Fredenil Castro

Fredenil "Oto" Hernaez Castro[1] (born April 27, 1951) is a Filipino politician serving as the Representative of Capiz's 2nd district since 2013, and previously from 2001 to 2010. He previously served as a House Deputy Speaker from 2016 to 2019 and from October 2 to November 18, 2020. He was the House Majority Leader from January to June 2019.

Fredenil H. Castro
Deputy Speaker
of the House of Representatives
In office
October 2, 2020 – November 18, 2020
House SpeakerAlan Peter Cayetano
Lord Allan Velasco
Preceded byMikee Romero
Succeeded byRufus Rodriguez
In office
July 25, 2016 – January 21, 2019
House SpeakerPantaleon Alvarez
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
Preceded bySergio Apostol
House Majority Leader
In office
January 21, 2019 – June 30, 2019
Preceded byRolando Andaya Jr.
Succeeded byMartin Romualdez
Member of the
Philippine House of Representatives
from Capiz's 2nd district
Assumed office
June 30, 2013
Preceded byJane T. Castro
In office
June 30, 2001 – June 30, 2010
Preceded byVicente J. Andaya, Jr.
Succeeded byJane T. Castro
Personal details
Born (1951-04-27) April 27, 1951
Dumalag, Capiz, Philippines
Political partyLakas–CMD (2007–2010, 2019–present)
Other political
affiliations		Liberal Party (2001–2007)
NUP (2011–2019)
Spouse(s)Jane Tan
ResidenceParañaque City, Metro Manila
Alma materColegio de la Purisima Concepcion (B.A.)
San Beda College (LLB)
ProfessionLawyer & politician

Political career

Castro was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2001, representing the 2nd district of Capiz. He was re-elected in 2004 and 2007, thus reaching the limit of three consecutive terms in 2010.[2] During his first two terms in the House, Castro was a member of the Liberal Party and an ally of fellow Capiznon Mar Roxas (who at that time was trade secretary and later a senator).[3] In the 2007 elections, he ran under Lakas–CMD, the party supporting then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.[4][5] He also served as the chairman of the party's Capiz chapter.[6]

In 2009, Castro also chaired the Capiz-based local party Ugyon Kita Capiz (UKC). With UKC, his wife Jane Tan-Castro was elected to the position he vacated.[6] Jane served as the 2nd district's representative from 2010 to 2013.[3] The Castros also allied themselves with former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante, who was facing allegations of plunder. Bolante was UKC's vice-chairman who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2010.[6][7][8]

Castro successfully returned to the House in 2013. Running under the National Unity Party (NUP; formed by disgruntled Lakas members[9]), he defeated Maria Andaya of the Liberal Party.[3] He then became chair of the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms in the 16th Congress.[10] In November 2013, Castro's committee unanimously approved House Bill 3587 or the Anti-Political Dynasty Act of 2013, which aims to prohibit relatives up to the second degree of consanguinity to hold or run for public offices in successive, simultaneous, or overlapping terms. It was the first time since 1988 that an anti-political dynasty bill passed the committee level. Castro then delivered the bill's sponsorship speech in May 2014, calling on his colleagues to "place the interest of the country ahead of personal interest".[11][12]

Castro was unopposed in the 2016 elections.[13] In the 17th Congress, he was elected by the House as one of the Deputy Speakers under Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.[14] Before they were elected to their leadership posts, Castro and Alvarez co-authored House Bill No. 1 which aimed to restore capital punishment. The bill proposed lethal injection for crimes such as human trafficking, plunder, treason, parricide, infanticide, rape, piracy, bribery, kidnapping, illegal detention, robbery, car theft, destructive arson, terrorism, and drug-related cases.[15] Castro voted for the abolition of capital punishment back in 2006, but has changed his mind, explaining that he "could not accept the way crimes are being committed" in the country.[16] The bill was approved by the House on its third and final reading on March 7, 2017. However, numerous amendments transformed it into House Bill No. 4727 with only drug-related crimes as capital offenses, in support of President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs.[17] Castro and Alvarez also co-authored House Bill No. 2 which aims to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 9 years old. Their joint statement reasoned that youth offenders "commit crimes knowing they can get away with it" and that adult criminals "knowingly and purposely make use of youth below 15 years old to commit crimes… aware that they cannot be held criminally liable."[18] The bill was criticized by child rights advocates, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), and opposition legislators.[19][20] On January 28, 2019 the House approved on the third and final reading House Bill No. 8858, which aimed to set the age of criminal responsibility at 12 years old instead.[21]

Personal life

He took up a Bachelor of Arts at Colegio de la Purisima Concepcion, graduating in 1971, and he attained a Bachelor of Laws in San Beda College in 1975. He is a member of the Legal Management Council of the Philippines and the Association of Bank Lawyers of the Philippines. He is married to Jane Tan. He is the former Majority Floor Leader of the House of Representatives of the Philippines during the 17th Congress.

Castro and his wife allegedly became parents to twins through a Russian surrogate mother.[22]

References
  • "Member Information: Fred H. Castro". House of Representatives of the Philippines. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  • "13th Congress Database". i-site.ph. Retrieved 2013-03-09.
  1. "Certified List of Candidates - Capiz" (PDF). comelec.gov.ph. Commission on Elections (COMELEC). November 17, 2018. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  2. Philippine Electoral Almanac (PDF) (Revised and Expanded ed.). Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office. 2015. ISBN 978-971-95551-6-2. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  3. Celino, Felipe V.; Capundan, Joel E. (May 21, 2013). "Castro open to reconciliation with LP". The Daily Guardian. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  4. Quezon, Manuel L. III (June 6, 2007). "An abnormal return to normality". Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  5. Mogato, Manny (May 22, 2007). "Arroyo allies dominate Philippine lower house polls". Reuters. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  6. Celino, Felipe V. (February 4, 2010). "Unfazed by raps, Bolante running for Capiz gov". Philippine Daily Inquirer. pp. A1, A4.
  7. Burgos, Nestor Jr.; Burgonio, TJ. "Former Agri execs urged to name mastermind". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  8. "Report: Bolante's gubernatorial bid gets more support". GMA News. March 10, 2009. Retrieved October 12, 2020. 2nd District Rep. Fredenil Castro has united with Bolante
  9. Rosario, Ben R. (November 10, 2011). "National Unity Party accredited". The Manila Bulletin.
  10. Roxas, Pathricia Ann V. (January 21, 2019). "Who is new House Majority Leader Fredenil Castro?". The Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on February 10, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  11. Arcangel, Xianne (May 6, 2014). "Anti-political dynasty bill makes historic debut in House plenary". GMA News. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  12. Cruz, Maricel (May 7, 2014). "House starts debates on anti-political dynasty bill". Manila Standard. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  13. "Old names, faces dominating the 2016 elections". ABS-CBN. ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group. May 13, 2016. Archived from the original on February 2, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  14. Cepeda, Mara (July 25, 2016). "Pantaleon Alvarez is new House Speaker". Rappler. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  15. "House Bill No. 1: Restore the death penalty". The Philippine Star. July 7, 2016. Archived from the original on December 16, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  16. Billones, Trishia (December 15, 2020). "Solon: House has 'overwhelming' support for death penalty bill". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on January 24, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  17. Cruz, RG (March 7, 2017). "House approves death penalty bill on final reading". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on October 20, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  18. Cepeda, Mara (July 6, 2016). "Congressmen want 9-year-old kids charged for crimes". Rappler. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  19. Enano, Jhesset O.; Nonato, Vince F. (November 21, 2016). "Lower criminal liability age nixed". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on March 31, 2018. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  20. Montano, Isabella (February 2, 2017). "Alvarez stands firm on lowering minimum age of criminal responsibility". CNN Philippines. Archived from the original on May 22, 2019. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  21. Gabriel Pabico Lalu (January 28, 2019). "House OKs on final reading bill lowering age of criminal responsibility to 12". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  22. Шестак, Евгения (12 October 2020). "В «суррогатный скандал» в России оказался вовлечен филиппинский политик (Philippine politician involved in 'surrogate scandal' in Russia)". Взгляд (in Russian). Archived from the original on 5 November 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
House of Representatives of the Philippines
Preceded by
Vicente J. Andaya, Jr.		 Representative, 2nd District of Capiz
2001–present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent


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