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BORN on August 24, 1963 to Donato Pangilinan, an engineer and
entrepreneur
from Pampanga, and Emma Nepomuceno,
a public school teacher from Nueva
Ecija
and Marinduque, Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan is the fifth child
in a brood
of
nine. His siblings are Maricel Arenas, Angeli Valenciano, Nenette
Zipperich,
Joseph, Anthony,
Felichi Buizon, John Raymund and Donna Simpao. He is a
faithful husband to Sharon Cuneta and a dedicated father to Ma.
Kristina
Cassandra (KC) and Simone Francesca Emmanuelle (Frankie). He is one of
the
new distinguished senators
of the 12th Congress. Senator Francis
Nepomuceno
Pangilinan, or Kiko as he is widely known, first made his mark in
the
hearts
of the Filipinos as the young lawyer who gave free legal assistance
on-air
and closely monitored
case progress through the popular television
program
“Hoy Gising!” over ABS-CBN where he was co-anchor
and segment host.
Kiko
also anchored radio programs, including “Batas” and “Relos Report with
Atty.
Kiko” over DZMM, programs aimed at making the country’s legal court
system
more understandable to
the masses by increasing their understanding of
their
rights and duties under the law. In 1997, Kiko left the country
for
Boston,
U.S.A. along with his wife and daughter to pursue his Master’s in
Public
Administration
at the Harvard Univeristy’s Kennedy School of Government
where he graduated with a general average of A-. After
an 18-month
hiatus
from local broadcast media, Kiko returned and proved to be in his
element,
conceptualizing
and them hosting “Barangay Dos”, a service-oriented
television program aired over ABS-CBN, dedicated to finding
swift
solutions
to the everyday problems of common folk. The program established Kiko
as an
intelligent, articulate,
and involved lawyer and media personality
working
to hasten the delivery of justice at the barangay level. Kiko As
A
Student
Leader It was during his college years at the University of the
Philippines
when Kiko’s sense
of nationalism deepened. A summer job working for his
father in the hinterlands of Antique brought him face to face with
the
harsh
realities or poverty and the impotence of government presence and basic
services in the rural areas.
Kiko was moved to get more deeply involved
as
an agent of chage. He served as chairman of the University of the
Philippines
Student Council in 1986 and was the first Student Regent of
the
UP Board of Regents in 1987. He was elected Philippine
representative
to the
Committee on Youth Cooperation of the Association of South East Asian
Nations (ASEAN). Every
inch an activist, Kiko led the youth sentiments
of
the people and castigate abusive and unscrupulous officials. Kiko
As A
Lawyer Early in his career as a lawyer, Kiko Pangilinan demonstrated
his
commitment to human rights and the
public accountability of government
officials, handling even the most controversial of cases pro-bono as
collaborating
lawyer of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG). He
courageously took on cases involving the high and mighty, with an
eye
to
justice without fear or favor. He is now on leave as senior law partner
of
Franco Pangilinan Tolentino
Ringler & Santo Law Offices based in
Ortigas
Center. He earned his Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts in English
at
the University of the Philippines. For seven years, he was an exacting
teacher at the Ateneo de Manila, lecturing
on political law, labor law,
and
law on sales, and agency and credit transactions. He also served as a
legal
analyst
of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation and Vice-Chairman of the
National Committee on Legal Aid of the Integrated Bar of
the
Philippines.
Kiko As A Public Servant Kiko believes in active citizenship. That is
why
his call is “Kumilos
kasama si Kiko.” Because his involvement in civic
affairs began even as a student in high school, he has over 21
years of
civic and public service experience. He was the youngest elected city
councilor of the Quezon City Council
in 1991-1992. During his stint as
QC
councilor, Kiko saw the need to unite and develop young legislators
committed
to strong, principled leadership among young legislators. He
thus
founded and established the National Movement of
Young Legislators
(NMYL)
where he became founding president. Kiko remained an active organizer
of
multi-sectoral
groups fighting for the return of decency, competence,
and
accountability to national leadership. As one of the convenors
of the
Kongreso ng Mamamayang Pilipino (KOMPIL) II, Kiko played a major role
in the
opposition movement that culminated
in EDSA DOS and saw the downfall of
the
morally corrupt and inept Estrada presidency. Kiko As A Husband and A
Father
Undoubtedly, the part of his life most exposed to public scrutiny has
been
his marriage to TV and Moviedom’s
one and only Mega Star, Ms. Sharon
Cuneta,
thus the moniker Mega Lawyer and now, Mega Senator. Kiko has two
daughters,
Ma. Kristina Cassandra (KC) and Simone Francesca Emmanuelle (Frankie).
Kiko
is a loving and supportive husband
and father and his family is clearly
a
source of joy and strength to him. Kiko As A Senator At 38, Kiko
Pangilinan
is among the 13 new senators of the 12th Congress. Elected by a mandate
of
11 million votes, he is all too aware
of the gravity of the task before
him,
the hope and faith that these votes represent. Kiko’s conviction: only
principled servant-leadership and active citizenship and involvement
can
catalyze the onset of transparency, public
accountability and good
governance. Kiko’s end in view: poverty alleviation through education,
justice, and
opportunity. As Kiko has often said, “Hindi madaling
lumikha ng
bagong bayan, nguni’t kung bawa’t
isa sa atin ay kikilos, isasantabi
muna
ang sarili, maipupunyagi rin natin and Pilipinas na hanggang ngayon ay
pangarap
lamang -- Pilipinas na may dangal, may puso, at may katarungan
para
sa nakararami, Pilipinas na aaruga at magbibigay-pagasa
sa mga simpleng
pangarap ng mga naghihikahos nating mamamayan.”
Vicente Y. Sotto Close Window
Senator Vicente
Sotto was born in Cebu City on April 18, 1877 to
Marcelino
Sotto and Pascuala Yap.
He finished his secondary
education at the Colegio de San Carlos in
Cebu
City. He obtained the degree of Bachelor of Laws and Judicial Science
and
passed the bar examinations in 1907.
In 1902, Senator Sotto entered politics when he ran for the municipal
councilorship of Cebu and won. In 1907, he was elected mayor despite
his
absence during the election owing to
his involvement in a court battle
caused by a kidnapping suit lodge against him by his opponent, and was
forced to
stay in Hongkong. After seven years in the Crown Colony,
Senator
Sotto decided to return to the country in 1914.
In
1922, he was elected representative of the second district of Cebu
until
1925. On November 1946, he ran for Senator
and won and served as
Chairman of
the Senate Committee on Finance until 1950.
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