Michael Tan Defensor is a Filipino politician who most recently served as the Party-list Representative for Anakalusugan from 2019 to 2022. He is also the CEO of Pax Libera Mining,Inc.
Alan Peter Schramm Cayetano is a Filipino lawyer and diplomat serving as a Senator since 2022 and previously from 2007 to 2017. He was the Senate Minority Leader from 2010 to 2013,and later Senate Majority Leader from 2013 to 2016. He also served as the Representative of Taguig–Pateros from 1998 to 2007 and from 2019 to 2022 and was the Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2019 until his resignation in 2020. He also served as the Secretary of Foreign Affairs from 2017 to 2018 in the cabinet of President Rodrigo Duterte,after unsuccessfully running for vice president in the 2016 elections as Duterte's running mate.
Elpidio "Pidi" Frani Barzaga Jr. was a Filipino lawyer and politician. He was the representative of Cavite's 4th district in the House of Representatives of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016 and from 2019 until his death in 2024. This district exclusively covers the city of Dasmariñas and was carved out from the 2nd district,which he represented from 2007 to 2010. In addition to his legislative roles,he served as the mayor of Dasmariñas.
Jesus Crispin "Boying" Catibayan Remulla is a Filipino lawyer and politician serving as the Secretary of Justice since 2022 in the Cabinet of President Bongbong Marcos. He previously served two stints in the House of Representatives:he represented Cavite's 3rd district from 2004 to 2010,then the newly created 7th district from 2010 to 2013 and from 2019 to 2022. He was a Deputy Speaker during the 15th Congress (2010–13) and was the Senior Deputy Majority Leader in the 18th Congress (2019–22). In the latter role,he was an articulate opponent of ABS-CBN and was among the 70 House members who voted to reject the broadcast network's franchise renewal. He also served as governor of Cavite from 2016 to 2019 and a member of the provincial board from 1992 to 1995. As a broadcaster,he hosts a radio program titled "Executive Session" on DZRH.
Danilo Ramon Subiaga Fernandez is a Filipino politician,actor,and optometrist who is currently serving as the representative of the Lone District of Santa Rosa,Laguna at the House of Representatives of the Philippines since 2022. He previously represented the 1st District of Laguna from 2007 to 2016 and again from 2019 to 2022;he also concurrently served as a Deputy Speaker from 2019 to 2020. Prior to his election in the Congress,he served as a board member of Laguna from 1998 to 2001,Vice Governor of Laguna from 2001 to 2004,and Mayor of Santa Rosa from 2016 to 2019. He also ran for governor in 2004 but lost to incumbent Governor Teresita Lazaro.
Abraham "Bambol" Ng Tolentino is a Filipino politician who currently serves as the mayor of Tagaytay and president of the Philippine Olympic Committee. He previously served as representative of Cavite's 8th district from 2019 to 2022 and the 7th district from 2013 to 2019.
Ferdinand Martin Gomez Romualdez is a Filipino businessman,lawyer and politician serving as the Speaker of the House of Representatives since 2022. He is also serving as the representative for the 1st district of Leyte since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2016. 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.
The 18th Congress of the Philippines,composed of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives,met from July 22,2019,until June 1,2022,during the last three years of Rodrigo Duterte's presidency. The convening of the 18th Congress followed the 2019 general elections,which replaced half of the Senate membership and the entire membership of the House of Representatives.
Jericho Jonas "Koko" Bendigo Nograles is a Filipino congressman and official spokesperson for the Puwersa ng Bayang Atleta (PBA) Partylist. He is the Assistant Majority Leader of the House of Representatives of the Philippines. He is one of the 70 representatives who voted to deny the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN.
Eric Go Yap is a Filipino politician serving as the Representative for Benguet's lone congressional district since 2022,and was the district's legislative caretaker from January 2020 until he was elected in his own right. He was a party-list representative for ACT-CIS from 2019 to 2022,and is the chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations since March 2020.
The shutdown of ABS-CBN broadcasting arose from the lack of renewal of Philippine media network ABS-CBN's congressional broadcast franchise. The disputes between the administrations of Presidents Benigno Aquino III and Rodrigo Duterte and the media conglomerate arose over the terms and conditions of the franchise renewal agreement. Amid the controversy,the Congress of the Philippines,the country's legislature,was unable to renew the franchise before its expiration date. The congressional franchise expired on May 4,2020,while the Philippines was dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the enhanced community quarantine in Luzon. The next day,exercising constitutional powers,the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issued a cease-and-desist order demanding ABS-CBN cease all of its free TV and radio broadcasting operations immediately. ABS-CBN complied with the government order and shut down all of its radio stations and free television channels later that day. On June 30,2020,the NTC released two alias cease-and-desist orders against ABS-CBN TV Plus and Sky Direct.
Dulce Ann Hofer Santos is a Filipina educator and politician from the province of Zamboanga Sibugay. She is currently the Governor of Zamboanga Sibugay since 2022.
Deogracias Victor "DV" Barbers Savellano is a Filipino politician who last served as a member of the House of Representatives for Ilocos Sur's 1st district from 2016 to 2022. He was also one of the Deputy Speakers of the House of Representatives from 2019 to 2022.
Rodante Dizon Marcoleta is a Filipino lawyer and politician serving as the party-list representative for SAGIP Partylist since 2016. He is a former House Deputy Speaker of the 18th Congress from 2019 to 2022. A member of the religious organization Iglesia ni Cristo,and one of the vocal detractors against ABS-CBN,Marcoleta is one of the 70 representatives who voted to permanently deny the renewal of the network's franchise and responsible for the termination of landmark partnership deal between ABS-CBN and TV5. He is also the host of Net 25 public affairs program Sa Ganang Mamamayan and a fan of Korean dramas.
Henry Sevilla Oaminal Sr. is a Filipino politician,lawyer,and businessman serving as the governor of Misamis Occidental since 2022. He was the Representative of Misamis Occidental's 2nd district from 2013 to 2022 and was a House Deputy Speaker from 2019 to 2022.
Cyrille "Beng" Fabello Abueg-Zaldivar is a Filipino politician and lawyer. She served as a member of the Philippine House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Palawan from 2019 to 2022.
Gil "Kabarangay" Abesamis Acosta Jr. is a Filipino politician,lawyer and psychologist who served as a member of the Philippine House of Representatives representing the 3rd District of Palawan from 2019 to 2022.
Antonino "Tony" Gallardo Calixto is a Filipino businessman and politician. He currently serves as a member of the Philippine House of Representatives representing the Lone District of Pasay. He previously served as mayor of Pasay from 2010 until 2019,vice mayor from 2001 to 2010,and councilor from 1995 to 2001.
Weslie "Wes" Ting Gatchalian is a Filipino politician who has served as the 27th mayor of Valenzuela since 2022. A member of the Nationalist People's Coalition,Gatchalian was first elected to public office in 2013,as the party-list representative of Alay Buhay Partylist,serving until 2016,where he was elected as the district representative for Valenzuela's 1st district. As a representative,Gatchalian served as House Deputy Speaker from 2020 to 2022.
Eric Morales Martinez is a Filipino politician who is currently a member of House of Representatives from Valenzuela's 2nd district since 2016 and he was the House Deputy Speaker for 18th Congress from 2020 to 2022. He is currently a member of the former ruling party Partido Demokratiko Pilipino,where he also serves as its vice president for National Capital Region.
