IT was about 20 years ago when I first met Mayor Klarex Uy. If I recall right, he was then the punong barangay of Carmen. We were introduced to each other by a familiar friend, Peter Abejo who was among the more active Rotarians of our young Rotary Club then.

Then PB Klarex and I were guests in Peter's home. It was more of a hi-hello encounter. Yet I saw him as a sincere person who spoke politely and not much about himself but about the welfare of others.

The second time that I had a closer look at Mayor Klarex was when I ran as a city councilor in the first district of Cagayan de Oro in 2013. As records would have it, I lost in that election and I never attempted to try again.

The campaign allowed me to take a closer look at the guy. I was a witness to how then Cong. Klarex was loved not only by his constituents in District 1 but also by his employees and workers whom he calls kauban. Now, his line "sa pag-uswag, kauban ta, Uy!" is not an empty line of words. The line is spoken from his heart.

During one of the sorties in 2013, an elderly woman approached me and hugged me tightly saying, “Salamat kaayo, Cong sa imong tabang. Naluwas gyud akong anak tungod sa imong tabang sa iyang pagpa ospital!"

I was taken aback. The woman mistook me for Klarex. That was an indication that even people who do not know Klarex in person, and those whom Klarex does not know personally, receive equal attention and help from this down-to-earth man from Barangay Carmen.

Now, Rolando ‘Klarex’ A. Uy sits as the City Mayor of Cagayan de Oro. I still get to know more about him because he has entrusted to me the functions of the Regulatory Compliance Board, and designated me as his Co-Chair of the City Price Coordinating Council, aside from some other assignments he asked me to handle, i.e., night market grievance resolution, health board membership, and night cafe study group, among other tasks.

In all of his pronouncements, Mayor Klarex always emphasizes in his own words “those who have less in life should have more in law.” His eyes and heart are trained on the less fortunate which he asks his lieutenants in the City Government to always remember.

That is the bottom line of his RISE CDO agenda.