Rep. Ignacio "Iggy" Arroyo Jr. (KAMPI/Lakas CMD/UNA), who has been re-elected back into office, yesterday said his priority in the House of Representatives will be a review of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law.

The law expires next year and we want to see a better program put in place to uplift the lives of the people it is supposed to help, he said.

Arroyo was proclaimed the winning congressman of the fifth district in absentia by Provincial Elections Officer Jessie Suarez Saturday after he won with 76,143 votes against Apolinario Lozada (LP/PDP-Laban) who garnered 47,499 votes.

Also proclaimed Saturday were the winning board members of the fifth district Emilio Yulo III with 91,011 votes and Melvin Ibañez - 51,397 votes, Arroyo said he had several meetings in Manila and was unable to return to Negros for the actual proclamation.

Arroyo said a better system of providing support services to those already given land under CARL should be discussed.

The government will also start giving away its land for the landless, he said. The solon said he was very happy and grateful to his constituents who voted him back into office.

I will continue to deliver infrastructure, health and livelihood programs in the district as well as PhilHealth coverage for residents, Arroyo said.

He will also expand his scholarship program, and the delivery of basic services, including water and electricity, Arroyo said.

Yulo said that for the past three years he has put emphasis and worked along with the provincial government at improving the educational programs of the fifth district and the whole province.

We will continue working at improving the standards and quality of education of Negros Occidental in the next three years, he said.

Asked if his votes that were even higher than Arroyo's would make him the senior board member, Yulo said he did not know yet.

It does not necessarily mean that if you get the highest number of votes you become the senior board member, the Department of Interior and Local Government has some factors that it considers in the computation of who gets the post, he said.

Total votes garnered against total voters per district are considered, he said.

Our votes are a barometer on how we have performed during the past three years, Yulo said Ibañez said as a doctor his priority is health care.

He noted that there is a new hospital in Isabela that will serve the health needs of the people of the fifth district.

Ibañez also said he will support the programs of Rep. Arroyo and Gov. Joseph Marañon in education, cooperatives and the formation of an economic zone in the fifth district.*CPG

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