Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo,often referred to as PGMA or GMA,is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010. She is the longest-serving president since Ferdinand Marcos. Before her presidency,she was the 10th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001 under President Joseph Estrada,becoming the first female vice president. She was also a senator from 1992 to 1998. After her presidency,she was elected as the representative of Pampanga's 2nd district in 2010 and continues to serve in this role. She also served as the Speaker of the House from 2018 to 2019,and as Deputy Speaker from 2016 to 2017 and 2022 to 2023. Alongside former president Sergio Osmeña,she is one of only two Filipinos to hold at least three of the four highest offices:vice president,president,and house speaker.
The New Society Movement,formerly named the New Society Movement of United Nationalists,Liberals,et cetera,is a right-wing political party in the Philippines. It was first formed in 1978 as an umbrella coalition of parties supporting then-President Ferdinand E. Marcos for the Interim Batasang Pambansa and was his political vehicle during his 20-year regime. It was reorganized as a political party in 1986,and is the furthest to the right of the political spectrum among active parties after Marcos' ouster.
Marcelo "Celing" Briones Fernan was a Filipino lawyer and political figure. He is the only Filipino to have served as both Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and as Senate President. He is also the third Filipino to have headed both the judicial and legislative branches of government,after Querube Makalintal who served as Chief Justice and Speaker of the Batasang Pambansa in the 1970s,and JoséYulo,who served as Chief Justice and Speaker of the House of Representatives before 1946.
Jose Pimentel Ejercito Jr.,better known as Jinggoy Estrada or Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada,is a Filipino politician and film actor serving as a senator since 2022 and previously from 2004 to 2016,He is the current president pro tempore of the Senate,having been elected for the second time in 2024 and previously holding the position from 2007 to 2013,He briefly became the Acting Senate President in 2013 after Juan Ponce Enrile's resignation,Before serving in the Senate,he was the vice mayor (1988–1992) and later mayor (1992–2001) of San Juan when it was still a municipality.
The State of the Nation Address is an annual address by the president of the Philippines to a joint session of the Congress of the Philippines. Mandated by the 1987 Constitution,the speech is delivered on the fourth Monday of July at the Plenary Session Hall of the Batasang Pambansa Complex in Batasan Hills,Quezon City.
The University of the East College of Law or UE Law is the law school of the University of the East,a private,non-sectarian university in Manila,Philippines.
Renato "Rene" Luna Cayetano,commonly known as Compañero,was a Filipino lawyer,television presenter,journalist,and politician. He served in the Regular Batasang Pambansa,representing the lone district of the Metro Manila municipalities of Taguig,Pateros and Muntinlupa,from 1984 until its abolition in 1986. He then served as a Senator from 1998 to 2003. He also hosted the television program Compañero y Compañera from 1997 to 2001.
Gregory Santos Ong is a Filipino jurist and a former Justice of the Sandiganbayan. He was initially appointed as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on May 16,2007,but his appointment was subsequently withdrawn after questions arose whether he met the constitutional requirement of natural-born citizenship. On September 23,2014,he was found guilty of gross misconduct,dishonesty and impropriety and was subsequently dismissed from his position as Justice of the Sandiganbayan by the Supreme Court of the Philippines as a result of an investigation linking him to pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.
The trial of Philippine president Joseph Estrada took place between 2001 and 2007 at the Sandiganbayan. Estrada,popularly called Erap,resigned from office in 2001 during a popular uprising in Metro Manila after an aborted impeachment trial in which he was charged with plunder and perjury. Soon after his ouster,the same charges were filed against him at the Sandiganbayan.
Simeon V. Marcelo is a Filipino lawyer and was the third Ombudsman of the Philippines. As the Ombudsman,he acted as protector of the people against the illegal and unjust acts of those who are in the public service. He investigated government officials,including members of the police and the military,who were suspected of committing graft and corruption. Notably,he served as the principal private prosecutor in the impeachment case of Former President Joseph Estrada,the 13th President of the Republic of the Philippines. After 3 years as Ombudsman,he resigned due to serious health problems. He was then replaced by Ma. Merceditas N. Gutierrez.
Francisco Hernandez Villaruz Jr. is a Filipino justice. He was appointed on October 5,2011,by President Benigno Aquino III as Presiding Justice of the Sandiganbayan replacing Justice Edilberto Sandoval who retired last June 20,2011. Justice Villaruz has been an Associate Justice of the Sandiganbayan since 2001. He took his oath before Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato C. Corona last October 12,2011.
The Batasang Pambansa Complex,or simply the Batasan,is the seat of the House of Representatives of the Philippines. It is located along the Batasan Road in Batasan Hills,Quezon City.
Rolando Aureo Gutierrez Andaya Jr.,also known as Nonoy Andaya,was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives. He represented the 1st district of Camarines Sur from 1998 to 2006 and again from 2010 to 2019. During the 17th Congress,he was a House Deputy Speaker from 2016 to 2018 and was subsequently elected House Majority Leader,serving from 2018 to 2019. In his inter-congressional years,he was the Secretary of Budget and Management from 2006 to 2010 in President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's cabinet.
Jose Manuel Tadeo "Chel" Icasiano Diokno is a Filipino lawyer,educator,human rights advocate,and broadcaster. He serves as chairman of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG),the founding dean of the De La Salle University College of Law,and the chairman of the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Foundation. He has served as a special counsel of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. He was a candidate for the Senate in 2019 and 2022. He also co-hosts radio programs such as Oras at Bayan on Veritas 846 and Rekta:Agenda ng Masa on DZRH and DZRH News Television.
Hugo E. Gutierrez Jr. was a Filipino jurist and civil liberties advocate. Gutierrez served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from May 14,1982 until March 31,1993,when he resigned because of plagiarism that dealt with a decision in a Supreme Court Case between Eastern Telecommunications Philippines and PLDT.
Janet Lim-Napoles is a Filipina businesswoman who is believed to have masterminded the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) Scam. She was convicted of plunder for her involvement in the PDAF Scam and is facing charges for alleged involvement in the misuse of the Malampaya fund for disaster response operations.
Florin "Pilo" Ternal Hilbay is a Filipino lawyer who served as the Solicitor General of the Philippines from 2014 to 2016. He acted as the Philippine agent in the international case,Philippines v. China,which nullified all historical claims of China in the West Philippine Sea. He ranked first place in the 1999 Philippine Bar Examination.
The 2016 State of the Nation Address was the first State of the Nation Address delivered by President Rodrigo Duterte. It was delivered on July 25,2016.
The 19th Congress of the Philippines,composed of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives,convened on July 25,2022. The 19th Congress is meeting during the first three years of Bongbong Marcos's presidency,and will end on June 6,2025. The convening of the 19th Congress followed the 2022 general elections,which replaced half of the Senate membership and the entire membership of the House of Representatives.
Raul A. Daza is a Filipino lawyer,certified public accountant,and politician,who served in the House of Representatives of the Philippines for 20 years as Representative of the 1st District of Northern Samar. Although he could still seek another term under the term-limit provisions of the Constitution,at 86 he chose not to stand for re-election in the 2019 national elections. He was also a three-term governor of the same province from 2001 to 2010;the Representative of the Lone District of Northern Samar from 1969 until the declaration of martial law in 1972.
