Senator Kiko Pangilinan

Senator Kiko Pangilinan proved his mettle by championing the cause of the judiciary. He belongs to a breed of new legislators who possess vibrancy in spirit, dedication to work, and passion for the voiceless segments of Philippine society.

He is acknowledged as one of the most hardworking and most productive senators in the country today. He filed the most number of committee reports during the 12th Congress. In fact, one-third of the total number of committee reports was chalked by Kiko. Such feat and exemplary performance earned the respect and trust of his colleagues in the Senate that they elected him majority leader of the 12th Congress and is the youngest to become Senate majority leader since 1937.

After being re-elected in last 2007 elections as an independent candidate, Kiko continued to enjoy the support and trust of his colleagues that they re-elected him as Senate Majority Leader of the 14th Congress.

Prior to this, Kiko served as Chairman of the Senate Committees on Justice and Human Rights, Housing and Urban Planning, Education, and the Ethics and Public Accountability.

EARLY BEGINNINGS

Kiko was a student-activist during his college years. He was president of the UP Student Council and the first UP Board of Regent student-member with voting power. He earned his Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts in English at the University of the Philippines. He also taught Law at the Ateneo de Manila University for 7 years. In 1997, Kiko pursued his Masters in Public Administration at the Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

He is also a staunch human rights advocate. His crusade started during the early years of his law profession when he worked as a collaborating lawyer with the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) and handled pro-bono cases, up to the time he joined the pool of top-notch broadcast journalists of the country in ABS-CBN. For almost a decade, Kiko was also a well-respected broadcast journalist.

GOOD GOVERNANCE

Presently, Sen. Kiko is the Chairman of the Liberal Party-Philippines – the longest running political party in the country with 60 years of history and tradition. He believes that strengthening the country’s “partyness” in government will usher the country along with all its political institutions towards a more competitive economy and further promote responsible and responsive lawmaking.

ADVOCATING JUSTICE

He is also the principal author and sponsor of the Judiciary Compensation and Modernization Act, which doubled the pay and other benefits of judges and justices thereby addressing the issue of huge vacancy rate in many courts. Today, there has been an unprecedented rise of as much as 1000 to 1500 per cent increase in applications to judgeship positions in many areas nationwide.

He is also author of the law which doubled the pay of the National Prosecution Office and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Law. He also authored the law which amended the Balik-Turo Program thereby addressing the problem of shortage of teachers.

He is also credited for the passage of laws which created new local courts in San Pablo City, (RA 9252), Tagbilaran City (RA 9309), Eastern Samar Province (RA 9307) and Roxas City (RA 9274).

Kiko was also actively involved in the passage of The Citizenship Retention Act of 2003, The Filipino Overseas Absentee-Voting Act and the Anti-Piracy Law.

Kiko’s most recent contribution to Philippine legislation is the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, which addresses the plight of thousands of children incarcerated along with adult criminals. The said law institutes a comprehensive juvenile justice system that places children in conflict with the law under diversion programs instead of placing them behind bars.

TAKING CARE OF OUR COUNTRY’S FUTURE

In May 2007, Sen. Kiko was reelected with a new mandate and ranked among the top 5. He is the first incumbent senator to run and win as independent candidate. He is indeed a public servant that proved that principles can win over popularity and patronage.

KUMILOS KASAMA NI KIKO

Despite the hectic schedule, Sen. Kiko still manages to take part in civic-oriented organizations, and continues to visit various project sites and touch base with his constituents. Kiko is passionate about strengthening the Filipino family, empowering the youth, revitalizing the judicial system, promoting respect for human rights and working for an accountable and responsive government. From student leader to senator, his vision of a new leadership has not wavered and he continues to encourage Filipinos to be active, to take a stand and participate, and to inspire them, so that they too can lead and work towards a better Philippines.