Ronin Leviste, municipal vice mayor of Lian, Batangas, believes that the Batangueños and their stories are one of the treasures of Batangas. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
"Being Batangueño is the best thing ever," began Ronin Leviste, the uber-passionate and ultra-proud yet humble recently elected 23-year-old municipal vice mayor of Lian, Batangas. "We have the most beautiful province in the entire country — beyond the instagrammable mountains and world-class beaches, it is our people [my fellow Batangueños] and their stories who can showcase all the best my province has to offer. We're already so near [Manila], but we still have a lot more infrastructure coming in soon, surely putting us in a sweet spot for rapid development."