Ronnel Chua Rivera– “Nel” as fondly called by his friends, was born on September 1, 1971 to Rodrigo E. Rivera Sr. and Dolores Chua-Rivera. He was married to Jane Gollon-Rivera and bore him four children.
Among the brood, he has been reckoned as the Rivera who walks among the common man. A handshake, a tap on the shoulder, an assuring smile, these exhibit his attitude being a friend to everyone. He makes no judgment on anyone’s characteristics and listens to endless tales. His lifestyle and disposition reflects his humble demeanor and he gains respect not out of his social stature but out of his unique personality that transcends beyond being a leader.
He believes that every child should go to school and should be given quality education. And the youth remains to be the hope of the future if they will be nurtured well. Before he became a public official, he was deeply engaged in the management of the family business and has contributed great impact and improvement in enterprise development. Nevertheless, community development and interventions were not new to him as he was a member of the Board of Trustees for RD Foundation, Inc. and was active in Rotary Club of Metro Dadiangas.
To date, he is on his second term as the Local Chief Executive (LCE) of General Santos City and his flagship program C.L.E.A.N Gensan (Creating a Livable Environment for All Generals Towards Nation Building) has been taking its flight. This program has already brought numerous feats to the city which includes the 2017 Galing Pook Award. The mission to pursue a stable local economy supportive of development and growth has gained wide support from various government and non-government agencies and partners. While ensuring that his responsibilities as LCE are in place and well-managed, Mayor Rivera is also the current Chairman of the Regional Development Council of Region 12 and the Vice Chairman of the League of Cities in the Philippines.
Mayor Rivera is widely involved in economic growth and development not only in General Santos City but throughout the region. In fact, recently, the National Competitiveness Council Philippines conferred the LGU Gensan as Top 14 Highly Urbanized City and No. 9 as the Most Improved LGU among HUCs. This conferment was done during the 6th Regional Competitiveness Summit 2018 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index Awards on August 16, 2018 Indeed, Rivera’s leadership has proven as a great inspiration and motivation to everyone to think more above its own but of the interest of the public.