ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Arnold Vegafria gains traction in Olongapo mayoral campaign

Arnold Vegafria gains traction in Olongapo mayoral campaign

Published Apr 29, 2025 12:09 am

At A Glance

  • Vegafria has established his legacy as one of the Philippine entertainment industry's respected talent managers, prolific film, TV, and concert producer, events specialist, and PR impresario.
pam.jpg
Olongapo mayoral bet Arnold Vegafria (left) and businessman Wilson Lee Flores.

Renowned entertainment producer, advertising expert, and businessman Arnold Vegafria is gaining traction and widespread popularity in the 2025 mayoral race in Olongapo City.

More popularly known by his initials, ALV, and his moniker "Manager ng Bayan," Vegafria runs under the "Anak ng Gapo" banner. Together with his council slate, he highlighted his platform and advocacies to help reform his hometown into a progressive and major tourism destination.

Fiscal Prudencio Jalandoni is his vice-mayoral candidate. His councilor's slate also includes Ian Vegafria Bautista, Macky Alonzo, Erick Elmo Ison, Pocholo Galian, Derrick Quijano Manuel, Cris Tooley Jr., Bhong Tocayon, Tina de Leon, Jerome Ducos, and Earl Escusa.

Having spent most of his formative years in Olongapo City, Vegafria fondly remembers the glory days when the city gained renown as the Cradle of Pinoy Rock back in the early '70s, as well as the bustling economic and tourism boom when the U.S. military bases were still in the area.

"This is my most fervent wish, to bring back the glory days of Olongapo City, the way I remember it best," Vegafria reminisces, during a media conference at Kamuning Bakery Cafe in Quezon City on April 28.

"All we need to do is revitalize our industrial infrastructure and attract foreign investors and tourists to stimulate the economic boom.

"I know that it won't be an easy task, but I am confident that with our team's dedication, we can rebuild this city and bring back the economic and tourist boom that our city enjoyed during the time of the U.S. naval bases," he added.

Vegafria has established his legacy as one of the Philippine entertainment industry's respected talent managers, prolific film, TV, and concert producer, events specialist, and PR impresario.

However, before starting his multifaceted business career, he earned his Dentistry degree from the University of the East.

Among his notable achievements, he was a guest speaker at the United Nations World Forum on the Diaspora Economy, U.N. Headquarters, New York, served as juror at the Soho International Film Festival, New York from 2013-2018, was one of the esteemed judges at the Miss World pageant in Sanya, China in 2017 and 2018, was twice awarded Philippine Empowered Men & Women of the Year (2017-2018) from BEST Magazine, awarded National Customers' Choice Annual Awards 2014 - Certificate of Excellence for ALV Talent Circuit/"Most Outstanding High-Quality Talent Management Agency," awarded Best Choice Awards 2014 - Certificate of Excellence for Best Choice Talent Management Agency - ALV Talent Circuit, Silver Award/Philippine Star - ALV Consultus Advertising Inc., awarded Top 20 Most Valued Advertising Agencies of the Philippines - ALV Consultus Advertising Inc. (Philippine Star) 2006, and more recently, he was also feted the Humanitarian Influencer of the Year Award at the  HyperLive Impact Influencer Festival and Awards 2025, held at the Grand Ballroom of the Magellan Sutera, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia last March 9.

In the global pageant circle, he has also garnered acclaim as the official franchise holder of Miss World Philippines and the Miss Grand Philippines pageants.

A philanthropist and entrepreneur with diverse business interests, Vegafria also dabbled in sports. He was one of the key founders of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and the Chairman of the Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC) mixed martial arts league.

He was also Senator Manny Pacquiao's former business manager. Also, he ventured into politics, having served as the PDP-Laban's campaign manager, political advisor and consultant, with established ties with some of the country's prominent government leaders, including incumbent President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., former presidents Rodrigo Duterte and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Senators Juan Miguel Zubiri, Francis Tolentino, Bong Revilla, Bato dela Rosa, Dick Gordon, Gringo Honasan, Koko Pimentel, Jinggoy Estrada, Bong Go, Dick Gordon, former Defense Secretary and Congressman Gilbert Teodoro, former Ilocos Sur governor and Congressman Chavit Singson, SAGIP-Partylist Rep. Rodante Marcoleta, and former Congressman and senatorial aspirant Zajid Mangudadatu.

He also played a significant role in the campaigns of the following party lists: YACAP, BUHAY, Ang Probinsyano, Marino, Agimat, Frontliners, Pamilya Ko, Ako-OFW, SAGIP, and One Pacman.

Among his key advocacies in his mayoral platform are job generation, tourism promotion, revitalization of economic zones, health prioritization, educational reform, infrastructure and transportation modernization, environmental protection, sports, arts and cultural development, flood control, waste management, reduction of electrical/power charges, and anti-drug campaign.

Related Tags

matalinong boto 2022
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.