Cong. Pantaleon Alvarez.pptx

Presentation

1. 18 th Congress of the Philippines Cong. Pantaleon Alvarez

2. Pantaleon Alvarez Pantaleon Diaz Alvarez  (born January 10, 1958) is a Filipino politician serving as the  Representative  of  Davao del Norte 's  1st district  since 2016, previously holding the position from 1998 to 2001. [2]  He served as the  Speaker of the House of Representatives  from 2016 to 2018. He also served as the  Secretary of Transportation and Communications  in the  Cabinet  of President  Gloria Macapagal Arroyo  from 2001 to 2002.

3. He is a stern advocate to shift the current centralized set-up of the Philippines into a federal form, pushing for the establishment of an indigenous state in Luzon and an indigenous state in Mindanao. Initially in favor of an independent Mindanao, Alvarez changed stance when  Rodrigo Duterte  talked about a federal Philippines with him. In 2017, Alvarez proposed a new set-up to spearheaded  federalism in the Philippines .

4. Early life and education Alvarez was born on January 10, 1958. In 1978, he obtained a bachelor of arts (AB) degree from  Far Eastern University . He then studied law and graduated from the  Ateneo de Manila Law School  in 1983.

5. Career Alvarez was in private law practice from 1984 to 1986. From 1987 to 1992, he was a member of the staff of Philippine Senator  Wigberto Tañada . He then became an action officer at the  Manila International Airport Authority  (MIAA). From action officer, he rose through the ranks, becoming senior assistant manager and chief operating officer of MIAA in March 1995, a position he held until September 1997.

6. In  1998 , he was elected congressman from Davao del Norte's 1st District. He served as vice-chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Communication and was a member of nine other  congressional committees .

7. In January 2001, President  Gloria Macapagal Arroyo  appointed him acting Secretary of Transportation and Communications, where he served until July 2002. [1] [3] [4]  Among Alvarez's achievements were the adoption of the light railway expansion program, improvement of the  Philippine National Railway , and computerization of the department and attached agencies. [5]  He also spearheaded the slogan "OKS na OKS sa DOTC" which means " Organisado , Kalinisan at Seguridad "

8. In  2016 , he was once again elected congressman from Davao del Norte's 1st District. On the opening of the  17th Congress  on July 25, he was elected as the 24th  Speaker of the House of Representatives  with 251 votes. [7]  On July 23, 2018, he was ousted as Speaker and was replaced by Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Alvarez was re-elected as congressman in  2019  and in  2022 . On November 15, 2020, he tendered his "irrevocable resignation" from  PDP–Laban  and joined the  Reporma Party .

9. Issues Prejudicial policy making and leadership In finalizing the General Appropriations Act of 2018, Alvarez and his allies deliberately withheld infrastructure funding from the members of the House of Representatives who they found "undesirable". Alvarez stated that it was unfair for the members who cooperated with him and the President to receive funding less than those representatives. The total amount of funds reallocated to cooperative members was suspected to amount to 11 Billion Pesos. When asked about the welfare of those regions which will be negatively affected by the reallocation of the budget, Alvarez was unapologetic and told the affected citizens in the regions to blame their representatives for the retaliatory budget cuts. Various members of the House of Representatives were alarmed and pointed out the dictatorial and vengeful nature of the Duterte administration and the alacrity in the leadership of Alvarez in perpetuating it.

10. Alvarez has threatened congressmen and various governmental agencies that they would receive zero budget if they didn't support Rodrigo Duterte's plans to supplant the Republic of the Philippines by implementing PDP–Laban's Federal form of Government. Alvarez stated that he did not care whether the provinces, agencies and local governments affected by his budget cuts would suffer and told the people to blame their representatives instead who refused to follow what Duterte wanted. Senator Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel Jr. warned Alvarez that "nobody stays in power forever", insinuating that Alvarez would receive his  just deserts  after his blatant abuse of power and authority.

11. "Persona Non-Grata" in PDP–Laban In August 2017, Alvarez was declared "Persona Non Grata" by his own party mates in PDP Laban, Rogelio Garcia and Cesar Cuntapay , stating that Alvarez actions in reorganizing the party nationwide without authority and recruiting new members in exchange for favors severely damaged the party's credibility and Duterte's own legitimacy in his war against drugs. Benito Ranque , PDP–Laban deputy secretary general, states that the new members are not even educated or informed of the party's constitution and by-laws, in support of Cuntapay's accusations. There were also reports that the new politicians that Alvarez recruited are "narco-politicians", involved in illegal drugs manufacturing and trafficking. Senate President Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, PDP–Laban's president, however, denied the reports that Alvarez is persona-non-grata despite the numerous PDP–Laban members disdain for Alvarez and his insubordinate actions which violated PDP–Laban's own constitution and by-laws. Pimentel retaliated against Garcia and Cuntapay by ordering them silenced or be disciplined. Alvarez stated that "grumbling members" should either leave or he will "take care" of them.

12. Alleged Graft in PIATCO-Fraport NAIA 3 deal In 2005, Alvarez along with four other former DOTC officials were charged with graft before the  Sandiganbayan  in connection with the construction of  NAIA Terminal 3 . In 2010, the charges were dismissed by the Sandiganbayan Special Second Division due to lack of evidence. [1] [15] [4] [16] Pantaleon Alvarez allegedly used information gained by his position to preempt the bidding process by creating a company called Wintrack which the board awarded a major sub-contract for the project's site development and excavation work. Alvarez and other member of the Piatco and Fraport became board members of Wintrack , benefiting and amassing profits from the deal. The staggering income gotten by Wintrack from the deal has prompted the Ombudsman to file a case of graft against Alvarez and his cohorts.