Despite a three-month bout with illness, Santiago attended the University of the Philippines in Diliman. There she continued to participate in numerous oratorical, public speaking, and debate contests. She became the first female editor-in-chief of the university’s student newspaper, The Philippine Collegian and was twice made Corps Sponsor of the Reserve Officer Training Corps. Her classmates include the likes of former Senate President Franklin Drilon, San Juan Representative Ronaldo Zamora, and Eli Pamatong.

In 1965, Santiago graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. It took her only three and a half years to complete her degree. Upon graduation, she was elected to the Pi Gamma Mu and Phi Kappa Phi international honor societies. Miriam took the 1969 Bar Exams and barely passed with a 78% Bar rating. Santiago decided to teach Political Science to undergraduates at Trinity College of Quezon City. She then attended the University of Michigan Law School from 1974 to 1976, earning the degrees of Master of Laws and Juris Doctor.

Santiago continued enrolling in short courses, attending seminars and participating in conferences locally and abroad. In 1995, at the age of fifty, she completed the academic requirements for a Master of Arts in Religious Studies at the Maryhill School of Theology with an average grade of 1.25. In 1996, at the age of fifty-one, she attended the Summer Program of Instruction for Lawyers at Harvard Law School. In 1997, at age fifty-two, she attended the Summer Program in Law at Oxford University.

In 1986, Santiago was recognized as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Professionals of the Philippine Junior Chamber of Commerce. In 1988, she sought and won the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service, which claims to be the Philippine equivalent of the Nobel Prize. In 1996, The Australian Magazine ranked Santiago 69th among "The 100 Most Powerful Women in the World", sharing the honor with former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos who ranked 58th.

Santiago is married to Atty. Narciso Yap Santiago Jr., her former classmate at the University of the Philippines. Narcisco was once an undersecretary for Interior and Local Governments, and is currently a presidential adviser for revenue enhancement. He is also a businessman. Santiago’s brother, Benjamin Jr., is a retired general who served as Philippine Air Force commander and Armed Forces Chief of Staff. He is currently an ambassador-at-large for counter-terrorism. Two of her cousins are congressmen. Matias Defensor represents the third district of Quezon City, where Santiago resides, and Arthur Defensor represents the third district of Iloilo, Santiago’s hometown. Santiago’s nephew, Michael Defensor, is a former presidential chief of staff who ran and lost in a Senate seat in the 2007 elections.

Santiago was appointed by President Corazon Aquino as Commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation in 1988. She served in that capacity until 1989. She was Secretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform from 1989 to 1991.In her tenure as Commisioner of Immigration,she cleanses it and launched an anti-corruption crusades.When a congressman delivered a priveleged speech against her for conducting a raid involving the arrest of foreign pedophiles occupying a village in his district,Miriam labeled him as a "Fungus Face".But finally the recognition of her dangerous work came,she earned the Ramon Magsaysay Award for government service. After President Corazon Aquino declared her intention not to seek another term in the 1992 elections, Santiago ran for president, seeking Aquino’s endorsement. She founded the People’s Reform Party as her vehicle.

Santiago ran for the Senate of the Philippines in 1995 elections, again as a candidate of her own People’s Reform Party. She was elected to the senate and served as a senator from 1995 to 2001. As a Senator, Santiago became a vocal critic of the Ramos Administration.And was named as Most Outstanding Senator several times.She was among the topnotchers for the number of bills filed,and she is most impressive in Senate debates with her meticulous preparations. Santiago again ran for president in the 1998 elections and invited fellow Senator Francisco Tatad to be her running mate. Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino candidate Joseph Ejercito Estrada won the election and became president, though Santiago again made claims of electoral fraud. After the election, Santiago returned to the Senate.

During President Estrada’s impeachment trial Santiago was one of eleven senators who voted against opening a bank envelope that purportedly contained damning evidence of President Estrada’s guilt. The vote ended the impeachment trial which led to the Second People Power Revolution which removed Estrada from office. Santiago ran unsuccessfully for reelection in the 2001 elections. Three years later, in the 2004 elections, Santiago ran again for senator, this time joining President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s K4 coalition and won. She currently holds the position of chairperson and lone member of the People’s Reform Party.

Santiago was a professor of political science in Trinity College of Quezon City from 1971 to 1974 and concurrently Special Assistant to the Secretary of Justice from 1970 to 1980. She was also a member of the Board of Censors for Motion Pictures from 1977 to 1979. She served as a legal officer of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland from 1979 to 1980. She was also a legal consultant of the Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. in 1982. She was appointed as a Regional Trial Court Judge from 1983 to 1987. She taught Law at the University of the Philippines from 1976 to 1988. From 1992 to 1995 and from 2001 to 2004, she has lectured at the University of Santo Tomas, De La Salle University, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, and the University of Perpetual Help Rizal.

Other Information

• Born : June 15, 1945
• Birth place : Iloilo City, Philippines
• Nationality : Filipino
• Political party : People’s Reform Party (1992-present)
• Spouse : Narciso Y. Santiago, Jr.
• Residence : Quezon City
• Occupation : Lawyer, Politician
• Profession : Lawyer, Politician
• Religion : Roman Catholic

Links

• Miriam Defensor Santiago’s Official Website
• Detailed Biography from the Ramon Magsaysay Foundation
• Miriam Defensor Santiago’s Blog
• Biography from the Senate of the Philippines

From 1992 until 1995, she was an associate lawyer of the Castillo, Laman Tan, and Pantaleon Law Offices who specializes in corporate law and intellectual property laws. From 1996 to 1999 she was an officer for the legal and corporate affairs of the Belle Corporation and its affiliates including the gaming conglomerate BW Resources. In 2000, she was a general counsel of the Philweb Corporation. In 2001 she was appointed as chairman of the Maxi Group of Companies, a retailer and distributor of educational toys, infant apparel and accessories.

She ran for a Senate seat in the 2004 elections. Initially she was a virtual unknown to the electorate but with the liberalization of political advertisements, she gained popularity with her TV advertisement as a runner, cyclist, and as a tri-athlete, and as a new host of her father’s TV program Compañero y Compañera for a short stint. She won the election landing in the sixth position.

During 112th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly in Manila, Cayetano was elected President of the 10th Meeting of Women Parliamentarians during the sidelines of the annual meeting. On April 17, 2008, Pia was elected for a 2 year term, president of the Committee of Women Parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) during its 118th General Assembly in Cape Town, South Africa. As the first Filipino and Asian to head it, she ran unopposed and takes over from Uruguay’s Monica Xavier.

Four years into her term, Pia has been responsible for crafting and co-authoring a number of landmark laws as chairperson of the Senate committees on health and demography and on environment and natural resources. These include the "Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Law of 2008" (Republic Act 9502), "Oil Spill Liability Law" (RA 9483), "Biofuels Law" (RA 9367), "Hospital Detention Law" (RA 9349), "National Anti-Rabies Law" (RA 9482), and the “Environmental Awareness and Education Act of 2008” (RA 9512).

Pia recently relinquished her committees following the Senate leadership change late last year, but his has not stopped her from pursuing the passage of other measures to improve public health and promote the welfare of women and children. These measures include: (1) The "Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act" (Senate Bill No.1698) which seeks to promote breastfeeding among working mothers by mandating lactation stations in public places and the workplace; (2) The bill strengthening the regulatory capacity of the Bureau of Food and Drugs (SBN 2645); and (3) The "Picture-Based Health Warning Law" (SBN 2377), which will require all cigarette and tobacco product packages to bear highly visible picture warnings showing the health hazards of smoking

Apart from being a senator, Cayetano is a mother of two (Maxine and Nadine). She is an advocate of sports as part of a holistic youth development program, the prevention of diseases and the need of a healthy and fit lifestyle. She is the founder of Gabriel Symphony Foundation which she established after the death of her son Gabriel who was diagnosed with multiple congenital anomalies. The foundation helps children with disabilities and life threatening ailments. She is also the founder of the Compañero Rene Cayetano Foundation in memory of her father, which helps the underprivileged in the areas of health, education, and environment. She is a member of Young Entrepreneurs’ Organization and a spokesperson of the Philippine Cancer Society and the Universal Birth Registration Project.

A sports enthusiast, Cayetano has participated in the following international events: 2009 Tokyo Marathon, 2007 4th Ironman Western Australia and Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore, 2006 New York Marathon and Venice Marathon, 2005 World Duathlon Championship Newcastle, Australia, 2004 Clark Air Base Duathlon and 2002 Chronicle Marathon San Francisco, California.

Other Information

• Born : March 22, 1966
• Birth place : Michigan, United States
• Political party : Nacionalista Party
• Residence : Taguig City
• Relations : Alan Peter Cayetano (brother); Renato "Compañero" Cayetano (father)
• Children : Maxine and Nadine
• Alma mater : University of the Philippines
• Occupation : Lawyer; Politician
• Profession : Lawyer; Politician
• Religion : Evangelical Christian

Links

• Senator Pia Cayetano site
• Senate of the Philippines – Pia Cayetano
• Cayetano Foundation
• I-Site.ph Pia Cayetano
• Pia Cayetano’s personal blog

She also earned a Nobel peace prize nomination for her work as chair the Government Panel’s Reciprocal Working Committee on Socio-Economic Reforms in the Peace Talks with the National Democratic Front from 1998 to 1999. She is the older sister of Journalist and Television Host Pia Hontiveros.

She has raised her profile in the UK, by making a formal complaint about a popular satirical British TV show Harry & Paul. This allegedly "racist" sketch depicts a wealthy southerner (played by Harry Enfield) who keeps a poor lethargic northerner (played by Paul Whitehouse) as a pet. This poor northerner is encouraged to mount the southerner’s Filipina maid. Risa Hontiveros described the September episode of Harry & Paul as "revolting and disgusting". This is only one of a series of sketches during the show’s run in which Harry is seen to treat Paul’s character as a dog or other family pet as an example how class and the north/south divide devalues anyone of a lower social status, be they northern or ethnic domestic staff.

In Hontiveros-Baraquel’s career as a politician and activist, she has been affiliated with a number of organizations and movements, including Coalition for Peace (served as Secretary-General from 1988 to 1992), National Peace Conference (serving on its Governing Council since 1990), Government Panel for Peace Talks with the National Democratic Front (chairing the Panel’s Reciprocal Working Committee on Socio-Economic Reforms from August 1998 to June 1999), Pandayan para sa Sosyalistang Pilipinas (Pandayan/Forge for a Socialist Philippines), a democratic socialist political organization (re-elected as Chairperson In August 2001), Pilipina, a socialist feminist organization, Amnesty International Pilipinas (member of the Board of Directors), Institute for Politics and Governance and Akbayan-Citizens Action Party (Executive Committee member).

Hontiveros-Baraquel currently serves as a member for the House Minority of the following Committees of the 14th Congress: Appropriations, Ethics and Privileges, Foreign Affairs, Good Government and Public Accountability, Health, Higher and Technical Education, Human Rights, Natural Resources, Peace, Reconciliation and Unity, People Participation, Rules, Trade and Industry and Women and Gender Equality

Other Information

• Born : February 24, 1966
• Birth place : Manila, Philippines
• Nationality : Filipino
• Political party : Akbayan Citizens’ Action Party, Liberal Party
• Spouse : Francisco Baraquel Jr. (Deceased
• Relations : Television Journalist Pia Hontiveros (Sister)
• Children : Four (Not Named)
• Residence : Matandang Balara, Quezon City
• Alma mater : Ateneo de Manila University (BS Social Science, Cum Laude)
• Occupation : Activist
• Profession : Journalist
• Religion : Roman Catholic

Links

• Risa Hontiveros Baraquel: Not Your Typical Politico
• Hontiveros-Baraquel, Ana Theresia ‘Risa 14th Congress House of Representatives
• Rep. Risa Hontiveros on Akbayan Citizens’ Action Party
• On Center for Asia Pacific Women in Politics
• On I-Site

Acosta was born on May 14, 1966 in Phillips, Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon. Acosta studied at Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary School in Phillips, Bukidnon, graduating valedictorian in 1979. He studied in Xavier University during high school, graduating first honors in 1981. Acosta earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of the Philippines in 1986, and attended the UP College of Law but did not graduate.

Acosta obtained a Master of Arts in Public Affairs With Distinction (International Relations and Political Studies concentration) from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1987. He was conferred a Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science from the University of Hawaii, as a scholar of the East West Center, in 1994. He similarly attended the special programs on Leaders in Development Program (1999) and Environmental Economics (2002) at the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University. In the year 2004, Acosta was recognized as the first Filipino World Fellow of Yale University.

Acosta first ran and won as a provincial board member of Bukidnon from 1995 to 1998. He ran and won a seat as Representative of the First District of Bukidnon province in Northern Mindanao for three consecutive terms from 1998 to 2007. He served as Chairman of the Committee on Ecology and Vice Chairman of the Committees on Science and Technology, Human Rights, and Foreign Relations of the House of Representatives.

He is the principal author of many environmental laws in the Philippines, including the groundbreaking Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Solid Waste Management Act, and the Biodiversity Protection Act. The Clean Air Act of 1999 received various awards and citations, including the Oscar Escobar Environmental Award and the Citizens’ Movement Against Pollution Award, both in 2002. He has represented the Philippines in numerous international forums, including the United Nations Special Assembly on HIV/AIDS and the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development, where he served as the Deputy Secretary General.

From 1998-2001, he served as the national chairperson of the Kabataang Liberal ng Pilipinas, the youth arm of the Liberal Party (Philippines), where he is now Secretary General. He is also at present the Secretary General of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats. In 2009 he was selected to run under Noynoy Aquino for the senate in the 2010 elections along with Akbayan Congresswoman Risa Hontiveros, Congressman of Muntinlupa City Ruffy Biazon and Former Senate President Frank Drillon.

Acosta has authored various articles on politicsSearch for Global Identities" won the plum prize during a competition for the magazine Intersect-Japan and the PHP Institute of America in Japan in 1995. His articles on political and public life regularly appear in the Perspectives section of t, leadership and governance, development, education, and the environment, and has published widely in various magazines and national dailies. He co-authored a book entitled "The Philippine Political Culture (View from Inside the Halls of Power)" in 2001. He has also published "Population, Poverty, and Politics" (2001), and "Alternative Political Campaign Strategies" for the Friedrich Nauman Stiftung-Philippines in 2005. Meanwhile, his essay on "Internationalization and the he website thelobbyist.biz.

In recognition of his contributions to policy-making, education, and advocacy work, Acosta was included in NewsBizAsia’s 100 Most Influential Filipinos (2002), and was cited by Asiaweek as representing the "youthful, hopeful change for the country." Adding to his numerous accomplishments, he was also selected as one of The Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) – Asia Pacific by the Osaka, Japan Junior Chamber (1995).

Acosta is married to Carina Chotirawe, a full-time professor at Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. They have a son, Inigo Juan, born on February 11, 1996. Acosta is also featured in the recently released book Profiles encourage: Ordinary Filipinos making an extraordinary difference (Anvil Publishing) along with others who have made significant contributions in Philippine society.

Other Information

• Born : May 14, 1966
• Birth place : Phillips, Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon, Philippines
• Nationality : Filipino
• Political party : Liberal Party
• Spouse : Carina Chotirawe
• Children : Inigo Juan
• Residence : Bukidnon
• Education : University of the Philippines; Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1987; University of Hawaii; Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University
• Occupation : Politician, Academician, Author, Political scientist
• Profession : Politician, Academician, Author, Political scientist

Links

• Official Website of Neric Acosta
• Philippine House of Representatives
• Ateneo School of Government
• Liberal Party of the Philippines
• National Institute for Policy Studies
• Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats
• Lipad Pinoy! Kaya Natin. Gawin Natin.
• The Lobbyist
• The Philippine Imperative
• Neric Acosta on Leadership
• Yale World Fellows

Other Information

• Born : September 22, 1962
• Birth place : Quezon City, Philippines
• Nationality : Filipino
• Political party : Ang Kapatiran
• Profession : Gastroenterologist, Doctor

Links

• Data files on I-Site.ph

Revilla is known for his lead roles in numerous action movies during the 1980s and the 1990s. He also starred in a few movies alongside his father, Ramon Revilla. Recently, he has been involved in a number of comedy related movies and TV shows in former actor in GMA-7.

He married Lani Mercado (Jesusa Victoria Bautista Revilla) in 1987 in a civil wedding. They have six children namely: Leonard Bryan (born November 22, 1986), Jose Lorenzo (Ramon "Jolo" Revilla III, born March 15, 1988), Inah Felicia (born October 2, 1989), Ma. Viktoria Gianna (born August 15, 1995), Ma. Franzel Loudette (born October 15, 1997) and Ramon "Ram" Vicente (born December 8, 1998). He also has another son out of wedlock with Lovely Guzman, a University of the Philippines political science graduate, formerly of St. Ignatius Village.

In the Philippine Centennial celebrations, Revilla portrayed General Emilio Aguinaldo. To highlight the celebrations, he and Lani remarried in a church wedding using the same costume they used in the centennial program. He is also the older brother of Strike Revilla, the incumbent mayor of their hometown of Bacoor, Cavite. While Andrea Revilla is sister and currently married to Rizal Governor Casimiro "Jun" Ynares III. Bong has his youngest brother Ram, named after his youngest son who is also in showbiz. Bong’s children, Bryan, Jolo and Inah, are also third-generation stars of Revilla Family.

As a native of Cavite, he made several films focusing on his home province. Revilla also made several charity works for the province through the RRJ Foundation Inc. He was invited by former NBI director Epimaco Velasco to be his running mate as vice governor of Cavite. In the 1995 local elections, Velasco and Revilla won as governor and vice governor beating the Remullas who dominated the Cavite political arena since the 1980s.

In February 1998, Velasco resigned as governor of Cavite when he was appointed as secretary of Interior and Local Government repl

acing then Senatorial candidate Robert Barbers. Revilla assumed as the chief executive of the province. In the May 1998 local elections, Revilla defeated Cavite Congressman Renato Dragon for the position of governor.

Revilla returned to his acting career and became a TV actor in GMA-7’s sitcom Idol ko si Kap. In 2002, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo appointed Revilla as Chairman of the Videogram Regulatory Board (now Optical Media Board). Revilla became a popular figure in reducing optical media piracy in the Philippines. Due to his efforts, he was given a Plaque of International Recognition for Efforts Against Piracy by the Motion Picture Association of America on July 23, 2003 and the Huwarang Lingkod Bayan Award by the Consumers League of the Philippines Foundation, Inc. on October 25, 2003.

In February 2004, he resigned as Chairman of the VRB and recommended Eduardo "Edu" Manzano as his replacement. His father, Ramon Revilla, ended his term as senator on June 30, 2004. Revilla Sr. was elected senator in 1992, reelected in 1998, and could not run for third term according to the 1987 Philippine Constitution. Bong Revilla ran for the position of Senator under the administration K-4 coalition. He won and received the second highest number of votes from the national electorate.

On March 28, 2007, he jumped onto a bus being held hostage in the Philippines in order to ensure the safety of the students on the bus and try and talk the hostage taker into giving themselves up.

Other Information

• Born : September 25, 1966
• Birth place : Manila, Philippines
• Nationality : Filipino
• Political party : Lakas-CMD (1995 – present)
• Spouse : Lani Mercado (Jesusa Victoria H. Bautista)
• Children : Bryan, Jolo and Inah
• Residence : Imus, Cavite
• Occupation : Actor, Politician
• Profession : Actor, Politician
• Religion : Roman Catholic

Links

• Official Website of Ramon Bong Revilla Jr.
• Bong Revilla at iGMA.tv
• Bong Revilla at the Internet Movie Database
• i-Site.ph – Bong Revilla
• Senate of the Philippines – Ramon "Bong" Revilla Jr.

He was born in Manila, where he attended elementary and high school at the Ateneo de Manila University, and studied briefly in the University of the Philippines before formally transferring to the Lyceum of the Philippines where he studied Economics. He was mayor of San Juan from 1992 until 2001. He was elected to the Senate in 2004, where his term is set to expire in 2010. Estrada married Presentacion Vitug in 1989.

On July 23, 2007, Jinggoy was voted Senate president pro tempore, while Kiko Pangilinan is majority leader (following the assumption of Sen. Manny Villar to the chamber’s leadership of the 14th Congress).

On August 15, 2007, the Supreme Court (Voting 13-0), in an 18-page decision upheld the Sandigabayan’s decision to grant bail to Sen. Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada in connection with his plunder case now awaiting promulgation before the graft court. On September 11, 2007 Estrada introduced Senate bill 1556, proposing to make ROTC mandatory for all college students, male and female.

Other Information

• Born : January 23, 1963
• Birth place : Manila, Philippines
• Political party : Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP)
• Spouse : Ma. Presentacion Vitug
• Relations : Joseph Estrada (father)
• Residence : San Juan City
• Occupation : Actor, Producer, Politician
• Profession : Actor, Producer, Politician
• Education : University of the Philippines, Lyceum of the Philippines
• Religion : Roman Catholic

Links

• Senate of the Philippines – Biography of Sen. Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada
• Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada’s Blogspot

Guingona III maintains an official blog, NAKUPO – Empowering the Filipino Consumer!. It initially focused on the privatization of the National Power Corporation, but has expanded its scope to a general advocacy of Filipino consumer rights. The blog also tackles issues such as food security and bringing down the cost of telecommunications services.

Guingona III also contributes to another blog, The Opposite of Apathy, together with San Juan City mayor JV Ejercito, former Representative Gilbert Remulla, lawyer Adel Tamano and professor Danton Remoto.

His father, Teofisto Guingona, Jr., was the 13th Vice President of the Philippines, serving from 2001 to 2004. He is married to Ma. Victoria Guingona.

Other Information

• Born : April 19, 1959
• Also known as : TG
• Nationality : Filipino
• Political party : Liberal Party
• Spouse : Ma. Victoria Guingona
• Relations : Teofisto Guingona, Jr. (father)
• Residence : Bukidnon

Links

• Member Information: Teofisto Guingona III

He is the third child of Ramon and Vicenta, of Pangasinan and Isabela. A born entrepreneur, Ramon at age 5 and all throughout his elementary and high school was already helping her mother, “Aling Quita” in their store. He was a known student leader and was the President of his high school student council. Ramon went to Baguio City for college and took up engineering at the University of Baguio. He met his future wife, Arlyn, a pharmacist, in the nearby town of Santo Tomas.

In the early 1970s and while newly married, Guico began poultry and hog-raising business. He then dived his business into gravel and sand by buying junk Pantranco buses to be used for transport of sand and moon. This earned him the moniker, "Magbubulok" or Junk Man by his relatives and friends. Guico then ventured into the construction business where he built dams and farm-to-market roads. In 1985, he then entered the business of health care and education, which by then was the largest business venture he had undertaken.

In 1987, Guico was appointed by President Aquino as mayor of Binalonan, Pangasinan. Binalonan was a 5th class municipality when Guico took office. While in office, Guico worked hand in hand with the local people, bringing the municipality to a first class municipality, with its own university contributing to affordable college education not only within the city but also to surrounding cities.

Guico also served as President of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines. Early on, he worked to change the image of the LMP long marred by wrong impression that it was nothing but a bastion of traditional local politicians into to become a research-based, result-oriented and primary champions to the interests and development agenda of its member-municipalities and their constituencies. To correct the image of LMP as nothing but a forum for mayors to socialize, Ramon used the LMP as an effective platform for innovative mayors to share their exemplary practices. During his first term as LMP National President, he launched the Ang Galing mo Mayor (You are the Best Mayor) Project as LMP’s serious efforts to promote innovation and excellence in local governance. This project aimed to bring out the best in Philippine municipalities in order to re-engineer and raise the quality of local governance in the country. The LMP made history in urging performing mayors to mentor their fellow mayors how to better perform through peer-to-peer method. Through the LMP, mayors took the lead in disseminating the various exemplary practices in municipal governance for widest replication.

The Ang Galing Mo Mayor Project made the LMP visible not only to its members but also to national government agencies, non-government organizations, the private sectors and international donor agencies. So successful has this project been that other Leagues have adopted the peer-to-peer method.

During Ramon’s second term, the LMP founded the Mayor’s Development Center (MDC), a first in Philippine local government organization, and even the first in Asia. The MDC now serves as the development and training arm of the LMP for improving municipal governance and leadership with the vision of establishing a community of municipal innovators and educators in the Philippines from among the most outstanding and exemplary municipal mayors. In fact, the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), the successor of the International Union of Local Authorities (IULA) has recognized MDC as an exemplary project of the LMP. The MDC offered learning events and capability building for local government officials and employees on strategic planning and management, coastal resource management, solid waste management, orientation for the newly elected Mayors (ONE-M), sustainable upland development and local economic development.

The LMP also implemented the Lakbayin ang Magandang Pilipinas Project, a weekly TV show which proudly showcases LMP’s advocacies and innovative and effective good practices of our member municipalities in promoting good local governance for replication.

The Ang Galing Mo Mayor, the MDC and the Lakbayin ang Magandang Pilipinas were initiatives to highlight and celebrate municipalities’ innovations and excellence that are oftentimes not captured or noticed by our national decision and policy makers and even the national media.

Other Information

• Born : December 10, 1953
• Birth place : Binalonan, Pangasinan
• Nationality : Filipino
• Political party : Lakas-Kampi-CMD
• Spouse : Arlyn Grace Guico
• Children : Mon-mon; RG; Mike; Michelle; Melissa; Patrick
• Alma mater : University of Baguio
• Residence : Binalonan, Pangasinan
• Occupation : Public Servant

Links

• Ramon Guico info
• On Gets Ko Agad

His school years were spent at the Ateneo de Manila and La Salle Greenhills. After which, he continued his studies in the USA and earned a College degree in Accounting and a Master’s degree in Finance from the Fordham University as a full scholar. While at Fordham, Joey also taught accounting to MBA students.

Before taking his Master’s degree, he worked for five years at Arthur Andersen & Company (now known as Accenture) in Washington DC, the most prestigious accounting firm in the world at that time. He is owner and chairman of Hong Kong-based, Castle Rock Holdings, Ltd. which provides financial, information technology; and engineering services for infrastructure projects worldwide. He sits on the board of the agricultural company, Agrifisheries World Corporation, a joint venture with Chinese, Taiwanese and Filipino investors.

He may be a newcomer to Philippine politics, but is a tried and tested veteran in global business and finance. Joey de Venecia III has achieved a number of “firsts” in Philippine business. He successfully organized the first nationwide financial information paging network called “Index” in 1996 and helped set up the National Bank of Equatorial Guinea in West Africa.

Joey de Venecia III forever changed the Philippine business landscape when he founded and launched broadband technology in the Philippines in 2000.

Joey de Venecia III also pioneered and set up the first full-pledged call center in the Philippines with “Q” interaction which led today to the creation of 600,000 Filipino jobs and payroll salaries of at least $6-billion or more than P280-billion a year into our economy

As President of Broadband Philippines, he introduced the first mobile voice, data, internet and fixed wireless voice service for business in the country, in partnership with US-West, (one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world), Bank of America, and George Soros. As a businessman, he brought in around $100 million US dollars of foreign direct investments into the Philippines.

Joey de Venecia III became nationally known when he exposed the graft-tainted ZTE-national broadband network project and courageously testified in the Senate, exposing high officials. His expose led to the cancellation of the project and saved the Filipino people from a scandalous P16-billion foreign loan.

A firm believer in the saying, God helps those who help themselves, Joey envisions a society that gives every Filipino the opportunity to help himself or herself through a working partnership between the private and public sectors. He also believes that through information technology (IT), the Philippines can achieve dramatic economic growth that will lift it out of third world status.

In running for senator, he draws his inspiration to serve the public to his father and maternal grandfather. He is the son of five-term Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr. and is the grandson of Eugenio Perez, the last Speaker of the Philippine Commonwealth and the first Speaker of the Republic of the Philippines.

Other Information

• Born : 1963
• Nationality : Filipino
• Political party : Partido ng Masang Pilipino  (PMP)
• Relations : Jose de Venecia, Jr. (father)
• Spouse : Karen de Venecia
• Education : Ateneo de Manila, La Salle Greenhills, Fordham University

Links

• Joey de Venecia Official Site
• JOEY3 LIVE