By Bibsy M. Carballo

When we received the invitation to join the Bugang River Cruise, a new travel destination in Pandan, Antique, we had not the slightest idea of what to expect never having visited the province before. It was therefore, with great surprise that after a flight to Kalibo, Aklan and a 2-hour land travel, we were told we would soon meet Mayor Plaridel Sanchez of Pandan, and Antique governor Sally Z. Perez.

The name of the governor struck a chord in our memory. Was it possible she was Sally Zaldivar Perez, a friend from UP we had lost touch with long ago? Indeed it was, and when we finally met it was just like yesterday. We knew her as an active campus figure in Political Science then. It was also presumed she would go into government service, being the daughter of Calixto O. Zaldivar, former Executive Secretary to President Diosdado Macapagal. True enough, after graduation, Sally served in government posts in the Supreme Court, the UP, the Senate, and Presidential Legislative Liaison Office. In May 2001, she became governor of the Province of Antique, and was immediately elected chairperson of the League of Provinces for Region VI.
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