Samsam Gullas | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Gullas in 2019 | |
| Mayor ofTalisay, Cebu | |
| Assumed office June 30, 2019 | |
| Vice Mayor | Alan Bucao |
| Preceded by | Eduardo R. Gullas |
| Member of the Philippine House of Representatives fromCebu's1st district | |
| In office June 30, 2013 – June 30, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Eduardo R. Gullas |
| Succeeded by | Eduardo R. Gullas |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gerald Anthony Vargas Gullas Jr. (1984-12-01)December 1, 1984 (age 40) Quezon City, Philippines[1] |
| Political party | Nacionalista |
| Spouse | Rhea Mae Aquino |
| Parents |
|
| Alma mater | Centre for International Education (BS) Ateneo de Manila University (MBA) |
Gerald Anthony "Samsam"Vargas Gullas Jr. (born December 1, 1984) is a Filipino politician serving as the mayor ofTalisay, Cebu since 2019.[2][3] He previously served asrepresentative forCebu's 1st congressional district from 2013 to 2019.[4][5]
Gullas is the eldest son of Gerald Anthony "Didi" Gullas and Josephine Vargas.[6] He is also the grandson of formerTalisay City mayor and incumbentCebu 1st districtrepresentativeEduardo Gullas.[7] He completed his tertiary education and graduated assumma cum laude in 2009 at Centre for International Education[8] and earned amaster's degree inbusiness administration at theAteneo Graduate School of Business in 2015.[9]
Gullas started working as assistant vice president for Finance and Administration of theUniversity of the Visayas and also served as manager UV Green Lancers, the school's basketball team.[7]
Running unopposed asrepresentative ofCebu' 1st district in the2013 local elections, Gullas won with 153,514 votes and succeeded his grandfather,Eduardo Gullas who reclaimed his old post as mayor ofTalisay City. At the age of 28, he became the youngest member of the16th Congress of the Philippines.[6] In his re-election bid in2016, he ran against thenSan Fernando mayor Antonio "Abe" Canoy and overwhelmingly defeated the latter by garnering 186,091 votes to Canoy's 83,023 votes.[10]
Despite being eligible for a third and last term, Gullas opted to run as mayor ofTalisay City which in turn allowed his grandfather Eduardo to run again asrepresentative ofCebu's 1st district in the2019 local elections.[11] The younger Gullas won in the said election.[12]
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.[13] He was confronted by the city's illegal drug problem which was mentioned byPresidentRodrigo Duterte for the second time during his speech on January 19, 2020, for theSinulog Festival inCebu. Duterte previously called out the city police officials on the said problem in a speech last February 24, 2019.[14]
On March 29, 2020, Gullas confirmed the city's firstCOVID-19 case amidst theCOVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines.[15]
In August 2024,Talisay Mayor Gullas handed over toTalisay City Science High School the P3 millionInteractive Laboratory with experiment apparatus, “Learnytic Multimedia Kit”,robotics facility and an 85-inchcomputer monitor.[16]
Gullas is married to Rhea Mae Aquino[17] and together have two daughters, namely Princess and Samantha Niña.[18][19]
| House of Representatives of the Philippines | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of thePhilippine House of Representatives fromCebu's1st district 2013–2019 | Succeeded by Eduardo R. Gullas |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Eudardo R. Gullas | Mayor of Talisay, Cebu 2019–present | Incumbent |
Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Cebu | |||||
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| At-large (defunct) |
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Other districts within Cebu: (Cebu City.Lapu-Lapu City) | |||||