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.
Lorna Regina "Loren" Bautista Legarda is a Filipina politician,environmentalist,cultural worker,and former journalist who is currently serving as a Senator and served as the president pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippines from 2022 to 2024. This also makes her the first woman to serve as Senate President Pro Tempore in the upper chamber's history. Before entering politics,she began her career as a news reporter until becoming a news anchor. She previously served three terms in the Senate from 1998 to 2004 and from 2007 to 2019. She is the longest-serving female Senator in the history of the Senate,and the only female in the Philippines to top two senatorial elections:1998 and 2007. Legarda was also the House Deputy Speaker during her three-year stint as the representative of Antique from 2019 to 2022.
Saint Michael's College of Laguna (SMCL) is an autonomous college in Biñan,Laguna,Philippines,formerly known as Biñan College. SMCL was founded by the nine Limaco sisters,on August 25,1975. Luisa Limaco-De Leon provided the idea of building the school,Pura Limaco financed the school's operations,while Milagros Limaco,a teacher,was later elected as the chairman of the board and director of the school. The school was named after the Limaco patriarch,Miguel,a philanthropist.
Lyceum of the Philippines University,also referred to by its acronym LPU,is a private,non-sectarian,coeducational higher education institution located at Intramuros in the City of Manila,Philippines. It was founded in 1952 by JoséP. Laurel,who was the third president of the Republic of the Philippines.
Maria Margarita Roxas Moran-Floirendo,professionally known as Margie Moran,is a Filipino beauty queen,actress and peace advocate who was the president of Ballet Philippines and previously served as chairperson of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. She is best known for winning the second Miss Universe crown for the Philippines as Miss Universe 1973.
Richard Juico Gordon is a Filipino lawyer and politician who most recently served as a Senator from 2016 to 2022,and previously from 2004 to 2010. He has been the chairman and CEO of the Philippine Red Cross since 2004.
Ceferino "Joker" Paz Arroyo Jr. was a Filipino statesman and key figure in the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos. He was a Congressman for Makati from 1992 to 2001 and Senator from 2001 to 2013. Arroyo received various awards and commendations for his significant contributions to the law profession and public service. Among these are the Philippine Bar Association's Most Distinguished Award for Justice as a "man beholden to no one except to his country" and Senate Resolution No. 100 enacted in the 8th Congress citing his invaluable service to the Filipino people. He was also known for being the thriftiest legislator,earning the title of "Scrooge of Congress",as he only had few staff members without bodyguards and did not use his pork barrel funds. In 2018,Arroyo was identified by the Human Rights Victims' Claims Board as a Motu proprio human rights violations victim of the Martial Law Era.
Jose Ma. Clemente "Joey" Sarte Salceda is a Filipino statesman and the current Representative of Albay's 2nd District in the Philippine House of Representatives. He previously served as governor of Albay province in the Philippines for three terms. Prior to that,he was a three-year term representative of the Third District of Albay and was appointed as Presidential Chief of Staff on February 10,2007,after the resignation of Michael Defensor,before he himself resigned on March 29,2007,to pursue his gubernatorial bid in his province. Salceda has also been chairman of the powerful House Committee on Ways and Means since 2019. Salceda is the principal author of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law,the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Law,which reduced corporate income taxes in the Philippines to 20%,and the Free College Tuition Law.
Joaquin G. Bernas SJ was a Jesuit priest,lawyer,college professor and writer who was Dean Emeritus of the Ateneo de Manila Law School in Makati,Philippines. He was a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission which drafted the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
Rosario Manalo,is a Filipino career diplomat,political scientist,and educator in the Philippines. She is the Special Representative of the Philippines to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights and has served as undersecretary of Foreign Affairs in charge of International Economic Relations from 1997 to 2001. Moreover,she has served as Philippine ambassador to Sweden,to France,to Belgium and to the European Economic Community.
Ambeth R. Ocampo is a Filipino public historian,academic,cultural administrator,journalist,author,and independent curator. He is best known for his definitive writings about Philippines' national hero JoséRizal and on topics in Philippine history and Philippine art through Looking Back,his bi-weekly editorial page column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Nilo Alcala is a Filipino-American composer and 2019 The American Prize Winner in Composition. He is the first Philippine-born composer to be commissioned by Grammy winner Los Angeles Master Chorale,and also to receive the Aaron Copland House Residency Award.
Mona Lisa Yuchengco is a Filipino-American community activist,publisher and filmmaker. She was born in Manila,Philippines and moved to San Francisco in 1982 with her two sons. Yuchengco graduated from Assumption College with degrees in Liberal Arts and Education and earned a master's degree in Business Administration from Ateneo University.
Leticia Valdez Ramos-Shahani was a Filipino senator,diplomat,and writer.
Lakas–Christian Muslim Democrats,abbreviated as Lakas–CMD and also known simply as Lakas,is a political party in the Philippines. Lakas–CMD is considered to be on the centre-right of the political spectrum and is influenced by Christian democracy and Islamic democracy. Since the 2022 elections,Lakas–CMD is currently the biggest party in the House of Representatives,with the party's president,Martin Romualdez,serving as Speaker of the House. The party is a dominant member of the Alyansa para sa Bagong Pilipinas led by President Bongbong Marcos.
Far Eastern University,also referred to by its acronym FEU,is a private research non-sectarian university in Manila,Philippines. Created by the merger of Far Eastern College and the Institute of Accounts,Business and Finance,FEU became a university in 1934 during the term of its first president,Nicanor Reyes Sr.
Helena Zoila Tirona Benitez was a Filipina academic and administrator of the Philippine Women's University.
Bernadette Fatima Tecson Romulo-Puyat is a Filipino government official,economist,and academic who served as the Secretary of Tourism under the Duterte administration from May 2018 to June 2022,heading the Philippines' tourism industry through the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. She has since been appointed Deputy Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in charge of financial inclusion,regional operations,and the BSP's Program Management Office. Her previous positions include terms as a consultant for the Presidential Management Staff,Undersecretary for the Department of Agriculture,and lecturer at the UP School of Economics.
Joel M. Toledo is a poet,fictionist,critic,and journalist based in Quezon City,Metro Manila,Philippines. He has been granted residencies by the Rockefeller Foundation in Bellagio,Italy,and the International Writing Program (IWP) in Iowa,United States.
Maria Carissa Oledan Coscolluela is a Filipino humanitarian,civic leader,and politician. She was a member of the 14th Congress of the Philippines from 2007 to 2010. She has served as the vice chairperson and member of the board of trustees of the Cultural Center of the Philippines since 2024.
