Jamby Madrigal

Maria Ana Consuelo Madrigal-Valade, better known as Jamby Madrigal was born on April 26, 1958 in Manila to Antonio Madrigal and Amanda Abad Santos. She is the granddaughter of the former Supreme Court Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos of San Fernando, Pampanga.
She married Frenchman Eric Jean Claude Dudoignon Valade on December 7, 2002 at the Calatagan, Batangas farm estate of her aunt, the late Doña Consuelo "Chito" Madrigal-Collantes.

In October 1999, President Estrada created the Office of the Presidential Adviser for Children’s Affairs. He appointed her to head this office, which gives the children of the poor access to the President’s highest councils.

She was elected as Senator in the 2004 general elections. She is currently the Chairperson of four Senate Committees: Committee on Environment, Committee on Youth, Women and Family Relations, Committee on Peace, Unification and Reconciliation, and the Committee on Cultural Communities.

Madrigal has filed her candidacy for President in the upcoming 2010 presidential elections together with Jay Sonza as his running mate.

Richard "Dick" Gordon

Richard "Dick" Juico Gordon was born on August 5, 1945 to James Leonard Tagle Gordon and Amelia Juico Gordon, (who were both mayors of Olongapo City). In 1954, he completed his elementary education at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran in Manila and on 1962, he completed his secondary education at the Ateneo de Manila University. He stayed in Ateneo and completed his tertiary education, earning a degree of Bachelor of Arts, major in History and Government in 1966. On 1975, he graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Laws at the University of the Philippines College of Law.

In 1980, he ran as mayor of Olongapo City. In 1983, Olongapo became a highly urbanized City. Having been a victim of crime with the assassination of his father then Mayor James Leonard T. Gordon in 1967, Gordon managed to transform Olongapo from a “sin city” to “model city” with various innovations in local governance namely color coded transport system, public markets’ expansion, integrated solid waste management program, vendors’ cooperatives, community organizations and many other public and community development programs. In 1986, Gordon gave way for the Aquino appointed Officer-In-Charge after a formal written directive from the Executive Secretary representing Aquino was issued.

In the 1992 local elections, Gordon won a landslide victory and was reelected as mayor of Olongapo City. 1993, a citizen questioned Gordon's dual duty as mayor of Olongapo City and as chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. The Supreme Court decided that Gordon must hold one position. Gordon decided to vacate his position as Mayor and assumed the position of SBMA chairman in full capacity. In the 1995 local elections, his wife Katherine, a three term Congresswoman, was elected mayor of Olongapo.

During the late 1990s, Gordon became one of Joseph Estrada's vocal critics over differences on the US Naval Base. After winning by a large margin during the 1998 presidential elections, President Estrada issued Administrative Order No. 1 removing Gordon as Chairman of SBMA. Estrada appointed Felicito Payumo, Gordon's critic and congressman of Bataan as new chairman. The removal process was not easy. Hundreds of volunteers barricated the gates of SBMA and Gordon locked himself inside the SBMA Administrative Office Building 229. The issue sparked the interest local and foreign press known as the Showdown at Subic. Gordon filed for a temporary restraining order before the local court. The local court of Olongapo granted Gordon's request but Payumo's party filed an appeal before the Court of Appeals. The CA reversed the local court's ruling and it was affirmed by the Supreme Court G.R. No. 134171. With the Supreme Court decision, Gordon called Payumo and turned over the reins of SBMA at the Subic Bay Yacht Club two months later on 3 September 1998.

In the 2004 national elections, Gordon ran as senator of the Philippines. In the initial public opinion survey, Filipinos were lukewarm on electing Gordon as senator. But with his very positive personality and achievements aired in TV and radio advertisements, public opinion changed and Gordon won and received the fifth highest number of votes from the electorate.

Bayani Fernando

Bayani Fernando is the current Secretary of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA). He is a former Secretary of Department of Public Works and Highways.

Bayani Fernando was born in San Juan, Rizal on July 25, 1946. He finished college with a degree on Mechanical Engineering at the Mapua Institute of Technology.

Fernando first ran for public office in 1992, becoming mayor of Marikina City. His administration as mayor is credited with several cleanliness and beautification projects, and his term saw the transformation of Marikina from a 4th class municipality to a model Philippine city. He was re-elected mayor twice, serving until 2001. He was succeeded by his wife, Ma. Lourdes C. Fernando.

In 2002, he was appointed chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Fernando on November 8, 2008, was named the GMA-7’s 2008 “Celebrity Duets” 2nd season grand champion.

On January 4, 2008, Fernando announced that he would be running for the presidency in the 2010 elections.He filed his Certificate of Candidacy on December 1, 2009 as Vice-President with Richard Gordon as President.

Joseph Estrada

Joseph Marcelo Ejercito was born in Tondo on April 19, 1937.He was the son of Emilio Ejercito, a government contractor, and Maria Marcelo, a simple housewife.
Known to many as Erap, he is married to former Senator Dr. Luisa Pimentel by whom he has three children, namely Jinggoy, who is now a senator of the realm, Jacqueline and Jude.

Contrary to the popular notion that he grew up in life of poverty, he lived relatively well-off. After being expelled from Ateneo de Manila University, he enrolled in an engineering course at Mapua Institute of Technology, eventually dropping out to pursue acting.

In his early twenties, he became a movie actor by accident but later proved himself to be an accomplished thespian, starring in a string of well-received films that earned him the title of a living legend in local filmdom. More popularly known as Erap, he is a five-time Best Actor awardee – a feat he repeated by winning the Best Picture award an equal number of times. This earned him a rare place in the FAMAS Hall of Fame in 1981 and 1984, respectively.

He entered politics in 1967, was elected and re-elected mayor of the Municipality (now City) of San Juan which he served with dedication and distinction for more than 16 continuous years. Unfortunately, he was one of hundreds of local officials who were asked to step down in the aftermath of the 1986 EDSA revolution. The following year, he ran and won a seat in the Senate under his own party, Partido ng Masang Pilipino.

In the 1992 presidential election Estrada initially intended to run for President but later decided to be the running mate of Eduardo Cojuangco of the Nationalist People's Coalition. Estrada won the vice-presidency although Cojuangco was defeated by Fidel Ramos of the LAKAS party. Shortly after the inauguration of Ramos, he appointed Estrada to head the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission (PACC) even though Estrada was from the political opposition.

Estrada was elected president in 1998. However, his presidency was soon dogged by charges of plunder and corruption. In October 2000, an acknowledged gambling racketeer, Luis Singson, governor of the province of Ilocos Sur, alleged that he had personally given Estrada the sum of 400 million pesos as payoff from illegal gambling profits. Singson's allegation caused an uproar all over the nation, which culminated in Estrada's impeachment by the House of Representatives in November of 2000. He was the first Philippine President be impeached. On January 19, 2001, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, seeing the political upheaval throughout the country, decided to withdraw its support from the president and transfer its allegiance to the vice-president. Without military support, and with mass resignations from his cabinet, Estrada's government quickly fell.

Estrada returned to his old home in San Juan where he constantly maintained that he never resigned and therefore implying that Arroyo's government was illegitimate, despite the fact that the international community recognized Arroyo's succession and that all government offices, the military and the national police acknowledged Arroyo as the new president.

The new government charged him with plunder and had him arrested in April. He was convicted by the Sandiganbayan of plunder and imposed a penalty of reclusion perpetua,but was later granted executive clemency by Pres. Arroyo.

Bro. Eddie Villanueva

Eduardo "Bro. Eddie" Villanueva (born October 6, 1946) is a religious and political leader in the Philippines. He is the founder and leader of the Jesus Is Lord Church. In 2004, he was a presidential candidate in the Philippine election. He lost the election to incumbent Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.On August 21, 2009, he announced that he will be running in the 2010 election.

He is a graduate of B.S.Commerce Major in Economics in Polytechnic University of the Philippines

He is married to Dr. Adoracion Villanueva with kids namely Eduardo Jr, Emmanuel Joel, Eleanor, & Edelisha

Gilbert Teodoro

Gilberto Eduardo Gerardo "Gilbert"/"Gibô" Cojuangco Teodoro Jr. (born June 14, 1964) is the current Secretary of National Defense of the Philippines, having assumed the post in August 2007. From 1998 to 2007 he was a member of the House of Representatives, representing the First District of Tarlac province. In March 2009 he announced his intention to run for President of the Philippines in the May 2010 elections.

He is the only child of former Social Security System administrator Gilberto Teodoro, Sr. and former Batasang Pambansa member Mercedes Cojuangco-Teodoro. He is also the nephew of Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr., chairman of San Miguel Corporation.

He was elected Kabataang Barangay president in his hometown Tarlac in 1980 and concurrently became Central Luzon Kabataang Barangay president for five years. He was bona fide member of the Sanguniang Panlalawigan of Tarlac from 1980 to 1986.

He took his elementary and high school education on Xavier School in San Juan City. He furthered his education at the De La Salle University Manila, graduating with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Commerce Major in Financial Institutions in 1984. A strong sense of justice inspired him to pursue a Law degree at University of the Philippines, where he received the Dean’s Medal for Academic Excellence in 1989—the same year he topped the Philippine Bar exams. Subsequently, he passed the New York State Bar examinations in 1997. Gibo completed his masters degree at the Harvard Law School in Massachusetts and, just early this year, he was given the first honorary Doctor of Laws degree by West Negros University of Bacolod.

For seven years, Gibo practiced his profession at the Estelito Mendoza Law Firm until his congressional candidacy in 1998. By his own merits, Gibo won and became Tarlac’s First District Representative for three terms (nine years). While in congress, Gibo was a proponent of human rights, economic development, and progress.

Aside from being a licensed commercial pilot, he also holds rank as colonel in the Philippine Air Force Reserve Force.

Gibo, 45, is married to present Tarlac First district Representative Monica “Nikki” Prieto-Teodoro and they have one son named Jaime Gilberto.

As the 34th and youngest Department of National Defense Secretary, Gibo is headstrong on preserving the security of the country. As the concurrent Chairman of National Disaster Coordinating Council, he is proactive and involved in disaster management.

Manny Villar

Manuel 'Manny' Villar Jr. was born on December 13, 1949 in Tondo, Manila to Curita Bamba, a seafood dealer, and Manuel Montalban Villar, Sr., a government employee. He is the second of nine children. He started helping his mother sell seafood at the Divisoria market at a young age to support his siblings and himself for school. Villar finished his elementary schooling at the Holy Child Catholic School in 1962 and his secondary education at the Mapua Institute of Technology in 1966. He then entered the University of the Philippines and took up business administration. He worked as a fish and shrimp trader while he studied, putting in long hours to get fresh catch in the market. He finished his bachelor degree and went on to take up master’s in accountancy at the same university.

He started his professional career as an accountant and financial analyst before launching his own company in 1975. He later established the largest homebuilding company in the country, Camella & Palmera Homes.

Manny Villar became the housing industry leader, and the biggest homebuilder in Southeast Asia, having built more than 100,000 houses for the poor and middle class Filipino families.

In 1992, Villar was elected congressman of Las Piñas and Muntinlupa for three terms in a row. He has served as speaker of the House of Representatives, senator of the Republic, and in 2006 he assumed the Senate presidency. Previously, Villar held the position of Senate president pro-tempore and chairman of the Committees on Finance, Foreign Relations, Public Order, and Agriculture and Fisheries.

Manny Villar is the first post-war public official who became both speaker of the House of Representatives and Senate president.

Senator Manny Villar is a devoted husband to Congresswoman Cynthia A. Villar and a loving father to sons Paolo and Mark and daughter Camille.

John Carlos “J.C.” G. de los Reyes

Born February 14, 1970, married to Dunia Valenzuela with three children, Gabriel 10, Santiago 8 and Barbara 6.

He studied in Ateneo de Manila for his elementary education, and graduated in De la Salle for high school. He finished his B.A. in Theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, reputed to be one of the most orthodox Catholic Universities in America. Late 1993 he taught Philosophy in the then Center for Research and Communication, now the University of Asia and the Pacific and was under the tutelage of Fr. Joseph de Torre, a Spanish priest of the Holy Cross who wrote extensively on the social teachings of the Church. In 1995, he ran and was elected City Councilor of Olongapo.

*His long time friendship with Nandy Pacheco, founder of Ang Kapatiran, who he worked with as early as 1996 led him to be the only winner of the party from among 30 national and local bets in the 2007 election. His election was a political comeback after a nine-year hiatus from local politics.

*His political career has mostly centered on countering traditional politics by asserting the principle of subsidiarity and the prophetic politics of personal and social transformation. 

His passion and mission is to work toward genuine social justice.

NOYNOY AQUINO

"Corruption is the single biggest threat to our democracy. It deprives the poor of the social services they badly need. It destroys the very moral fiber of our society. No reform agenda will succeed wihout a determined program to eradicate corruption. It is the business, not just goverment, but of every Filipipo to fight corruption."

Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Cojuangco Aquino III (born February 8, 1960) is a Senator for the Philippines and a candidate for President of the Philippines in the 2010 election, intending to represent the Liberal Party. He is best known for being the only son of former President Corazon Aquino and Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. He is also the brother of TV host and actress Kris Aquino

A graduate of Ateneo de Manila University, he was seriously wounded by rebel soldiers in a failed coup attempt during his mother's presidency. In 1998, he was elected to the House of Representatives as Representative of the 2nd district of Tarlac province in the 11th Congress of the Philippines. In 2007, he was elected to the Senate of the 14th Congress of the Philippines.