Francis Pangilinan
Francis Pancratius "Kiko" Nepomuceno Pangilinan (; born August 24, 1963) is a Filipino lawyer, politician, and farm owner who has been serving as a senator of the Philippines since 2016, and previously from 2001 to 2013. A graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Law and Harvard Kennedy School, Pangilinan served as councilor of Quezon City from 1988 to 1992, as Senate majority floor leader from 2004 to 2008, and as the presidential assistant for food security and agricultural modernization to President Benigno Aquino III from 2014 to 2015. Pangilinan is running for vice president of the  Philippines in the 2022 election under the Liberal Party as the running mate of incumbent vice president Leni Robredo. Early life and education. Francis Pancratius Nepomuceno Pangilinan was born on August 24, 1963, in Manila to Donato Tongol Pangilinan, Jr., an engineer and entrepreneur from Pampanga, and Emma Monasterial Nepomuceno, a public school teacher from Nueva Ecija and Marinduque. He has eight siblings. Pangilinan completed his elementary and secondary education at La Salle Green Hills in 1977 and 1981, respectively. He then took a Bachelor of Arts in English, Major in Comparative Literature degree at the University of the Philippines  (UP) Diliman, and was a varsity athlete for the UP Men's Volleyball Team. As an undergraduate, Pangilinan was elected as chairperson of the UP Diliman University Student Council in 1986, and served as a student regent of the UP Board of Regents in 1987. He was a member of Upsilon Sigma Phi while in attendance at the university, where he would subsequently obtain his Bachelor of Laws degree from the UP College of Law. In 1997, Pangilinan moved to Boston, Massachusetts to pursue a Master of Public Administration degree at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, where he  graduated with a general average of A-. Political career. Quezon City. In 1988, Pangilinan was elected as the youngest councilor of Quezon City from the 4th district. During his stint as councilor, he became the founding president of the National Movement of Young Legislators. In 1992, he unsuccessfully ran in the congressional elections in Quezon City, losing to Feliciano Belmonte Jr. Senate. Pangilinan was elected to the senate in 2001 and was re-elected six years thereafter. In 2002, he and then-National Youth Commission (NYC) chairman Bam Aquino established the Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations (TAYO) Awards, which recognizes the  contributions of youth organizations in public service and nation-building. He was first elected as senate majority leader in 2004. On July 23, 2007, Jinggoy Estrada was voted Senate president pro tempore, while Pangilinan became the majority leader following the assumption of Manuel Villar to the chamber's leadership of the 14th Congress. In 2008, Pangilinan created the Judicial Executive Legislative Advisory and Consultative Council, first proposed on the July 16–17, 2007 Manila Hotel summit on extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances in the Philippines. He chaired the Senate Committee on Agriculture in 2010, during which he authored the Organic Agriculture  Act of 2010, which aimed to further promote the development of organic agricultural practices and protect indigenous organic farmers in the country. Aquino cabinet. In May 2014, Pangilinan was appointed as the presidential assistant for food security and agricultural modernization, a cabinet-level position under the Office of the President of the Philippines, by President Benigno Aquino III. As OPAFSAM head, he pushed for the creation of the coco levy trust fund for coconut farmers, in an attempt to rectify the ills created by the Coco Levy Fund scam involving former president Ferdinand Marcos and his cronies who collected taxes  from farmers purportedly to develop the industry. In September 2015, Pangilinan announced his resignation from the post to run for senator in 2016. Return to the Senate. Pangilinan won a third term in the 2016 Philippine Senate election, placing 8th overall. In October 2016, he was appointed interim Liberal Party president, succeeding former Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya. His appointment became permanent in August 2017. In May 2019, Pangilinan announced his resignation as Liberal Party president following the failure of Otso Diretso to win a single seat in the 2019 senatorial election. His resignation was rejected by Liberal  Party chairperson Leni Robredo. Originally a part of the majority, Pangilinan became part of the minority bloc in the Senate after the 2019 election, together with Senators Franklin Drilon, Risa Hontiveros, Leila de Lima, Bam Aquino and Antonio Trillanes. He principally authored the "Sagip Saka" Act signed on April 17, 2019. The bill aims to boost incomes for both fisherfolk and farmers through entrepreneurship by mandating government agencies to buy produce directly from them, eliminating middlemen that raise food prices. Pangilinan was also the principal author of Republic Act 11478, which would increase the bed capacity of the Bicol Medical  Center from 500 beds to 1,000 beds. This also included upgrading its service facilities and professional health care services and authorizing the increase of its medical workforce complement. As a member of the minority, Pangilinan has been critical of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, including the War on Drugs with its "iron-fist" approach. In 2020, Pangilinan authored the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act, which seeks to create a trust fund for coconut farmers to be used for several purposes such as management, utilization, and reconstitution for the purposes of the Philippine Coconut Authority Board. He had  also co-authored laws pertaining to education, such as the GMRC and Values Education Act, institutionalizing values education in the K-12 curriculum, and the Alternative Learning System Act, which institutionalizes the alternative learning system in basic education for out-of-school children. Pangilinan co-authored the COVID Vaccination Program Act of 2021, which aims to expedite the procurement and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines across the country. 2022 vice presidential campaign. On October 8, 2021, Pangilinan filed his certificate of candidacy to run as vice president, alongside presidential candidate Leni Robredo, in the 2022 Philippine presidential election. Unlike Robredo who is  running as an independent candidate, Pangilinan is running as the candidate of the Liberal Party. He initially chose to seek reelection as senator. One of his opponents in the vice-presidential election is his uncle-by-marriage and colleague, Senate President Tito Sotto (the husband of his aunt-in-law Helen Gamboa), who is running alongside Senator Panfilo Lacson. Pangilinan has stated that the conflictive situation was "painful" for his family. Personal life. Pangilinan has been married to actress and television personality Sharon Cuneta since April 28, 1996. The couple have two daughters, one of whom is singer-songwriter Kakie , and one adopted son. He is also the stepfather of actress and singer KC Concepcion, Cuneta's daughter from a previous marriage, whom Pangilinan legally adopted. Pangilinan and Cuneta own the Sweet Spring Country Farm, an all-organic farm in Alfonso, Cavite.