# Stella Quimbo

Stella Luz Alabastro-Quimbo (born Stella Luz Fagela Alabastro; November 23, 1969) is a Filipino politician and academic who has served as the representative for Marikina's second district since 2019. She was a member of the Liberal Party until 2024 when she transferred to Lakas–CMD. She previously served as a commissioner of the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) from 2016 until her resignation prior to her congressional run.
Educated at the University of the Philippines Diliman, Quimbo began her academic career as a professor at her alma mater before becoming a full professor at the Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands from 2011 to 2013. She entered government in 2016 after President Benigno Aquino III appointed her to serve as a commissioner of the PCC. In 2019, she was elected to succeed her husband, Miro Quimbo, as the representative for Marikina's second district as a member of the Liberal Party. During her tenure as representative, Quimbo was criticized for supporting the Maharlika Wealth Fund and defending the confidential funds of vice president Sara Duterte.
Quimbo is a candidate for mayor in the 2025 Marikina local elections, with former mayor Del de Guzman as her running mate.

## Early life and education

Quimbo was born on November 23, 1969, to food scientist Estrella Alabastro, who would serve as dean of the College of Home Economics at the University of the Philippines Diliman and as a secretary of science and technology under the Arroyo administration. She studied at the UP Diliman and obtained her Bachelor of Science in Business Economics summa cum laude and University Valedictorian in 1991, Master of Arts in Economics in 1993, and Doctor of Philosophy in Economics in 2000. The following year, she would do her post-doctorate work at Brown University. In 2018, she obtained a Masters Degree in Competition Law from the King's College London.

## Academic career

Quimbo worked as a professor and a department chairperson at the University of the Philippines School of Economics. From 2011 to 2013, Quimbo served in the rank of full professor into the Prince Clause Professorial Chair at the Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands. She was the first Southeast Asian to hold the position. Quimbo's research portfolio focuses on the field of health economics, industrial organization, microeconomics, education, poverty, and public policy. For her research studies into health economics, a then-new field of research in the country, the National Academy of Science and Technology awarded her the Outstanding Young Scientist (OYS) award in 2009.

## Philippine Competition Commission (2016–2019)

In 2016, President Benigno Aquino III appointed Quimbo as a commissioner of the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC). She would serve in that role from 2016 until her resignation in 2019 to run for a seat in the House of Representatives.

## House of Representatives (2019–present)
### Elections

On November 30, 2018, Quimbo filed to run for representative in Marikina's second congressional district under the Liberal Party to succeed her husband, Miro Quimbo, who had held the seat since 2010. In the May 9, 2019, election, Quimbo easily won the seat, defeating former representative Eugene de Vera and independent Mauro Arce.
Following the election, de Vera contested Quimbo's eligibility for the position in a quo warranto petition before the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET), citing the Philippine Competition Act, which prohibited former commissioners of the PCC to run for public office during their tenure and the two-year period following the end of their tenure. Beng Sardillo, Quimbo's legal counsel, derided the petition as self-serving and erroneous.
In 2022, Quimbo was reelected to a second term, defeating her closest opponent, former mayor Del de Guzman.

### Tenure

In the 18th Congress, Quimbo was a member of a technical working group tasked to study the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN, the largest broadcaster in the Philippines. She was the lone dissenter against the decision of two other members, representatives Pablo John Garcia and Xavier Jesus Romuald, to disapprove the application of ABS-CBN for another franchise.
In the 19th Congress, Quimbo serves as a vice chairperson of the Committee on Appropriations. As a congresswoman, she has been described as having a strict mentality and a volatile office environment.
In September 2023, Quimbo's support of the Maharlika Wealth Fund and defense of Vice President Sara Duterte's use of confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) for her office and the Department of Education resulted in calls to sanction Quimbo as a member of the Liberal Party. In response, party president Edcel Lagman confirmed that Quimbo will not receive sanctions for her positions, emphasizing the party's tradition of recognizing the "freedom of expression and dissent" of its members.
In August 2024, Quimbo was embroiled in a dispute with Duterte over the passage of funds for the Office of the Vice President. The same month, Quimbo left the Liberal Party and took oath as a member of Lakas–CMD.
In October 2024, Quimbo and Barangay Health Wellness Partylist Representative Nica Co jointly filed an ethics complaint against AGRI Party-list Representative Wilbert T. Lee, anchored on alleged threats and acts of aggression during the 2025 budget hearing with the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges.
On January 13, 2025, Quimbo was appointed as acting chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations after Representative Elizaldy Co stepped down from the post due to health concerns.
On February 6, Quimbo signed the impeachment complaint to impeach vice president Sara Duterte, becoming one of the 95 Lakas–CMD members who voted to impeach Duterte.

## 2025 Marikina mayoral campaign

Prior to the 2024 State of the Nation Address on July 22, 2024, Miro confirmed that Quimbo will run for mayor of Marikina in the 2025 local elections and thus will not seek another term as representative.

## Personal life

Quimbo married lawyer and former representative Miro Quimbo in August 1998; they have four children. Since her marriage, Quimbo has resided in Concepcion Dos, Marikina, although in her 2010s resume she lists Quezon City as her place of residence.