Jesus Manuel Angel "Bong" Cabochan Suntay (born November 15,1970) is a Filipino businessman,lawyer,and politician who has served as the representative of Quezon City's 4th district since 2025;he previously held the seat from 2019 to 2022.
The owner of a taxi operator in Metro Manila,Suntay heads the Philippine National Taxi Operators Association. He is also the founder of the liquified petroleum gas chain Cleanfuel.
Suntay was a longtime member of the Quezon City Council,serving from 1998 to 2004 and from 2007 to 2016. He narrowly defeated Marvin Rillo in the 2025 local elections by 200 votes.
Early life and education
Jesus Manuel Angel Cabochan Suntay was born on November 15,1970.[1] His father,Angelo Abad Santos Suntay,was a linotypist and an executive at A. Soriano Corporation. His mother,Carolina Cabochan,is part of the Cabochan family who owns the El Oro Engravers.[2][3]
Suntay was encouraged by his father to pursue a career on computers during his high school years but the younger Suntay decided to become a lawyer and businessman.[3]
He then attended the De La Salle University for his pre-law studies.[2] Suntay graduated from San Beda College with a law degree in 1996,passing the bar examination the following year.[3] He worked as an associate and partner lawyer but also started his own business ventures.[3]
Business career
Around 1989,Suntay established Basic Taxi,a taxi business when he was still a freshman student at San Beda. He started with five second-hand units but grew to a fleet of 1,200 units.[2]
Suntay has promoted the usage liquified petroleum gas for taxis in the Philippines to combat rising prices of gasoline. He tested the conversion kit on five of his taxi units in 2004. He later acquired exclusive rights to sell auto LPG conversion kit from Tartarini in Italy. Shell installed a LPG conversion facility in his garage.[2]
He later established Cleanfuel in 2006 since large traditional petrol companies are unwilling to service LPG to small taxi operators.[2][3] As of 2022,Cleanfuel has 134 stations in Luzon and Visayas including those which are still being set up.[4]
Civic involvement
Suntay became president of Philippine National Taxi Operators Association Inc. (PNTOA) in the 2000s. As head,he had to balance calling for fare increase amidst rising cost of fuel.[2] He also served as president of the National Taxi Association Federation (NTAF).[5]
When carsharing service Uber entered the Philippines market,Suntay lobbied for it and similar services to get regulated.[6][7]
Political career
Suntay served as city councilor in Quezon City for its fourth district from 1998 to 2004 and from 2007 to 2016. He intended to run for Congress in the 2001 election,but opted to back out in favor of Mayor Mel Mathay's candidacy in the fourth congressional district.[8] Suntay instead ran for reelection in the 2001 Quezon City council election,receiving the highest number of votes among the candidates.[9]
As the city council's majority floor leader in the early 2000s,Suntay presided over a time when relatively few resolutions and ordinances were being passed,with him receiving some criticism for the "snail-paced legislative work" as chairman of the Committee on Laws,Rules,and Internal Government.[10][11] In mid-2002,a feud erupted between two factions of the city council regarding the reorganization of council committees,with the majority side (headed by Suntay) being opposed in its reorganization plan by the "conscience bloc" led by councilor Ariel Inton.[12][13][14][15][16] By late 2003,Suntay was no longer majority floor leader.[17][18]
In 2004,he opted not to seek re-election as councilor to run for representative of Quezon City's fourth district,[19] but lost to incumbent congresswoman Nanette Castelo-Daza,[20] who was on the slate of reelectionist mayor Sonny Belmonte alongside councilor Inton.[18]
He was the longest serving majority floor leader in the Quezon City Council.[3] Known by the moniker 'Superman',he is known for using motif associated with the DC Comics superhero for his campaigning and imagery.[21][22][23]
Suntay (rightmost) with Vice President Sara Duterte (2nd from right) during World Pandesal Day in Quezon City in 2025
After leaving PDP–Laban in 2024 for the United Nationalist Alliance,Suntay ran again for the same position in the 2025 election under the "Team Serbisyo" slate,holding a pro-Duterte stance as candidate and asking voters to back the "DuterTen" senatorial candidates.[27][28][29][30][31][32] His 28-year-old nephew Jesus Miguel "Migs" C. Suntay also ran in his district for the position of councilor.[33] Both of them faced accusations of vote buying,but Bong denied the claims,alleging that they were filed by someone linked to congressman Rillo.[34][27] A witness later recanted his testimony,claiming that he was coerced into making the claim by Rillo's side.[32] He won the election after narrowly beating incumbent congressman Rillo by 239 votes.[26]
Controversies
2001 assault charges
On December 22,2001,Suntay was with his wife Sheila within the Verde de Pasadena Tower in San Juan,Metro Manila when the latter received a text message from a young male resident in the building asking for a share of Sheila's lunch as gymmates. According to a police report,Suntay followed his wife to the resident's apartment,then proceeded to confront him with a pistol and accuse his wife of cheating on him,upon which Suntay pistol-whipped him unconscious;the resident also claimed that Suntay fired shots into the air.[35][36][37] Criminal charges were later filed against Suntay by policemen before the Rizal provincial prosecutors on January 8,2002.[38]
Analogical remarks referencing Anne Curtis
On March 3,2026,during a House Committee on Justice hearing on impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte,Suntay made remarks referencing actress Anne Curtis that drew criticism from fellow lawmakers for apparent indecency and sexism. He argued that Duterte cannot be punished for sedition for calling herself "designated survivor" and made the point that similarly he cannot be charged in a hypothetical scenario where he had heightened "desire" seeing Curtis at the Shangri-La Plaza shopping mall since any thoughts he had is just his imagination. The comments were later ordered stricken from the official record for being inappropriate and unrelated to the proceedings.[39] He asked for apology from Curtis but insisted that he has no malicious intent and that his analogy is sound.[40] On March 5,women's rights advocates led by former GABRIELA Representative Liza Maza filed an ethics complaint against Suntay over his remarks on Curtis.[41] Curtis herself commented on Suntay's controversial remarks in a Facebook post on March 7,stating that she does not accept his "non-apology".[42]
Personal life
Suntay is married to businesswoman Maria Cecilia "Sheila" Guevara,with whom he had five children.[43][44] They first met and dated each other in the 1980s.[2] One of their sons,Renzo,died by suicide on April 21,2018 at age 20 after having suffered from depression.[45]
↑Araja, Rio N. (May 1, 2000). "Mel, Connie eyeing Congress". Manila Standard. Retrieved March 5, 2026. The source said out of respect for [Mel] Mathay, Councilor Jesus Suntay withdrew his bid for Congress.
↑"It's quality not quantity, says QC dad". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Vol.17, no.33. January 10, 2002. p.A18. Retrieved March 8, 2026. IT IS 'quality, and not quantity,' that matters when Quezon City aldermen sit and legislate measures for the city, according to Councilor Ariel Inton of the city's 4th district.
↑Araja, Rio N. (January 14, 2002). "Poor batting average for QC council". Manila Standard. Vol.XV, no.331. Kamahalan Publishing Corporation. p.2. Retrieved March 9, 2026. The slow action of the city council has cast a shadow on the leadership of district 4 Councilor Jesus 'Bong' Suntay as the majority leader.
↑Donato, Agnes E. (June 12, 2002). "Court denies petition of QC councilors". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Vol.17, no.184. p.A26. Retrieved March 9, 2026. The petition said [minority floor leader Julian] Coseteng wrote [majority floor leader Jesus] Suntay last June 6 requesting an election of officers and chairs of the different standing committees on June 11.
↑Villamente, Jing (June 14, 2002). "Revamp divides QC council". Manila Standard. Vol.XVI, no.120. Kamahalan Publishing Corporation. p.3. Retrieved March 9, 2026. Those who walked out of the session lost their committee chairmanships. Councilor Bong Suntay retained his position as majority floor leader.
↑Villamente, Jing (June 28, 2002). "QC councilors slam revamp". Manila Standard. Vol.XVI, no.134. Kamahalan Publishing Corporation. p.7. Retrieved March 9, 2026. They insisted that the June 11 election violated internal rules, lacking the required 2/3 majority votes. Only 15 of the 26 councilors headed by Majority Floor Leader Jesus Suntay Jr. [sic] took part[...]
↑Villamente, Jing (July 25, 2002). "Court won't stop QC council revamp". Manila Standard. Vol.XVI, no.161. Kamahalan Publishing Corporation. p.13. Retrieved March 9, 2026. One of them calling itself the 'conscience bloc' failed to get the court to issue a temporary restraining order and suspend the act of the other reorganizing the council committees on June 11.
↑Villamente, Jing (July 31, 2002). "Feud paralyzes QC council". Manila Standard. Vol.XVI, no.167. Kamahalan Publishing Corporation. p.3. Retrieved March 9, 2026. Councilors Jesus 'Bong' Suntay and Julian Coseteng led the majority group, with Vice Mayor Herbert 'Bistek' Bautista as presiding officer.
↑Olivares-Cunanan, Belinda (December 8, 2003). "Opposition in disarray". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Vol.18, no.363. p.A15. Retrieved March 9, 2026. They could be joined come 2004 by Quezon City councilor and minority leader Bong C. Suntay[...]
↑Mondejar, MJ (April 25, 2025). "VP Sara Duterte, nakiisa sa caucus ni Bong Suntay sa Quezon City"[VP Sara Duterte participates in the caucus of Bong Suntay in Quezon City]. SMNI News (in Filipino). Retrieved March 5, 2026. Si Atty. Suntay, na kilalang personalidad sa pulitika ng QC, ay nagsilbing kinatawan ng ika-4 na Distrito ng Quezon City sa huling tatlong taon ng administrasyong Duterte.
↑SMNI News (April 28, 2026). 'QC, DUTERTE PA RIN!'['QC, STILL [FOR] DUTERTE!']. Instagram (in Filipino). Retrieved March 5, 2026. Makikita namin yung pagmamahal sa kanya [Rodrigo Duterte] ng ka-distrito ko sa Quezon City, magmula noon hanggang ngayon, hindi nagbago, hindi nabawasan, lalo lang dumami at lumaki ang mga nagmamahal sa kanya.
↑Montibon, Pol (May 5, 2025). ""Umayos ang Pilipinas dahil kay FPRRD" – Bong Suntay, pinuri ang Legacy ni dating Pangulong Duterte"['The Philippines got better because of FPRRD' - Bong Suntay praises former President Duterte's Legacy]. SMNI News (in Filipino). Retrieved March 5, 2026. Sa nalalapit na halalan sa Mayo 12, hinikayat ni Suntay ang taumbayan na iboto ang mga kandidatong iniendorso ni FPRRD, lalo na ang mga kabilang sa PDP-Laban 'DuterTEN' slate.
↑Bonilla, Lordeth (December 24, 2001). "Konsehal ng QC nanugod, namalo ng baril"[QC councilor confronted [someone], slapped gun]. Philstar.com (in Filipino). Retrieved March 5, 2026. Nabatid sa ulat ni PO2 Joel Macabasag ng San Juan Police na naganap ang panunugod at pamamalo ng baril ng pulitiko dakong alas-10:30 ng umaga sa tahanan ng biktima.
↑Romulo, Mons (November 23, 2008). "Who is the person who influenced your life the most?". Philstar.com. Retrieved March 5, 2026. [M]y husband, QC Councilor Bong Suntay, has the greatest influence on me today simply because of the kind of life that he leads. [...] A loving husband and a doting father to our five children, he loves God more than our family.
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