Sa Kalumpit, May Malasakit

Claro S. Patag was Calumpit's first Kabataang Barangay (KB) Municipal Federation* President between 1975-1980 and became the youngest member of the Sangguniang Bayan (Municipal Council).  One of his major accomplishments as KB President was the assistance provided to many out-of-school youths who were trained in various vocational & technical courses, i.e. automotive, electrical, auto-electrical, dressmaking, etc.  He was active in the fight against graft and corruption during his KB years and together with the other officers of the municipal KB Federation (Gambel Nuqui in particular) , they were the first whistle blowers of graft and corruption in the town.  The KB Federation was instrumental to former Mayor Rolly Mendoza's (now a congressman) victory in his first mayoralty bid in the late 70's where he gained the support of the majority of KB members in Calumpit. Claro defied the order of then KB national chairman Imee Marcos to support the KBL official mayoral candidate at that time and instead threw his support for independent candidate Rolly Mendoza and the rest is history.

Claro was a recipient of the 1980 Most Outstanding Bulakeño (youth sector) award, now called the Gawad Dangal ng Lipi, the highest and the most prestigious award given by the Provincial Government of Bulacan, which recognizes the meritorious contributions of outstanding Bulakeños that catalyzed progress for the province.

Claro was an active supporter of the Calumpit Institute Alumni Scholarship Program Inc. (CIASPI) during his KB days and has sponsored a number of poor but deserving students during his term as member of the board.  He was also an active supporter of various civic and religious activities.

Claro is a town planner by profession and now resides in Australia with his family. He currently works in local government in NSW.

Claro worked with Metropolitan Manila Commission (now MMDA) as a land use/town planner for more than 12 years until 1992 and was Bulacan's Provincial Planning & Development Co-ordinator between 1992-1994.

Claro designed the Metropolitan Manila Authority's corporate logo and was a finalist in the Civil Service Commission logo contest held in the mid-80's.  He is a Corporate Member of the Planning Institute of Australia (PIA), a Certified Practicing Planner and is a Justice of the Peace (J.P.) in New South Wales.

*View photo of the 1st KB Federation of Calumpit between 1975-1980