Mandanas: Never too old for marriage or politics

YOU are never too old for marriage or politics.

That seems to be the philosophy of Batangas Gov. Hermilando Mandanas, 80, who plans to run for reelection next year after marrying his second wife, a 32-year-old lawyer, earlier this month.

Mandanas first served as governor of Batangas from 1995 to 2004 before hitting the limit of three consecutive terms. In 2016, he was re-elected to his second stint as governor.

«Part of my life is to serve the people of Batangas, and it is a blessing,» Mandanas told The Manila Times' streaming TV show «PrimeTimes with Atty. Lia Badillo-Crisostomo.»

In between stints as governor, he served as congressman of the province's second district from 2004 to 2013.

Mandanas's first wife was Regina Reyes Mandanas, daughter of former Bureau of Immigration commissioner Edmundo Reyes Sr. and Marinduque governor Carmencita Reyes. She died on May 5, 2022, due to sepsis.

On May 8, 2024, Mandanas married his second wife, lawyer Angelica Chua, a native of Ibaan and 48 years his junior. The wedding took place at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Batangas City, with President Marcos and first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and other politicians attending.

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In her wedding vows, Chua asked the octogenarian «to promise to stay for as long as you can so I can grow old with you.»

Mandanas said he got interested in politics when former senator Benigno Aquino Jr. was assassinated in 1983.

«But I was already in government service in 1978 or with the Ministry of Human Settlements, then headed by former first lady Imelda Marcos, after I was recruited by my college classmate Betty Benitez, the wife of the late Jolly Benitez (former Human Settlements deputy minister),» the governor said.

Mandanas said he was already doing well in the private sector as an investment banker based in Hong Kong, but he decided to seek an elective post after realizing that the people of Batangas had needs that he could help fulfill.

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A member of the PDP-Laban party, Mandanas says, «Every issue is notable because we are dealing with the people, and for every Filipino, every situation is important, and that is important to me.»

As a barefooted elementary