Cong. Greg Gasataya, re-elected as a legislator last May 9 with a winning margin of 104,879 votes, is a member of the prestigious and powerful Commission on Appointments (CA).
Brig. Gen. Stephen Agtoto, Dean of the Corps of Professors which is the major branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in charge of academic and technical instruction at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) and other education training units, is its highest-ranked educator.
Both lawmaker and military officer have emerged from the grassroots with a common background. As pointed out by Gasataya himself in a speech during the CA confirmation hearing, he and Agtoto “share similar roots” in Bacolod City, their hometown.
Almost the same age, both spent much of their childhood as next-door neighbors at the Geroso compound in Burgos-Cometa St. with only a plywood wall separating their homes.
As children, both attended Sunday school at the Maranatha Baptist Church (MBC) in Villamonte where both their parents served under the late Pastor Samuel Irving Colinco Sr., MBC founder.
The late couple Rodrigo and Thelma Gasataya were members of the congregation as well as the church staff, the former as a driver and the latter as an office worker who was also a soprano in the church choir.
A graduate of Maranatha Baptist Bible College, Edgardo Agtoto pastored the Old Town Baptist Church in Victorias in northern Negros. Also a college professor who holds a master’s and a doctorate in business administration, he led the transition of the Maranatha Christian High School (MCHS) which was also started by Pastor Colinco to the Maranatha Christian College (MCC) high school department. He acted as academic dean of its short-lived liberal arts department and headed for some time its board of trustees.
His wife Sally, herself an experienced teacher, was a part-time MCHS/MCC faculty member.
Both Gasataya and Agtoto were consistent honor students during their elementary days at the former West Negros College and likewise later at the MCHS. Another MBC ministry, it had at that time a relatively small student population, having opened only a few years before they enrolled one year apart.
Acknowledging the crucial role played by MCHS during their formative years, both credit it for their “foundation”.
According to Gasataya, “studying at MCHS opened a lot of opportunities… The four years there were a big help in terms of foundation, assessing things that were happening, and forming my perspective, and very importantly, it prepared me for a lot of things. It taught me how to handle pressure, and how to prioritize. For me, those years were pivotal to what I am today.”
Reflecting on his blessings, Agtoto said: “My designation as Dean, Corps of Professors, AFP, and my promotion to brigadier general are a testament to God’s grace, goodness, and faithfulness in my life. I thank and praise God for my high school education at Maranatha. It gave me a good foundation for my military career and my faith journey. To God be the glory!”
As MCHS students, both were successively editors of The Way, the student publication, and excelled in campus journalism. In consecutive years, both ranked among the top ten winners of the sports writing contest during the yearly Regional Secondary Schools Press Conference and thus qualified for the yearly National Secondary Schools Press Conference as members of the Western Visayas contingent.
Both participated in inter-school sports competitions for the MCHS Centurions. Gasataya played basketball while Agtoto led the chess team which won the Negros Occ. Private Schools Sports, Cultural, Educational Association (NOPSSCEA) secondary boys championship in 1988 and 1989 despite the lack of a coach.
Both were student leaders who topped the 1987 student government elections as running mates, with Gasataya as president, and Agtoto as vice president. The following year, Agtoto who was then also the corps commander of the MCHS Citizen’s Army Training unit was elected student government president.
Both graduated as MCHS valedictorians, Gasataya in 1988, and Agtoto in 1989.
Together until their teenage years, their paths diverged when Gasataya enrolled in political science at the Univ. of the Philippines-Diliman. Two years later, Agtoto entered the PMA in Baguio City.
Gasataya ended up graduating from the Phil. Women’s University with a bachelor’s degree in communication arts. Returning to his hometown, he became a popular radio broadcaster who was later voted to the city council in his first venture into politics and ranked first among 12 city councilors in the next two local elections.
In 18 years as Bacolod City public servant, he was city councilor (three terms), and vice mayor (one term), and is now starting his third term as representative of its lone district. In the 19th Congress, he is a member of the ways and means committee and the principal author of 18 bills, 10 of which are of national significance.
After graduating 13th out of 241 PMA cadets in 1994, Agtoto was commissioned in the Phil. Navy (PN) and assigned to various PN vessels. He then joined the AFP Corps of Professors where he would later be appointed Assistant Dean.
Highly qualified with three master’s degrees from three leading academic institutions and a doctorate in public administration at the National College of Public Administration and Governance, University of the Philippines-Diliman, he was eventually named Dean of the AFP Corps of Professors.
Upon reaching 32 years of military service during which he earned many medals and awards, he was given an ad-interim appointment as AFP brigadier general last July 22, subject to confirmation by the CA.
Meanwhile, at the start of the 19th Congress, Gasataya was elected member of the CA, a constitutional body responsible for approving or disapproving key appointments made by the president.
Out of 341 congressmen, he was one of only 12 chosen to join 12 senators in the CA, setting the stage for the two childhood friends’ special moment as their paths converged at the Phil. Senate building in Pasay City last Sept. 21 through a God-ordained timing of events.
“Knowing the nominee personally and knowing his professional capacity since we were kids, it is my honor… to second the motion for the confirmation of the ad interim appointment of Brig. Gen. Stephen Agtoto as well as the 49 other appointees,” Gasataya stated during the CA’s plenary session.
He later described the experience of witnessing his fellow Bacolodnon’s confirmation as “heartwarming”.
Former MCHS principal Fe T. Colinco recounted that “both showed inherently strong leadership skills even at a young age and served as excellent role models to their peers.”
She noted that “both showed great promise in their high school days,” adding, “I believe this is mostly due to their parents’ godly influence on their lives.”
Now a retiree in South Carolina, she expressed delight in their accomplishments: “As one of their early mentors, I am so happy to know of their impressive promotions. I praise God for using them now to serve our country in high positions… for their achievements in public service.”
For Cong. Gasataya and Brig. Gen. Agtoto, similar roots come with similar fruits.
