Ready to Fill Her Dad’s Big Shoes

With bangs framing her face, her lithe body cutting a familiar figure in the office of her father, Guiguinto mayor Ambrosio ‘Boy’ Cruz’s office, Atty. Agatha ‘Agay’ looks more like an on-the-job apprentice than the seasoned municipal administrator that she is.

You tell her so and she laughs, “But I’m already 41!”

Forty-one, with a string of achievements. But to run as Guiguinto mayor and fill her dad’s big shoes?

Atty. Cruz smiles. Youth, she says, is a blessing, not a curse in public office. Yes, it will be her first time to hold an elective post if she wins in May. But make no mistake. Daddy’s girl is battle ready.

First, she brings impressive academic credentials to the table.

She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Commerce, major in Marketing Management from De La Salle University (DLSU), where her thesis on market research got a gold medal. She bagged second honors when she finished her postgraduate studies at the Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) School of Law.

Before passing the bar in 2008, Atty. Cruz interned at the Romulo, Mabanta Buenaventura, Sayoc, and De Los Angeles law firm.

Far Eastern University (FEU) Institute of Law dean Mel Sta. Maria, Atty. Cruz’s Ateneo professor, invited her to teach in the then newly-opened college. It required great.....