By Princess Fiona Labadia

Two brothers from the Entero family of Tocdog, Loay, Bohol are throwing their hats into the political arena. One is ATTY. JOSEPH TOLANG ENTERO (no. 81 in the ballot), a candidate for congressman from the MTM Phils. (Mamamayan Tungo sa Maunlad na Pilipinas - a sectoral Party-list coalition of the Multi-Tribal Movement in the Philippines, Inc.; DAR Employees Foundation, Inc.; Federation of Filipino Land Transport Operators of the Philippines, Inc. and the federation of Mandaluyong Drivers Association, Inc., representing the poor and marginalized Tribal groups, transport and agricultural workers thru its Healthcare, Education & Livelihood Programs & Services or H.E.L.P.S. Another is ENGR. HERMES TOLANG ENTERO (no 5 in the ballot,), a candidate for Kagawad (Councilor) in the town of Loay, Bohol. Engr. Entero is one of the incumbent councilors in the town and is running again for the same position in the said place.

Atty. Joseph Entero is the 6th of the 9 children of the late Valeriano Quiamjot Entero, Sr. and Dominga Dunque Tolang. He graduated valedictorian both in the elementary and secondary levels from the Tocdog Elementary School (Loay, Bohol) and Holy Trinity Academy (also of Loay), respectively. It was not surprising for him to land as a State Scholar at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City where he finished his Bachelor of Arts, Major in Political Science Degree in 1981 – as a consistent Dean’s Lister. Immediately after graduation in College he came back to Bohol and taught at Holy Name University (formerly Divine Word College) in Tagbilaran. While studying at U.P., he became President of the U.P. Kadugong Bol-anon, and Grand Omicron of the U.P. Diliman Pi Omicron Fraternity. He was also an active member of the U.P. Political Science Club. He started his studies in Law at the U.P in 1982; graduated in 1986; took the bar exams in the same year and passed. His legal practice has earned for him the respect of his clients especially those who seek advice for Labor Laws. As a labor lawyer, he has been representing the working group, either individually or collectively. His clients include those in commercial and savings banks, local and foreign airlines, manufacturing companies, soft drink and beverage corporations.

His popularity as a lawyer gained prominence when he started to serve workers from the Ilaw at Buklod ng Manggagawa (IBM), employees and associations from the government sector such as the Kapisanan ng mga Manggagawa sa GSIS (KMG), and the DAR Employees Association (DAREA). Atty. Entero also represents the cause of the urban poor by helping the informal settlers organize themselves into Community Associations for the purpose of acquiring the land that they have been occupying for years. How? By establishing the Environmental Shelter Systems Foundation, Inc. (ESSFI), which acted as Originators of various Community Mortgaged Program (CMP) projects of the government.In 1998 Atty Entero intensified his skill as a Maritime Lawyer of the  International Transport Workers Federation (ITF-FOC) Phils, Inc. that was fully subsidized by the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), a London-based organization composed of more than 500 transport workers' unions worldwide. When ITF closed its Philippine office in September 2002, Atty. Entero, together with some of his colleagues at the ITF-FOC Phils., found the right opportunity of organizing the International Seafarers Action Center (ISAC) Philippines Foundation Inc., launched in December 2002. He has since then been serving as Vice President and Secretary-General of the said organization. His expertise in maritime law, includes issues in the seafaring industry like pre-employment concerns, problems on board, contractual rights and obligations, claims for injury and death, among others.

He is also the founding Chairman of the National Union of Filipino Seafarers on Crewing Danish Ships or FILDAN. His wealth of experience in this field has qualified him to be a Resource Speaker, Lecture/Facilitator on topics related to the maritime industry here and abroad. He was one of the Pioneer Members of the Philippine Navy Board of Advisers in 2009.  He was also a Resource Person during 3rd International Assembly of Migrants & Refugees, held in Mexico City in November 2010, representing the seafarer sector. The MMT candidate is the husband of Marilyn Pantojas Entero with whom he has two children: Jose Mari and Donita Kristia. Meanwhile, Memie – or Engr. Hermes Entero-is the 2nd child in the Entero family. He is married to Jocelyn Azarcon, a Certified Public Accountant with whom he has 5 children, namely: Ryan Benedict-a professional having graduated from BSIT & BSN Management, Hermes Jr–a pharmacist, Helyn Madihon–a nurse, Raymes Angelo–a BSRad Tech 2 now based in Cebu City and Jan Herbie–a 4th year high school student at the VDT-ALC School, Tagbilaran City.

Engr. Hermes Entero took up his elementary days at Tocdog, Loay, Bohol and his secondary years at Divine Word College (now Holy Name University). He graduated from his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering Courses at the University of San Jose Recoletos, Cebu City. After having become a full-fledged engineer, he took up further studies at the Cebu Aero Technical School and his and his Master’s Degree in Business Management at the University of San Jose Recoletos, Cebu. He has also taken up special courses at the CAA Air Academy in Pasay City, Civil Aviation Training Center for Digital Techniques and in Japan for Toshiba Romukai training and Japan Radio Communication. This candidate for Kagawad in Loay, Bohol has the following eligibilities in the Civil Service Commission: the Career professional (first grade) and Airways Tech (1st grade). His work experience includes the following: Instructor at the CAA Sr; Air-Nav Specialist at the Mactan International Airport; Instructor at the Inoliana Aerospace University, LLC Cebu Aero Technical School, Cebu City & Cebu Technical School, Cebu City. Currently, he is Vice-President of the Montessori Educational Learning Center of Ubay, Bohol. As current member of the Sangguniang Bayan of Loay, he is the Chairman of the Committees on Appropriations, Infrastructure & Town Planning and Vice-Chairman of the Committees on Tourism & Public Utilities.