Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo, often referred to by her initials PGMA and GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who previously served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010. She is the longest serving president of the Philippines since Ferdinand Marcos. Before her accession to the presidency, she served as the 10th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001 under President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, making her the country's first female vice president, despite having run on an opposing ticket. 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 later became the Speaker of the House of Representatives on 2018 to 2019. She was also serving in the congress as a Deputy Speaker from 2016 to 2017 and from 2022 until 2023. She is one of the only 2 Filipinos to hold at least three of the four highest offices in the country: vice president, president, and house speaker, alongside former President Sergio Osmeña.
The Archdiocese of Manila is the archdiocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in Metro Manila, Philippines, encompassing the cities of Manila, Makati, San Juan, Mandaluyong, Pasay, and Taguig. Its cathedral is the Minor Basilica and Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, also known as the Manila Cathedral, located in Intramuros, which comprises the old city of Manila. The Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title Immaculate Conception, is the principal patroness of the archdiocese.
El Shaddai DWXI Prayer Partners Fellowship International, popularly known as El Shaddai, אֵל שַׁדַּי is the biggest Catholic charismatic movement in the Philippines. The movement is led by Mike Velarde, a real estate developer and preacher. Novaliches bishop emeritus Teodoro Bacani Jr. serves as its spiritual adviser.
As part of the worldwide Catholic Church, the Catholic Church in the Philippines, or the Philippine Catholic Church, is under the spiritual direction of the Pope in Rome. The Philippines is one of the two nations in Asia having a substantial portion of the population professing the Catholic faith, along with East Timor, and has the third largest Catholic population in the world after Brazil and Mexico. The episcopal conference responsible in governing the faith is the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
Mariano Zuniega Velarde, better known as Brother Mike Velarde, is the founder and "Servant Leader" of a Philippines-based Catholic charismatic movement called El Shaddai which has estimated following of three to seven million. He is a famous televangelist in the Philippines.
DWDE-TV, channel 35, is a low-powered UHF television station in the Philippines owned and operated by the Delta Broadcasting System, a company owned by El Shaddai servant leader Bro. Mike Z. Velarde. Its studios and transmitter are located at 8F Queensway Building, 118 Amorsolo St. Legaspi Village, Makati.
Delta Broadcasting System, Inc. (DBS) is a media company owned by El Shaddai leader Bro. Mike Velarde. Its studios and offices at the Queensway Commercial Center Building, 118 Amorsolo Street, Legaspi Village, Makati. It registered at the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 2, 1992. It operates DWXI 1314 kHz AM, an AM radio station which is started in 1981, and DBS TV Channel 35, a UHF television station.
Rodrigo Roa Duterte, also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino, the ruling political party in the Philippines during his presidency. Duterte is the first president of the Philippines to be from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assume office, beginning his term at age 71.
One Cebu (1-CEBU) is a provincial political party based in the province of Cebu. It is headed by Gwendolyn Garcia, governor of Cebu.
The Diocese of Iba is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in the Philippines that comprises the province of Zambales and City of Olongapo.
The Diocese of Novaliches is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. The diocese was created by Pope John Paul II on December 7, 2002, by virtue of his Apostolic Constitution Animarum Utilitati, and was canonically erected on January 16, 2003, from the Archdiocese of Manila. The diocese previously existed as the Ecclesiastical District of Quezon City-North, which was renamed the District of Novaliches in 2002.
Novaliches Cathedral, canonically recognized as the Cathedral-Shrine and Parish of the Good Shepherd, is a Roman Catholic church located along Regalado Avenue in Barangay Fairview, Quezon City in the Philippines. It is the seat of the Diocese of Novaliches. It was established on August 5, 1975 by Manila Archbishop, Jaime Lachica Sin, who designated Fidelis Ruben Limcaco as the church's first parish priest.
Sócrates "Soc" Buenaventura Villegas O.P. is a Filipino prelate, and a professed member of the Dominican Order. He is the current Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan in Pangasinan, and is the former president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, from December 1, 2013 to December 1, 2017, when he finished his second and final term as president of the said conference. He was also the vice president of the episcopal conference from 2011 to 2013.
Good Shepherd Cathedral School (GSCS) is a Filipino Catholic school located at the corner of Omega Avenue and Rado Street in West Fairview, Quezon City, Philippines. It is a private sectarian school situated at the back of the Cathedral Shrine and Parish of the Good Shepherd, the seat of the Bishop of Novaliches. GSCS is a member-school of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Novaliches Educational System (RCBN-ES), the Manila Ecclesiastical Province School Systems Association (MaPSA), the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP), and of the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU).
Ferdinand Martin Gomez Romualdez is a Filipino businessman, lawyer and politician serving as the Speaker of the House of Representatives since July 25, 2022. He is also serving as the representative for the 1st district of Leyte since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2016 and as the president of the Philippine Constitution Association. He formerly served as the House Majority Leader from 2019 to 2022, and unsuccessfully ran for senator in the 2016 elections. He is a first cousin of President Bongbong Marcos. Since May 17, 2023, he has been widely considered to be the country's de facto "Prime Minister" after the ouster of Senior Deputy Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, becoming the main catalyst to the 2024 Philippine political crisis.
The 2016 presidential campaign of Miriam Defensor Santiago, a then-incumbent Senator of the Philippines, was announced on October 13, 2015 at a book signing event. Miriam Defensor-Santiago submitted her certificate of candidacy (COC) on October 16, 2015. She was fifth overall in the election and lost to Rodrigo Duterte. Santiago died of lung cancer five months later.
The 2016 presidential campaign of Rodrigo Duterte was announced on November 21, 2015. Rodrigo Duterte, who was then serving as Mayor of Davao City, had refused to run and turned down other presidential and vice-presidential aspirants' offers to be his running mate, including that of Jejomar Binay, Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Bongbong Marcos. He was eventually elected President of the Philippines. Duterte's positions was seen to have resonated with older, working class Filipinos, particularly his promise to eliminate the wide-scale drug menace of the country and his harsh stances on crime in Davao City, which he served for more than 22 years, and corruption. Duterte's campaign also emphasized an anti-establishment tone, accusing political elites based in Manila of not doing much to solve problems in a move that was described as populist.
Enrique A. Manalo is a Filipino diplomat currently serving as the Secretary of Foreign Affairs under the Marcos Jr. administration since July 1, 2022. He previously served in an acting role under the Duterte administration from March 9 to May 17, 2017, when Perfecto Yasay Jr.'s ad-interim appointment confirmation was rejected by the Commission on Appointments due to citizenship issues. He also previously served as Philippine Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 2011 to 2016, Undersecretary for Policy of the Department of Foreign Affairs from 2016 to 2020, and the 21st Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations from 2020 to 2022.
The Iglesia ni Cristo is noted for its role in elections in the Philippines.
