The Brotherhood of Good Governance

Much is at stake for Weslie “Wes” Gatchalian as he assumes the position of Mayor of Valenzuela City.
As he succeeds his older brothers, Sher win and Rex, respect ively, in the post, the 41-year-old United Kingdom-educated chief executive is bent on preser ving, not fortune or power, but the legacy of the Gatchalians.

“It’s the legacy that I want to protect. The Gatchalian brand name has been trusted by Valenzuelanos already,” says Gatchalian. “I’m very proud to say that the Gatchalian brand has never been tainted with
corruption, never been tainted with anoma lies. The Gatchalian brand has always been the good governance and transparency that people, actual ly not only in Valenzuela, but the w hole Philippines, are longing for.”

THE GATCHALIAN BR AND
The Gatcha lians have long established their name in the political arena, beginning with Sherwin serving as Valenzuela 1st District Representative from 2001 to 2004, followed by his three consecutive terms as Valenzuela City Mayor from 2004 to 2013. He won a seat in the Senate in 2016, and was reelected for his second term in the 2022 elections.

Meanwhile, Rex was elected as Valenzuela 1st District Representative from 2007 to 2013, and then succeeded Sherwin as mayor from 2013 to 2022, while Wes served in the 16th to 18th Congress, first sitting as Alay Buhay Party-list Representative in 2013, and then replaced Sherwin as Valenzuela 1st District
Representative from 2016 to 2022.

Despite heading almost a decade into his political career, Wes admits that he still catches himself being in awe of how far they’ve come in their respective careers. After all, they were “not born with a famous surname in politics.”

“Now, we are considered a political dynasty, but when we started, we were not. We had no father in politics. No uncle, grandfather in politics. We started where we started, here in Valenzuela,” Gatchalian reveals. “So among us brothers, slowly, we’re realizing it, but it hasn’t fully .....