Atty. Rodolfo "Boy" Cabado
ATTY. RODOLFO VALERA CABADO, popularly known as "BOY" was born in Iloilo City on April 17, 1953, the first of the four children of the late Placido C. Cabado of Leon, Iloilo (a Professional Electrical Engineer) and the late Eumelia S. Valera of Barotac Nuevo and Anilao, Iloilo ( a retired Public School Teacher). His younger brother, the late Dr. Roseller Rafael V. Cabado, was a Fellow of the Philippine Obstretical and Gynecological Society (FPOGS ). Their younger sister, Dr. Henrietta Cabado-Española, a fellow of Philippine Psychiatric Association (FPAA), married to Engr. Emilio "Nelson" Española, a Mechanical Engineer. The youngest sister, Dr. Ma. Hortencia Cabado-Gardose, a Diplomate of the Philippine Pediatrics Society (DPPS), is married to Dr. Ceasar P. Gardose, a fellow of the Philippine Society of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (FPSOHNS). the doctors in the family are all member of the faculty at the West Visayas State University College of Medicine.
Boy fell victim to polio when he was only eleven months old. Despite his physical handicap, however, he excelled in academics and in creative pursuits (he started painting at the age four). He was a consistent honor pupil in elementary grades and graduated Valedictorian from Leon Elementary School in 1965. He was government scholar at the Philippine Science High School in Diliman, Quezon City from 1965 to 1969. In 1976 he graduated from Central Philippine University with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, Major in Philosophy, Magna Cum Laude. In 1980 he earned his Bachelor of Laws degree, Summa Cum Laude, from the same University. After graduation he took the Bar Examinations and placed number 17 nationawide.
Before he earned this distinctions, however, he learned how it is suffer for one's principles. In 1972, when he was just 18 years old, he was among the first to be arrested and detained by the martial law regime. His experince as a political prisoner later impelled him to work as a Volunteer Lawyer for the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) founded by the late Senator Lorenzo M. Tañada and the late Senator Jose W. Diokno. He was one of the youngest lawyers in the group. He was also the youngest to be appointed Member of the Faculty of the College of Law of Central Philippine University. Earlier, he had taught Argumentation and Debate in the CPU College of Arts and Sciences.
His experience in the field of human rights advocacy made him a natural leader of the position during Marcos years. Right After the EDSA People Power Revolution in 1986, he was appointed OIC Member of the Provincial Board (Sangguniang Panlalawigan) of the Province of Iloilo. He gained additional experience in public administration while serving as Consultant to Rep. Hilario L. De Pedro III of the Second District of South Cotabato during the congressman's work as one of the principal authors of the Local Government Code of 1991 (Republic Act No. 7160) and as Provincial Legal Officer of South Cotabato when De Pedro was elected Governor in 1992. In 1993 he left South Cotabato to serve National Executive Director of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines.
In 1994 he resumed his private law practice in Iloilo. Despite his year of absence, he was prevailed upon by his constituents to run as Provincial Board Member for the Second District of Iloilo in the local elections in 1995 and he easily won with an overwhelming majority that placed him number one in rank province-wide and earned for him the title of Senior Provincial Board Member.
Upon his assumption of office, he was designated Assistant Floor Leader and was soon elevated to the position of Assistant Presiding Officer. Re-elected Provincial Board Member in 1998, he deftly steered vital legislation through the legislative mill as Majority Floor Leader and as chairman of the powerful Committee on Appropriations. He was a ploneering advocate of cultural heritage and eco-tourisim as a safe and sustainable economic development strategy and an unwavering champion of environmental protection, local autonomy and human rights.
After his unsuccessful bid for a congressional seat in 2001, he resumed his post as Professor of Law in the CPU College of Law and was appointed Director for Public Relations of CPU.
He was re-elected Provincial Board Member in 2004 and again in 2007.
He has served as a Chairman of the Iloilo Provincial Council for Culture Arts, History and Tourism; Regional Chairman of the Western Visayas Regional Tourism Council and concurrently Member of the National Board of the Tourism Council of the Philippines; Member of the Board of Directors of the Arts Council of Iloilo Foundation, Inc. and Founding President of Iloilo Theater Company; Member of the Board of Trustees of the Central Philippine University Alumni Association, Inc. and Member of the CPU Corporation for the terms 2004-2008 and 2009-2013.
Boy is a multi-talented personality. He is also a poet, playwright, stage actor, producer and director, composr, arranger, lyricist and conductor, speech and voice consultant, rhetorician, visual artist, print and broadcast journalist and an educator.
He was named Man of the Year 2004 by the American Biographical Institute and nominated for inclusion in 2000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century of the International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, England and in the Great Minds of the 21st Century of the American Biographical Institute, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.
In 2008, he was the first ever to be given the honor of "Distinguished Ilonggo" for his outstanding accomplishments in Culture and the Arts.
He has the rare distinction of having his biography included first, in the 1999-2000 Global Edition of BARONS Who's Who of the World and subsequently, in MARQUIS Who's Who of the World, the world's premier biographical publisher since 1899, in five consecutive editions: the 22nd (2005), 23rd (2006),24th (2007),25th (2008) and 26th (2009) for his oustanding achievement, superior leadership and exceptional service in his chosen fields of endeavor.