 1944), known by initials JCA, is a Filipino politician from the province of

Palawan Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in t ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

who is serving as the

representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...

of Palawan's 2nd congressional district since 2022. He was first elected as Governor of the province in 2013 and was re-elected in 2016 and 2019.

Early life and education

Jose Alvarez was born on June 29, 1944 in Kidapawan City, Province of Cotabato, to his parents Engr. Tomas Alvarez and Mrs. Lilia Alvarez. At the age of six, he started his education at the Jesuit-run

Ateneo de Davao University , mottoeng = Strong in Faith , type = Private Catholic Research Non-profit Coeducational Basic and Higher education institution , established = , founder = Society of Jesus , religiou ...

. He then pursued his secondary education at San Nicholas College, now

St. Paul University Surigao The Saint Paul University Surigao, also referred to as SPUS or SPU Surigao, is a private, Catholic basic and higher education institution run by the Sisters of Saint Paul of Chartres in Surigao City, Surigao del Norte, Philippines. It has two cam ...

, and finished the same in 1960. When he was 16 years old, Alvarez took Chemical Engineering at Cebu Institute of Technology – University. But due to financial constraints, he was forced to transfer to

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati and Evanston (Cincinnati), Ohio. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier has an undergraduate enrollment of 4,860 stud ...

and enroll in Liberal Arts. Because he wanted to help his family and avoid becoming a burden to his parents, the young JCA financed his university education by working as a collector in an insurance agency. Through his own perseverance and skills, the future Palawan Governor was able to graduate from college in 1964.

Business career

After his graduation, Alvarez ventured into a small used-car trading business in Cagayan de Oro City. In 1969, he was able to expand his business to

Mandaue City Mandaue (), officially the City of Mandaue ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Mandaue; fil, Lungsod ng Mandaue), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 364,116 ...

. In 1970, he was presented an opportunity to start a logging business in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

and immediately grabbed the same. He stayed in the forests of Indonesia for seven years, before returning to the province of Palawan.

References

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External links

Province of Palawan
Official Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez, Jose Living people Governors of Palawan 1944 births People from Cotabato Nationalist People's Coalition politicians PDP–Laban politicians