Luis Crisologo Singson (born June 21, 1941), better known as Chavit Singson (), is a Filipino businessman and politician, serving as the mayor of
Narvacan,
Ilocos Sur
Ilocos Sur, officially the Province of Ilocos Sur ( ilo, Probinsia ti Ilocos Sur; tl, Lalawigan ng Ilocos Sur), is a province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Located on the mouth of the Mestizo River is the capital o ...
, since 2019 up to 2022. He was the governor of the province of
Ilocos Sur
Ilocos Sur, officially the Province of Ilocos Sur ( ilo, Probinsia ti Ilocos Sur; tl, Lalawigan ng Ilocos Sur), is a province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Located on the mouth of the Mestizo River is the capital o ...
, starting from 1972 until 1986, again from 1992 until 2001, and again from 2004 to 2007 and from 2010 until 2013. He was also the Deputy National Security Adviser for the Philippine government (2008).
He ran for
Senator under
Team Unity in
2007, but lost.
Early life
Chavit Singson was born on June 21, 1941, in
Vigan
Vigan, officially the City of Vigan ( ilo, Siudad ti Vigan; fil, Lungsod ng Vigan), is a 4th class component city and capital of the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 53,935 people.
Loc ...
, Ilocos Sur. He is second eldest among the seven children of José Singson and Caridad Crisólogo. He studied in
Colegio de San Juan de Letran
The Colegio de San Juan de Letran, (transl: College of San Juan de Letran) also referred to by its acronym CSJL, is a private Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution owned and run by the friars of the Order of Preachers i ...
in Manila and finished his Commerce degree.
Both his paternal (Singson) and maternal (Crisologo) families have dominated the political environment of the Ilocos region for generations. Although many members of both families, such as Chavit are related to one another, the two families have shared a bitter feud which reached its apex in the 1960s and 1970s, when shootings and political intimidation were rampant in the Ilocos region. Chavit considered his uncle, Floro Crisologo as a mentor, but eventually had a severe falling out with his cousin and once-confidant
Vincent Crisologo who was Floro's son and there were many bloody encounters between the two. It is currently stated by both sides that tensions have eased.
Political career
Singson had secured a spot as a candidate for the
2007 Philippine senatorial elections. He has sided with the government party, despite being former friends with the former president
Joseph Estrada
Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice presi ...
.
After losing the elections, Singson had been appointed Deputy National Security Adviser, on September 5, 2008, by
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the House Deputy Speakers since 2022, and previously from 2016 to 2017. She previously ...
. He mended his friendship with Estrada sometime later.
He was a member of
Lakas-CMD until 2010.
In the
2010 Philippine presidential election he endorsed the bid of
Manny Villar
Manuel "Manny" Bamba Villar Jr. (; born December 13, 1949) is a Filipino billionaire businessman and former politician. He previously served as senator from 2001 to 2013 and as the President of the Senate of the Philippines from 2006 to 2008. ...
of the
Nacionalista Party and in the
2013 elections he supported the candidates of the
United Nationalist Alliance
The United Nationalist Alliance (UNA; ) is a political party in the Philippines. It was created as a multi-party electoral alliance replacing the former United Opposition (UNO) coalition for the 2013 midterm elections, before it was launche ...
.
[
Singson has served as governor of Ilocos Sur for multiple terms. In 2019, he was elected as mayor of Narvacan under the local party Bileg Ti Ilokano.][
Singson is also a longtime supporter of boxer ]Manny Pacquiao
Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Phil ...
who was elected as senator in 2016. However they had a falling out after Pacquiao pushed to increase the tobacco excise tax. Singson opposed Pacquiao's move saying that the tax increase would "kill" the tobacco industry, with his province Ilocos Sur being a major tobacco producer. Singson alleged that his unnamed "handlers" advised Pacquiao to project an image of someone who "isn't easily controlled by anyone" – by Pacquiao disassociating with Singson.[
On June 19, 2021, Singson joined the ]Nationalist People’s Coalition
The Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) is a conservative political party in the Philippines, founded in 1992 by then-presidential candidate Eduardo Cojuangco Jr.
History
The Party was founded in 1992 after some members of the Nacionalista ...
.
Business career
Through his conglomerate LCS Group of Companies, Singson pledged to raise $11 million needed to host the Miss Universe 2016
Miss Universe 2016 was the 65th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Mall of Asia Arena, in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines on January 30, 2017. This is the second time in the history of the competition that the pageant skipped an entire year, ...
pageant in the country on January 30, 2017, according to Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo. For the big event, which was to entail a budget of about $13-million, Singson had tapped possible sponsors including big hotels where the candidates and the Miss Universe entourage will be billeted. On October 8, the company filed its bid to become a third telecommunications provider in the Philippines.
In November 2018, Singson entered the Philippine automobile industry with Legado Motors Inc. (LMI), which is the exclusive distributor of GAC Motor
GAC Motor (; short for Guangzhou Automobile Group Motor Co., Ltd.), sometimes simply as GAC, is a Chinese automobile manufacturing company founded in 2008, with headquarters in Guangzhou. Wholly owned by GAC Group, it focuses on making complete ...
vehicles.
Involvement in sports
Presently, Singson is the president of the Philippine National Shooting Association
The Philippine National Shooting Association (PNSA) is the National Sports Association (NSA) governing shooting sports in the Philippines, covering both Olympic discipline shooting sports and non-Olympic shooting events like the bench rest or pract ...
, a local governing body for shooting sports in the country since 2018. Singson was also noted for his affiliation with professional boxer, Manny Pacquiao
Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Phil ...
often accompanying him in trainings, press releases, and his fights. He was also involved in negotiations in securing a bout for Pacquiao with Floyd Mayweather Jr.[
]
Personal life
Singson was first married to Evelyn Singson. He has a son with Evelyn, Ryan Luis Singson who grew up to be a politician like himself. The couple which later separated, had six other children.
He also had Rachel Tiongson as his common-law wife with whom he has five children. Their relationship ended by 2009 after Tiongson was beat up by Singson after she allegedly have an affair with another man although Tiongson claimed they have been estranged since November 2008.
In 2012, Singson publicly introduced Josephine Pintor as his partner.
Singson does trophy hunting
Trophy hunting is a form of hunting for sport in which parts of the hunted wild animals are kept and displayed as trophies. The animal being targeted, known as the " game", is typically a mature male specimen from a popular species of collectab ...
as a hobby. He established in the Baluarte Zoo in Vigan
Vigan, officially the City of Vigan ( ilo, Siudad ti Vigan; fil, Lungsod ng Vigan), is a 4th class component city and capital of the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 53,935 people.
Loc ...
after his game collection grew large. He keeps taxidermized remains of some of the animals he hunted at the Safari Gallery in Baluarte.
References
Further reading
* Limpe, Linda C.''The 9 Lives of Luis "Chavit" Singson'', Foresight Books, 2003.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singson, Chavit
1941 births
Living people
Governors of Ilocos Sur
Colegio de San Juan de Letran alumni
People from Vigan
Ilocano people
Liberal Party (Philippines) politicians
Kilusang Bagong Lipunan politicians
PDP–Laban politicians
Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino politicians
Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino politicians
Lakas–CMD (1991) politicians
Lakas–CMD politicians
Nacionalista Party politicians
Nationalist People's Coalition politicians
Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Ilocos Sur
Filipino Roman Catholics
Filipino sports executives and administrators