Noble King’s NOtebook

I am Alvin Rex Lucero, raised and born in the remote Municipality of Bayog in the Province of Zamboanga del Sur but currently living in the sprawling urban community of Zamboanga – the City of Flowers but now mistakenly branded as Asia’s Latin City.

I finished my elementary education at Bayog Central Elementary School where I graduated First Honorable Mention. There i discovered my passion in research and inquiry as I was always chosen as team leader in any Science Investigatory Projects associated with the school. It was also the time when i joined my first ever competition in History.

I completed my secondary education at Bayog National High School, the only state-subsidized high school in Bayog. There i found out that i was born to become a leader, a leader with a great vision for development and harmony.

I chaired different school-based organizations from Science Club to Journalism. I was overwhelmingly elected as a legislator when i was in first year but it was all rubbled when i was defeated in the Presedential race when i was in second year. During that time I founded the Student Union fo Rectitude and Enhancement, a party who grabbed almost half of the contested posts in the said election.

In the succeeding year, i was voted to become the Editor-in-Chief of The Timbermines, the Official School Paper of Bayog National High School. It was during my administration that the said paper was been acknowledge in the entire Division of Zamboanga del Sur because of its brilliance and fearless publication.

After i completed the secondary course, I took the entrance examinations of two of the leading educational institutions in Mindanao — Mindanao State University System and Western Mindanao State University in Zamboanga City. Surprisingly I was given a scholarship grant by the MSU system and invited to become part of their academic community, but I refused to take it and decided to enroll at WMSU where I enrolled at the College of Nursing of the afore-mentioned university. Its not really my intention to be listed in that College, but many forced me to do so because of my rank in the Nursing Aptitude Test.

On my second year in WMSU, i decided to shift to the College of Liberal Arts in the Department of Political Science where i enrolled under the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. My first year in the department is basically fruitless except for some few achievement in the field of debate and quizbowl.

During my second year in Polsci, I ran for the highest position in the Political Science Society, the Official Student Organization of the Political Science students of WMSU. Where i garnered 80% of the total turnout against a Senior student.

In the same year, I was admitted to Prima Opus Magnum, the Official Debate Varsity of WMSU where i was elected as the Speaker of the House Pro Tempore. The said organization was instrumental in catapulting me to become one of the official representatives of WMSU to debate tourneys all over the Philippines.

My first competition was the 16th Mindanao Parliamentary Debate Championship in Xavier University, Cagayan de Oro City where i competed using the British Parliamentary Format. The witty Almar Villanueva, the current Editor-in-Chief of The University Digest was my teammate during that time. Six months later, i was sent to Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology in Iigan City to attend the 17th Mindanao Parliamentary Debate Championship at this time under the Asian Parliamentary Format. I was teamed with Jerick Gerard Go (BSN) and Reevah Osorio (B.S. Acc.). Before the summer started, i was also sent to University of the Philippines – Diliman to join the 2nd Philippine Inter-Collegiate Debate Championship.

In terms of Quizbowl, I have already competed in the 3rd Mindanao Association of State Colleges and Universities Foundation Games in Bukidnon State University, Malaybalay City together with Ian Dominic Orinio and Mel Niccolo Carballo and placed second among 37 contenders. The three of us had our own specialty, Ian is considered to be an authority in Politics and Government, Mel is specializing in World and Philippine History, and I concentrated in World and Philippine Geography and Philippine Culture. Ian and I were also together when we competed in the University Palaro QuizBowl where we landed third under the name College of Liberal Arts Red Warriors.

One month after the classes started in the Academic Year 2008-2009, I was chosen to be WMSU’s representative to the 2nd Visayas-Mindanao Debate Championship held at the University of the Philippines in the Visayas, Miag-ao, Iloilo where we broke into the Quarter Finals against the flag teams of Ateneo de Davao University, Silliman University and University of the Philippines-Cebu. During the said competition, I was paired with Majid Imran, an Extemporaneous Speaker who already adjudged as the best in some national competitions.

Last September, the team who competed in Malaybalay was sent to the Philippine Normal University in Manila to participate and wrestle in the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges Literary and Cultural Festival (Quiz Bowl) against 16 competitors representing the different regions in the Philippines. Surprisingly, we grabbed the championship trophy because of our desicive victory.

A month after, I was once again sent to Cebu City to participate in the Joint 7th Visayas and 8th Mindanao Rizal Young Leaders Institute Conference where I also competed in Rizal and History Quiz against 28 able competitors from all of Visayas and Mindanao. ThereI landed as the 3rd-runner up despite the fact that im unprepared when I went to the contest.

My recent achievement is when I was chosen to be Region IX’s official delegate and the only delegate from Zamboanga del Sur to the 7th National Youth Parliament to be held in the Development Academy of the Philippines in Tagaytay City to discuss with fellow young people some pressing issues of the times.

Upon my return to Zamboanga, I was inducted as a Baby Jaycee to the prestigious Junior Chamber International, a worldwide circle of young leaders and entrepreneurs. This membership was made possible through the invitation of the then incoming Local Organization President, which Atty.David Oliver Kong which happens to be my colleague in the 7th NYP in Tagaytay.

Last December, as a member of the National Youth Parliament Alumni Association, I was invited to take part in the 2nd Mindanao Young Leader’s Parliament, a gathering of young leaders all over Mindanao with an aim to formulate policy recommendations in connection with Development, Governance and Peace. In the said forum, he was elected as the Deputy Secretary General for Southern Mindanao, covering the area of Davao Region, SOCKSARGEN and ZAMBASULTA.

Two months after, as an active Political Student of WMSU, I was sent to Aquinas University in Legazpi to represent the school in the 1st Political Science Students Association of the Philippines National Convention. Surprisingly, at the end of the affair, I got a nomination from Bicol University for the highest position in the organization, the Presidency. I nearly got the position unanimously against a delegate from Ateneo de Naga University.

But before the preceding year ended, I was chosen to represent the university in the Regional Eliminations of the 29th National Super Quiz Bee against eight of the prestigious colleges and universities in Zamboanga Peninsula. There I once again proved my worth as a quizzer when I grabbed the Championship Medal, and was given the chance to compete in the National Finals scheduled in April 2009 at Tagaytay City. This will be the first time that I will be appearing before the National Television as this event will be aired by Studio 23.

Ten days before my departure to Tagaytay, I was designated as the Project Chairperson of the JCI Clubhouse Renovation. This project is important because upon its completion it will already signal my elevation from a Baby Jaycee to a Regular Jaycee which already enjoys speaking and voting rights inside the organization.

Three days after such designation, I succeeded the governatorial post in the College Student Board of the College of Liberal Arts upon the graduation of the incumbent governor, Aivelle E. Aizon.

My succession as the Governor of the fourth largest college of the University became my stepping stone in launching my candidacy for Senator of the University Student Council. My achievements in my stint as the chief executive officer of the college became my only weapon to shield me on issues of incompetency raised against me.

As the election period unfolded and the results were revealed, surprisingly, I was included in the so called Magic 7 occupying the second slot in the final senatorial slate accumulating four thousand eight hundred and twenty seven votes. On the College tallies, I landed Number 1 in the following Colleges, College of Liberal Arts, College of Law, College of Social Work and Community Development and College of Home Economics.

On the maiden session of the Senate, I was tossed by the United Students’ Party – the ruling party to be the nominee for the Senate Presidency. The minority nominated Stephanie Rose Vargas for the said position. With four votes for the majority’s nominee, I got the third highest position in the USC, and Hon. Vargas became the Minority Floor Leader.