LEGAZPI CITY – Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda has already filed his certificate of candidacy (CoC) for governor of Albay in the 2025 National and Local Elections with a new development agenda dubbed ‘Global Albay.’
Running under the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (LAKAS-CMD) party, Salceda was among the first to file their CoCs in this city, on October 1, the first day of filing. His CoC was submitted to the Commission on Elections by lawyer Jong Bonafe.
A veteran public servant, Salceda once served a full nine-year term as Albay chief executive from 2007 to 2016, which term was marked by many significant accomplishments, buoyed by innovative programs. He was unopposed in four of his six political bouts. Currently serving his last term as a legislator for the second district of Albay, he also previously served a three-consecutive term as congressman of the third district of the province before his initial gubernatorial quest.
Salceda’s 2007-2016 governorship was known for pioneering programs such as ‘Albay Mabuhay,’ ‘Albay Rising’ and ‘Albay Boom’ during his first, second and third terms, respectively.
He said his newly packaged program, ‘Global Albay,’ would sum up the direction and accomplishments of his previous programs in the province, led by among others, the construction of the Bicol International Airport (BIA) in his town Daraga, which opens up the province’s global industrial prospects.
Salceda’s ‘Glibal Albay’ agenda centers primarily on tourism and a host of other disaster resilient and robust industrial thrusts designed to once more uplift his province to a global level.
During his previous governorship, Albay was recognized by the Department of Interior and Local Government as the Best Province in Local Governance, ranking No. 1 among the country’s 80 provinces. The disaster management body he created, the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office (APSEMO) is a pioneer in Asia. It reaped a “Galing Pook” Award for Outstanding Governance Program on Disaster Preparedness; and the “Gawad Kalasag” Hall of Fame Award for Best Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council for three consecutive years.
Under Salceda’s term, Albay was declared by UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve; and was awarded with the Manuel L. Quezon Achiever’s Award by the Department of Health for its implementation of the National Tuberculosis Control Program, and for achieving a tuberculosis-free province.
Salceda was also awarded with the Tourism Star Philippines Award from the Department of Tourism for his internationally recognized efforts in the growth of its tourism industry.
Recognized as the “Green Economist,” Salceda pioneered the establishment of the Albay Climate Change Academy, the first in the country. He is considered the father of the “Albay and the Manila Declarations on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA)” that paved the way for the enactment of Republic Act 9723 (The Climate Change Act of 2009) and Republic Act 10121 (The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act).
These laws established disaster risk reduction management and climate change adaptation as both a national and local priority for building community resilience to climate change impacts and disasters.
Salceda has been a member of the Board of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the finance arm of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC). He was its Co-Chairperson for Developing Countries, the first Asian to chair the GCF, which was established by the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC in December 2011, intended to help developing countries adapt to the impacts of climate change.
The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction also acknowledged him as the First Senior Global Champion on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation.