Marco Gumabao and Cristine Reyes. Image: Instagram/@cristinereyes
In an apparent effort to equip himself politically, congressional aspirant Marco Gumabao took a Public Service Administration course from University of the Philippines, along with his actress girlfriend Cristine Reyes.
The actor, who is running for Camarines Sur 4th district representative, shared this while showing themselves holding their certificates of completion through his Instagram page on Monday, Oct. 21.
“Successfully finished my Public Service Administration certificate course from The University of the Philippines – National College of Public Administration and Governance and Center for Policy and Executive Development. Thank you to all my professors, will definitely keep in my heart everything I’ve learned,” he said.
“On to new heights–this time wiser, and with God by my side,” he continued.
Addressing Reyes, he added, “Thank you for taking this with me.”
Reyes, for her part, spoke about how she took the training “because [she wants] to be not just by [Gumabao’s] side, but also to be a helping hand to serve District 4 of Camarines Sur with the intention of doing it right.”
“The course gave us an opportunity to zone out the noise. It was an eye-opener to learn the dynamics of economics, development, and policy-making,” she said on her Instagram page.
“It was a worthwhile experience to learn from professors of the University of the Philippines, thought leaders in their respective fields, and esteemed practitioners in policy-making through the Center for Policy and Executive Development,” she stated.
After filing his certificate of candidacy (COC) earlier this month, Gumabao addressed remarks from netizens who raised eyebrows on his bid for public office.
“I understand the stigma against actors running for politics na iniisip ng iba na ‘di nila sineseryoso yung position na tinatakbo nila (because others would think they’re not taking the positions they’re running for seriously). And I’m here to break that,” he said.
“At a young age, I was exposed to public service already because I have family members who were public servants before. It has always been in my heart to use my platform to help people,” added Gumabao whose father is former Quezon City congressman Mitchell Gumabaoo, better known as Dennis Roldan.