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Dato Arroyo bids Congress goodbye

RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/news-special1/nation/06/27/062716_dato.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">Photo by Kakai Manotok Arroyo</div></figcaption></figure></div>The youngest son of former President and now Congresswoman Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said his farewells to Congress on Monday after a 9-year stint in the Lower House.Camarines Sur Rep. Dato Arroyo was first elected to represent the 1st district of the province in 2007 and re-elected to the new 2nd district in 2010 and 2013 after a redistricting law was passed before the 2010 elections.In a message on his Facebook account, the younger Arroyo said he has not been linked to any corruption issue during his stint in government. He also took note of his achievement of seeing 47 bills he authored become law.Congressman Arroyo also mused about what he has learned from being a public servant as well as his exposure to politics.His mother led as president for nine years, the longest serving president since Ferdinand Marcos.Congressman Arroyo&#x27;s elder brother, former party-list representative Mikey Arroyo, first bowed out in 2013. Sister Luli has kept a low profile as a private citizen.Congressman Arroyo&#x27;s Facebook post is printed in full below:&quot;This will be a long post, but please bear with me as I have a lot to say--&quot;On this final week of my final term, 9 years after taking my first oath of office before the barangay captain of our village, I am filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude.&#x27;&quot;I am grateful that in 1995, the Lord brought me on an unexpected adventure to Bicol and gave me a chance to fall in love with an amazing place, befriend its warm-hearted people, and live its fascinating culture.&#x27;&quot;I am grateful for all the hospitable and like-minded people who made me feel like I fit in so perfectly. I felt so at home that I actually did decide to call Camarines Sur my home, and my life was changed forever.&#x27;&quot;I am grateful that since 2007, my Amigos in the 1st and 2nd District have allowed me to serve them for the maximum limit of three consecutive 3-year terms as their Representative to Congress, even if two of those terms were as a member of the minority.&#x27;&quot;I am grateful for having served with wise and experienced officials. They taught me the things that have always worked when going about my job.&#x27;&quot;I am grateful for having served with bold and innovative officials. They showed me that trying new things and different approaches will work, too.&#x27;&quot;I am grateful for having a family that stands back and lets me do things my way, but still comes to my side and helps me immediately when I need it.&#x27;&quot;I am grateful for having old friends who believe in me. They encouraged me to keep working hard.&#x27;&quot;I am grateful for making new friends throughout my years in Congress. Many of them will remain my brothers and sisters for the rest of my life.&#x27;&quot;I am grateful for having critics who mocked, belittled, and spread lies about me because… well, they gave me something to laugh about. I had fun annoying them with each success.&#x27;&quot;I am grateful for being exposed to politics. Now I know how ugly it can be.&#x27;&quot;I am grateful for being exposed to public service. Now I also know how beautiful and pure it should be.&#x27;&quot;I am grateful for being able to file 771 Bills-- 468 of them as a Principal Author-- and seeing 47 of them enacted into law.&#x27;&quot;I am grateful for being healthy enough to be absent for only 10 session days in 9 years.&#x27;&quot;I am grateful for having had a policy of serving everyone, regardless of political affiliation, since Day 1. I understood that I was representing the whole District, not just those who voted for me. That made doing my job simple and guilt-free.&#x27;&quot;I am grateful for the experience of getting soaked in the rain, getting scorched under the sun, hiking on trails, wading in rivers, trudging through mud, riding bikes, motorcycles, trucks, motorized canoes, pedicabs, and skates (railroad carts), on the way to being the first official to visit all 186 wonderful barangays which were spread throughout the upland, lowland, coastal, railroad, and urban areas of the 7 beautiful towns of the 2nd District.&#x27;&quot;I am grateful that as a result of those visits, we were able to help bring infrastructure projects and programs to every single one of those 186 barangays.&#x27;&quot;I am grateful for a clear and simple program. TKO-- Tubig, Kalye, Oportunidad. That&#x27;s what we promised, and that&#x27;s what we tried our best to deliver.&#x27;&quot;I am grateful for being a part of a myriad of projects like irrigating thousands of hectares of farmland, providing potable water systems, establishing and concreting hundreds of farm-to-market roads, bridges, pathways, and flood-control systems, and constructing hundreds of school buildings, classrooms, health centers, day care centers, covered courts, barangay halls, training centers, and multi-purpose buildings.&#x27;&quot;I am grateful for being a part of the lives of well over 10,000 scholars, many of whom graduated with honors even if they were never honor students in elementary and high school.&#x27;&quot;I am grateful for being a part of the lives of the more than 80,000 beneficiaries of programs like free operations for cataracts, cysts, myomas, etc., free reading glasses, free dentures, free medical check-ups, livelihood programs, free seminars, free agricultural equipment, free home and school supplies, supplemental feedings, and many others.&#x27;&quot;I am grateful for having ZERO cases of Graft and Corruption pending before the Ombudsman or Sandiganbayan, in spite of repeated efforts to look for cases to be filed against me.&#x27;&quot;I am grateful for civic-minded guardian angels who helped to make most of the projects and programs a reality, especially when government funding and support were denied solely on the basis of my family name.&#x27;&quot;I am grateful for everyone in the office because they formed a very professional, efficient, and resourceful Team Amigo— absolutely the most amazing and reliable team one could hope for.&#x27;&quot;I will always be grateful for the opportunity given to me, and I am humbled by the privilege of having represented and served my beloved 2nd District of Camarines Sur. As I have said many times before, I will be forgotten soon enough, but the memories of this chapter of my life will remain with me and my family until the end of our days.&#x27;&quot;Ako si Dato. Ako Libmaneño. Ako Bicolano. Ako saindo. Sagcod pa man. Dios Mabalos po.&#x27;

The youngest son of former President and now Congresswoman Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said his farewells to Congress on Monday after a 9-year stint in the Lower House.

Dato Arroyo bids Congress goodbye

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Dato Arroyo bids Congress goodbye

RG Cruz,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jun 27, 2016 12:36 PM PHT

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