98 House members graduating today

MANILA, Philippines - At least 98 members, or more than a third of the House of Representatives, are “graduating” at noon today.

Of the 98, 71 are on their third and last terms as district and party-list representatives.

They will have served their constituents for nine consecutive years by the time they exit at the stroke of 12.

Most of them will be replaced by their husbands, wives, sons, daughters, or other relatives.

The remaining 27 have either been forced by circumstances to no longer seek a continuation of their jobs as lawmakers, have chosen to stay out of Congress, have decided to seek other elective posts, or have lost to their opponents.

Of the lawmakers exiting from Congress, the most prominent are Speaker Prospero Nograles, his predecessor former speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. and Majority Leader Arthur Defensor.

Nograles, representative of Davao City’s first district, lost in the mayoral race to Vice Mayor Sara Duterte. His son Karlo won his congressional seat.

De Venecia, who represents Pangasinan’s fourth district, is taking a break from politics. His wife, popularly known as Manay Gina, has been elected as his successor.

On the other hand, Defensor, representative of Iloilo’s third district, won as governor of his province. His son Arthur Jr. is taking over his congressional seat.

Representatives Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. of Ilocos Norte and Teofisto Guingona III of Bukidnon are leaving the House to become members of the Senate.

Bongbong’s mother, former first lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos, has won in his district. Mrs. Marcos, outgoing President Arroyo and boxing icon Manny Pacquiao are among the prominent incoming members of the House.

Mrs. Arroyo is replacing her son Juan Miguel or Mikey as representative of Pampanga’s second district. Mikey is seeking to represent a group of security guards as a party-list nominee. However, he is facing disqualification before the Commission on Elections.

The other prominent House members who are finishing their nine years today are Teodoro Locsin Jr. of Makati, Mark Cojuangco of Pangasinan, Antonio Cuenco and Raul del Mar of Cebu City, Jack Duavit of Rizal, Eileen Ermita Buhain of Batangas, Eric Singson of Ilocos Sur, Cynthia Villar of Las Piñas, and Ronaldo Zamora of San Juan.

Cojuangco will be replaced by his wife Kimi. In the case of Buhain, his father, former executive secretary Eduardo Ermita, sought to replace her, but he lost to Tomas Apacible. Mayor JV Ejercito will take the seat of Zamora.

Aside from Defensor, several third-term members have won as governors of their provinces or mayors of their cities. Among them are Abraham Mitra of Palawan, Herminia Ramiro of Misamis Occidental, Emmylou Talino-Mendoza of Cotabato, and Del de Guzman of Marikina.

More than 15 incumbents have lost their seats. Teodulo Coquilla of Eastern Samar lost to former journalist and outgoing Gov. Ben Evardone, Raul Gonzales Jr. of Iloilo City to Jerry Trenas, Bienvenido Abante Jr. of Manila to Rosenda Ann Ocampo, Glenn Chong of Biliran to Rogelio Espina;

Matias Defensor of Quezon City to Jorge “Bolet” Banal, Didagen Dilangalen of Maguindanao to Bai Sandra Sema, Thomas Dumpit of La Union to Eufranio Eriguel;

Candido Pancrudo of Bukidnon to former agriculture undersecretary Jesus Paras, Bernardo Piñol of North Cotabato to contractor Nancy Catamco, Cecilia Seares Luna of Abra to Maria Jocelyn Bernos, and Liwayway Vinzons-Chato of Camarines Norte to Elmer Panotes.

It was a double whammy for Gonzalez and Dumpit. Gonzalez’s father Raul Sr., Mrs. Arroyo’s former justice secretary, lost in the mayoral race in Iloilo City, while Dumpit’s father Tomas, a retired general, was defeated in the gubernatorial contest in La Union.

Antipolo Rep. Angelito Gatlabayan tried to reclaim the city’s mayoral post but lost to Danilo Leyble.

Quezon City Rep. Mary Ann Susano ran for mayor but lost to incoming Mayor Herbert Bautista. Outgoing Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. is reclaiming his seat as representative of the city’s fourth district. He is the Liberal Party’s candidate for speaker.

Others who are on their first or second term as House members won local positions. Laarni Cayetano, wife of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, won as Taguig City mayor, beating former Supreme Court justice Dante Tinga.

Zamboanga del Sur’s Antonio Cerilles and governor-wife Aurora will switch jobs, as will Paul Daza of Northern Samar and governor-father Raul and Sharee Ann Tan of Western Samar and governor-mother Milagros.

Thus, Samar island holds the distinction of sending all its three governors – Evardone, Daza and Tan – to the incoming Congress.

Representatives Satur Ocampo of the party-list group Bayan Muna, Liza Maza of Gabriela and Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel of Akbayan ran for senator but were not as lucky as House colleagues Bongbong Marcos and Guingona.

Unlike other politicians who hardly fade away from the political scene, Representatives Edno Joson of Nueva Ecija’s first district and Proceso Alcala of Quezon’s second district have chosen to discontinue their political careers.

“I am now bored with and tired of my job here,” Joson, who is just on his first term and could seek two more terms if he chose to, told The STAR in a recent interview.

“Nothing has changed since my last membership in this chamber 15 years ago. Like before, most members are still more preoccupied with pork barrel funds than helping our people lift themselves from poverty. Congress has failed to make a difference in the lives of our people,” he said.

The Josons, who have dominated Nueva Ecija politics for years, had asked Edno to run for governor but he refused.

He said he would continue helping his constituents through some non-government organizations.

Like Joson, Alcala has chosen to retire from politics early. He is just on his second term and is qualified for a third and last term. He has recently been drafted into the Aquino Cabinet as agriculture secretary.

“I want to show to our people that you can retire while at the peak of your political career, that there is life after politics,” he said. His son Irvin has won his congressional seat.

Alcala has helped farmers in the Mt. Banahaw area transform their farmlands into profitable vegetable plantations. His constituents are now growing high-value crops and are even producing strawberries, which before could be grown only in Benguet because of the cool climate.

Through his personal and pork barrel funds, he has also built vegetable trading centers in his district, where Metro Manila traders source their supply.

For Rep. Rodolfo “Rodito” Albano III of Isabela’s first district, it was a case of the son giving way to the father. Rodolfo Sr., a former congressman who retired from the Energy Regulatory Commission a few months ago, won his son’s congressional seat.

The younger Albano, who is on his second term like Alcala, has been elected vice governor of his province. His wife Mylene is the incoming representative of Davao City’s second district.

Rep. Salvacion Ponce Enrile of Cagayan’s first district gave way to her husband Jack, a former three-term congressman, who has reclaimed his seat.

Jack’s father, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, has won a new six-year term.

Still another first-term congresswoman, Nikki Prieto Teodoro of Tarlac, had chosen to help her husband, former Defense secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr., in his unsuccessful quest for the presidency.

Henry Cojuangco, brother of billionaire businessman Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., has won Rep. Teodoro’s seat.