Erin Tañada

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In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Reyes and the surname or paternal family name is Tañada.
Lorenzo Tañada III
Lorenzo "Erin" Reyes Tañada III (cropped).jpg
Tañada in 2018
Deputy Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives for Luzon
In office
July 26, 2010 – June 30, 2013
PresidentBenigno Aquino III
Preceded byAmelita Villarosa
Succeeded byRoberto Puno
Member of the Philippine House of Representatives from Quezon's 4th District
In office
June 30, 2004 – June 30, 2013
Preceded byGeorgilu Yumul-Hermida
Succeeded byAngelina DL. Tan
Personal details
Born
Lorenzo Reyes Tañada III

(1963-08-16) August 16, 1963 (age 58)
Manila, Philippines
NationalityFilipino
Political partyLiberal (1991–present)
Spouse(s)
  • Ria Nuñez
  • Julie B. Tañada (with 2 children, Mito Tañada and Michi Tañada)
Relations
  • Vicente Tañada (great grandfather)
  • Lorenzo Tañada (grandfather)
  • Lorenzo Tañada, Jr. (uncle) (deceased)
  • Wigberto Jr. (brother), Ma. Teresa (sister), Cristina (sister)
ChildrenMito Tañada and Michi Tañada (with Julie B. Tañada)
Parent(s)
Alma materAteneo de Manila University Manuel L. Quezon University
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionLawyer
Websitewww.erintanada.com

Lorenzo "Erin" Reyes Tañada III (Tagalog: [tɐˈɲada], born August 16, 1963) is a Filipino lawyer, broadcaster, and human rights and labor rights advocate who has served as a Deputy Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives.[1] A member of the Liberal Party, he was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2004, as the representative of the 4th District of Quezon Province.

He is particularly known for being the author of "Anti-Torture Act of 2009" (Republic Act No. 9749), the "Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity" (Republic Act No. 9851), and the "Renewable Energy Act of 2008" (RA 9513) as well as for his strong advocacy of the Freedom of Information Bill.[1]

He formerly served as the manager for news and public affairs of UNTV-37 and host for several programs of the said station.

Early life and career[]

Erin, as he is fondly called by friends, represents the third generation of Tañadas in the field of politics. He is the grandson of the "grand old man of Philippine politics" – the late Senator Lorenzo M. Tañada who is known for his fiery speeches, great oratorical and debating skills and fearless stand against the dictatorship of late President Ferdinand Marcos; and the son of former Senator Wigberto E. Tañada, the Senator who led the fight to rid the country of the U.S. military bases in Clark and Subic.[2] He is the eldest among the four children of Wigberto and Nanay Zeny, along with Toby, Marites and Trina.

His exposure to public service brought him to the parliament of the streets during the latter part of the Martial Law years. Tañada was a college student at Ateneo de Manila University where he actively updated his fellow students on political developments. When former Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. was assassinated in 1983, he joined the university's Task Force Ninoy, a group supporting the advocacies of Ninoy Aquino. He finished his legal studies at the Manuel L. Quezon University - School of Law, and with a never give up attitude, passed the Philippine Bar Examination on his third try. He would later practice law at the Tañada, Vivo and Tan law office.[2]

Political career[]

Tañada started his political career by winning the seat of the fourth district of Quezon Province in the House of Representatives in 2004. He was the Assistant Majority Leader of the 13th Congress, the Chairman of the House of Representatives' Committee on Human Rights of the 14th Congress, and the Deputy Speaker of the 15th Congress. He was re-elected unopposed for his third term as Congressman. While he eyed the Speakership of the 15th Congress, he gave way to Quezon City representative Feliciano Sonny Belmonte.[3]

He was at the forefront of the second high government official to ever be impeached, Philippine Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, for betrayal of the public trust. The House of Representatives successfully impeached Gutierrez in March 2011, with him being one of the representatives that defended the impeachment on the floor, and among the 212 representatives that voted to impeach her.[4]

As Congressman for three consecutive terms, his advocacies include having -

  • opposed the increase of the Value-Added Tax to 12%
  • recommended that legislators give up their pork barrel to cover the national budget deficit
  • called for the creation of a Congressional commission for the audit of the public debt and the repeal of the law on automatic appropriations for debt servicing
  • worked for the passage into law of the Magna Carta for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises which mandated that banks allocate a portion of their loan portfolios to these enterprises
  • co-authored the law creating the Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA)
  • co-authored the Agri-Agra Reform Credit Act which mandated that banks set aside 25% of their loan portfolios for the agriculture and fisheries sector
  • authored the bill creating the Coconut Farmer's Trust Fund, which makes use of the recovered coconut levy which was misappropriated by Marcos and his cronies
  • authored the first Universal Health Care law and inserted amendments to the Cheaper Medicines Act
  • authored the bill which led to the passage of the Graphic Health Warnings law on cigarette packs
  • funded a program for the continuing education of school teachers, in partnership with the Philippine Normal University
  • funded scholarship programs for students
  • led a campaign for the passage of a Freedom of Information law
  • pushed for the abolition of the death penalty
  • shepherded into law the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Compensation Act, for the benefit of the victims of Marcos' human rights violations

Tañada ran during the May 13, 2019 senatorial election as part of the Otso Diretso slate, the entire slate however lost amid a contentious race that culminated in a 7-hour freeze of the transmission of the counting of votes.

On July 19, 2019, the PNP–Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) filed charges against members of the Otso Diretso opposition for "sedition, cyber libel, libel, estafa, harboring a criminal, and obstruction of justice".[5][6] On February 10, 2020, they were cleared of all charges.[7]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "UNTV Hosts". UNTV News and Public Affairs Website. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  2. ^ a b Fonbuena, Carmela (2011-03-31). "3rd-gen Tañada steps forward". Newsbreak. Public Trust Media Group, Inc. Archived from the original on 2011-04-15. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
  3. ^ "Belmonte is LP bet for Speaker". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 2010-06-09.
  4. ^ Romero, Paolo (2011-03-22). "House votes 210-47, impeaches Ombudsman". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 2011-03-22.
  5. ^ "Robredo, ilang taga-oposisyon kinasuhan ng PNP-CIDG ukol sa 'Bikoy' videos". ABS-CBN News (in Tagalog).
  6. ^ "Sedition raps: Solons, bishop hit 'stupid' PNP". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  7. ^ "DOJ clears Robredo, charges Trillanes in sedition case". Rappler. February 10, 2020. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
Preceded by
Georgilu R. Yumul-Hermida
 Representative, 4th District of Quezon
2004–2013 		Succeeded by
Angelina DL. Tan
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