Vincent "Bingbong" Pichay Crisologo is a Filipino politician who served as the Representative of Quezon City's 1st District from 2004 to 2013 and from 2016 to 2019. He also served as a councilor in Quezon City from 1998 to 2004.
Early life
Vincent Crisologo was born on May 31, 1947 in Vigan, Ilocos Sur to Floro Crisologo, a representative of Ilocos Sur's 1st district, and Carmeling Pichay, who would later be elected as governor of Ilocos Sur from 1964 to 1971. He is a paternal cousin of Luis "Chavit" Singson, the incumbent municipal mayor of Narvacan, Ilocos Sur and former governor of Ilocos Sur. On October 18, 1970, Bingbong's father, Floro, then the representative for Ilocos Sur's 1st district, was attending the Sunday mass at the Vigan Cathedral and was about to fall in line for the communion when a lone gunman shot him in the head. The incident caused panic in the church so the assassin was able to run and disappear. Up to this day, the murder has not been solved and it is generally believed by the public that it was politically motivated. He was convicted of arson in 1970 for burning Barangay Ora Centro and Ora Este in the town of Bantay, Ilocos Sur and was sentenced with a penalty of double life imprisonment. He served time in jail starting from June 1972 and was pardoned by President Ferdinand Marcos in 1980.
Political career
Senate bid
In 1992, he ran for senator under the ticket of the Nacionalista Party. Unfortunately, he did not make the magic number of 24, the number of seats allotted in the Philippine Senate.
First bid for Congressman
Crisologo first ran as congressman in 1995 in the 1st district of Quezon City against Reynaldo "Rey" Calalay and Ato Yap. However, he lost in this election to Calalay, who was a beloved figure in the district.
Councilor
Crisologo served as councilor of Quezon City from the 1st district from 1998 to 2004. He first ran in 1998 and was reelected in 2001. He ran alongside his very close political ally, Congressman Rey Calalay. The two were known to be a great tandem and loved by the people of the first district.
Congress
Congressman Rey Calalay personally endorsed Crisologo to fill in his slot as the representative of the 1st district before his death in 2003. Crisologo then ran in 2004 and decisively won. Crisologo was subsequently reelected in 2007 and 2010. He was vice-chairman for the Appropriations, Housing and Urban Development, Information and Communications Technology, Labor and Employment, and Ways and Means Committees of Congress. He was also a member of the following Committees; Metro Manila Development, Millennium Developmental Goals, Public Works and Highways, and Science and Technology. In 2016, he regained his seat as congressman of the 1st district of Quezon City, defeating then incumbent Congressman Boy Calalay of the Liberal Party in a landslide victory. He was also named as the Deputy Majority Leader in the House of Representatives. He is also the Recognized President of PDP–Laban Quezon City Council.
Mayoralty bid
In 2019, he ran for mayor of Quezon City but lost in a tight race to outgoing Vice MayorJoy Belmonte by only 103,265 votes, considering that the voter turnout in the 2019 elections for the position of Mayor was 835,695. On May 12, 2019, the day before the midterm elections, he was arrested for alleged vote buying. The police did not find any evidence of money for the alleged vote buying nor did they show evidence that there were people offering to buy or sell their votes. On May 13, he was released by the inquest prosecutor citing that there was no evidence furnished by the police to show that vote buying or selling took place.
Personal life
He is married to Rita Dario Crisologo and has four sons: Floro Cornelius II, Alexander Philip, Anthony Peter, and Frederick William. He also has seven grandchildren. His life story was made into a movie entitled "Bingbong: The Vincent Crisologo Story" portrayed by Rudy Fernandez.
