Wikipedia

Marcelino Libanan

Marcelino Libanan (born September 20, 1963), known as Nonoy, is a Filipino politician who is currently the House Minority Leader of the Philippines. He is formerly the Vice Governor of Eastern Samar and the Congressman for Eastern Samar,[1] being awarded a standing ovation from the Public Attorney's Office of the Philippines,[1] he went on to be a party-list representative for the 4Ps Party-list in 2022, later being elected as the House Minority Leader of the Philippines.[2]

The Honorable
Marcelino Libanan
Official portrait, 2022
House Minority Leader
Incumbent
Assumed office
July 25, 2022
Preceded byJoseph Stephen Paduano
Member of the Philippine House of Representatives for the 4Ps Party-list
Incumbent
Assumed office
June 30, 2022
Serving with Jonathan Clement Abalos II
Preceded byConstituency established
Member of the Philippine House of Representatives from Eastern Samar's at-large congressional district
In office
June 30, 1998 – April 18, 2007
Preceded byJose Tan Ramirez
Succeeded byTeodulo M. Coquilla
Vice Governor of Eastern Samar
In office
June 30, 1992 – June 30, 1995
Personal details
Born (1963-09-20) September 20, 1963 (age 61)
Taft, Eastern Samar, Philippines
Political party4Ps (2022-present)
Other political
affiliations		LAMMP (1998-2001)
NPC (2001-2004)
Lakas-CMD (2004-2007)
ProfessionPolitician

Background and personal life

edit

Marcelino 'Nonoy' Libanan was born in Taft, Eastern Samar.[3] He was a seminarian at the Seminario de Hesus Nazareno.[4] He studied in Divine Word College.[3] Libanan confirmed his relationship with Katipunero Valentín Díaz, stating that his great-grandmother, Basilia Diaz, was the daughter of Valentin Diaz, after an announcement by Secretary Gilbert Teodoro.[5] Libanan is married to Elda Libanan, a local politician in Eastern Samar who ran for congresswoman in the Eastern Samar lone district under Lakas-CMD in the 2007 Philippine general election, eventually losing.[6][7]

Political career

edit

Congressman

edit

Marcelino Libanan was elected as the Vice Governor of Eastern Samar from 1992 to 1995.[8] During the 1995 Philippine general election, Libanan ran as a congressman for Eastern Samar's at-large congressional district, eventually losing against Jose Tan Ramirez. Libanan later filed an election protest, though the petition was dismissed.[9]

In 1998, he was the Congressman for Eastern Samar's at-large congressional district for three terms, varying with the parties Laban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino (LAMMP), Lakas-CMD,[10] and Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC). During his tenure as Congressman, he was awarded a standing ovation from the Public Attorney's Office of the Philippines after signing a law giving special allowance to PAO officials.[1] During his tenure as congressman, he signed a bill to return the Balangiga bells to Eastern Samar.[11] He resigned early to be the Bureau of Immigration Commissioner on April 18, 2007.[12]

House Minority Leader

edit

In 2022, he became the House Minority Leader of the Philippines with the political party 4Ps.[2][13] During his term, Libanan expressed solidarity with president Bongbong Marcos[14] and UniTeam.[15] On the other hand, Libanan strictly opposed the tenure of Rodrigo Duterte and Ronald dela Rosa, criticizing their actions.[4] Libanan also opposed Sara Duterte after skipping a debate on the planned P2.037 billion Office of the Vice President budget.[16]

He filed a bill to expand the languages of the national Department of Education.[17] He called to create a panel to investigate drug war killings, similar to the Agrava Fact-Finding Board.[18] Following the statement, he also urged protection for the Quad Committee witnesses, stating that witnesses and their family members are now “extremely vulnerable to potential reprisals”.[19] Marcelino Libanan urged the Congress to make a patient information system, stating that the system “would go a long way in improving health outcomes”.[20]

Libanan also planned the creation of a Samar Island Region, with the creation of House Bill 10727. If accepted, the region would be the 19th region in the Philippines.[21] Locally, Libanan created a task force to protect the island of Homonhon, where Ferdinand Magellan first landed in the Philippines.[22]

Legislative portfolio

edit

Libanan is the principal author of the House version of the following laws:[23]

Republic Act

(House Bill)

Short title Long title Source
R.A. 9312

(HB 5951)

Anti-Violence Against Women

and Their Children Act of 2004

An Act Defining Violence Against Women and Their Children,

Providing Protective Measures for Victims, Prescribing Penalties Therefore, and for Other Purposes

[24]
R.A. 9394

(HB 5990)

Charter of the City of Borongan An Act Converting the City of Borongan in the Province of Eastern Samar into a Component City to be Known as the City of Borongan [25]

Future careers

edit

After his term, Libanan planned to return to Eastern Samar's congressional district. He still plans to complete his term, stating: "Unless the party-list decides to remove me from the party at any point, which they can do through a resolution, I will complete my term as the 4Ps Representative".[26] A total of 58 delegates visited Martin Romualdez's house to request the administration to support the Libanan-Evardone team up.[27][28] He eventually dropped the bid after a meeting with Maria Fe Abunda, where they decided she would run unopposed,[29][30] though Libanan made some requests, which include that Abunda should not field candidates which oppose the bid of Libanan-allied mayors. Another one is that Abunda should support projects created by Libanan.[31]

Controversies

edit

In 1991, Libanan along with other Samar politicians were accused of "assuming bad faith" against politician Agustin Docena, a replacement of dead member Luis Capito, which led to suspension of their jobs. Libanan later started a petition to reinstate his job, which was dismissed.[32] In 2009, Libanan was involved in controversy following alleged fund misuse in the Bureau of Immigration; no charges were pressed against him.[3]

In July 2017, Marcelino Libanan and former Eastern Samar Governor Clotilde Salazar was accused by The Field Investigation Office (FIO) of the Office of the Ombudsman for graft by using fertilizer funds, but the indicators found no graft offense.[33][34] The graft offense was found after they were said to be involved in buying 2,164 bags of fertilizer worth P3.25 million from Akame Marketing International in 2004. These claims were used to strengthen other claims placing 4Ps as a fake party list.[35] In July 2022, Representative Edcel Lagman criticized the practices of Libanan and criticized the process of selecting the House Minority Leader.[36]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "What 15-year-old law did Libanan get feted for?". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
  2. ^ a b "4Ps Lawmaker is now House Minority Leader". The Manila Times.
  3. ^ a b c "Marcelino Libanan". Rappler. 2024-08-30. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  4. ^ a b "Libanan throws Bible at Dela Rosa: 'Be honest to God'". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  5. ^ "House Minority Leader Libanan is a Katipunero's great, great grandson, Teodoro says in budget hearing". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
  6. ^ Porcalla, Delon. "Neophyte Eastern Samar lawmaker faces citizenship problems". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  7. ^ "Administration bets lead in Region 8 congressional races – Biliran Blogs". 2007-05-16. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  8. ^ Factbook Philippines. FactsPhil. 1994. ISBN 978-971-8931-00-4.
  9. ^ "Marcelino C. Libanan, Petitioner, v. House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal and Jose T. Ramirez". chanrobles.com. 1997-12-27. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  10. ^ White, Lynn T. (2009). Political Booms: Local Money and Power in Taiwan, East China, Thailand, and the Philippines. World Scientific. ISBN 978-981-283-681-6.
  11. ^ Delmendo, Sharon (2005). The Star-entangled Banner: One Hundred Years of America in the Philippines. UP Press. ISBN 978-971-542-484-4.
  12. ^ "Returning lawmaker Libanan named House Minority Leader".
  13. ^ "4Ps lawmaker Libanan is new House Minority Leader".
  14. ^ Gabieta, Joey (2024-06-25). "Libanan urges Filipinos to unite amid escalating PH-China tension". Inquirer. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  15. ^ Guda, Kenneth Roland (2022-02-23). "Politicians, their spouses, siblings and children pack the party-list race". PCIJ.org. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  16. ^ "Libanan on VP Duterte's House plenary no-show: 'Maganda dapat ang paliwanag mo'". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  17. ^ "Libanan wants Pinoy students to be like Rizal, speak more foreign languages". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  18. ^ "Independent panel sought to probe drug war killings". www.pna.gov.ph. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  19. ^ Standard, Manila (2024-10-15). "Libanan urges protection for Quad Comm witnesses". Manila Standard. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  20. ^ "Libanan seeks creation of patient information sharing system to improve healthcare". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  21. ^ Recuerdo, Elmer (2024-08-12). "New Samar Island region sought". Daily Tribune. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  22. ^ "#SaveHomonhon : Libanan upbeat over DENR task force to protect historic island". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  23. ^ "Libanan, Marcelino C." Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  24. ^ "Republic Act No. 9262". lawphil.net. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  25. ^ "Republic Act No. 9394". lawphil.net. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  26. ^ Master, Web (2024-08-19). "Rep. Libanan to run as Eastern Samar congressman without leaving the 4Ps party-list group". Leyte Samar Daily News. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  27. ^ "Libanan's 2025 poll bid gets huge boost". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  28. ^ "Eastern Samar power duo: Ben Evardone, Nonoy Libanan team up for 2025 local polls". politiko.com.ph. 2024-08-08. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  29. ^ G, Herbie (2024-10-04). "Nonoy Libanan drops bid for Eastern Samar congressional seat". Rappler. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  30. ^ "Party-list na lang uli: Libanan drops bid for Eastern Samar congressman". 2024-10-04. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  31. ^ Gabieta, Joey A.; jvicente (2024-10-02). "4Ps party-list solon drops bid for E. Samar House seat; seeks reelection". Inquirer.net. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  32. ^ "Marcelino C. Libanan vs. Sandiganbayan, et al". source.gosupra.com. Retrieved 2024-10-23.
  33. ^ "Former Eastern Samar solon faces Graft Raps".
  34. ^ "Sandigan affirms ruling vs 2 former Eastern Samar officials". The Philippine STAR.
  35. ^ Valmonte, Kaycee. "Partylist Watch backs DSWD's call to nullify 4Ps party-list's SEC registration". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  36. ^ "'Co-opted?': Lagman blasts Libanan-led House minority". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
Retrieved from "https://en.wiki.x.io/w/index.php?title=Marcelino_Libanan&oldid=1253091218"