tagabungtod

Romeo Clarin first appeared in Nabunturan in the late '60s as the boyfriend of Marcelinda “Baby” Barrete, a very pretty and popular lass from barangay Cabacungan who was “crush ng bayan” during her high school days in Assumption. The pair was quite a perfect match because he was a gentlemanly, handsome young man who, like the Barrete family, came all the way from Sevilla, Bohol. Soon enough, after college, they would tie the knot and establish residence in Nabunturan. Romy wasted no time in earning a living for his family by establishing a fertilizer and chemical store. He would later branch out into the transportation business.

One child came after another, too. Presently, all their four children have finished college and are working. Neil (Boyet) is a physical therapist, Glenn (Jojit) is an occupational therapist, Romeo Jr. (Jun-Jun) is a business ad graduate and the youngest Myrocel (My-my) is a medical technologist.

In the early 1990's, Romy was persuaded to run for public office as councilor and he easily topped the winning slate. Romy is not the sociable, gung-ho, pat-your-back type of politician. But he is not new to politics either.

Aside from the many political Clarins in Bohol, his late father-in-law, Juan “Ondoy” Barrete, became a long-time councilor and vice-mayor; he missed becoming mayor by losing just by some 50 votes to then mayor Pros Amatong. Romy's mother-in-law, the late Andresa, was also barangay councilor and later captain of Cabacungan for some time. Furthermore, he also belongs to the big tagabungtod Calamba clan, his mother being a first cousin of the pioneering Calambas from Sevilla, Bohol.

Quiet, patient and sober by nature, Romy completed three terms as councilor and three terms as vice-mayor, a total of eighteen years. He assumed as mayor July 1, 2010.