Joseph "Erap" Estrada (born Jose Marcelo Ejercito on April 19, 1937) was the 13th

President of the Philippines, serving from 1998 until his ouster in the 2001 EDSA Revolution.

Estrada gained popularity as a film actor, playing the lead role in over 100 films in an acting
career spanning 33 years. He leveraged his popularity as an actor to make gains in politics,
serving as mayor of San Juan for seventeen years, as Senator for one term, then as Vice President
of the Philippines under the administration of President Fidel Ramos.

Estrada was elected President in 1998 with a wide margin of votes separating him from the other
challengers, and was sworn into the presidency on June 30, 1998. In 2000 he declared an "all-
out-war" against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and captured it's headquarters and other
camps[1][2]. However, allegations of corruption spawned an impeachment trial in the Senate, and
in 2001 Estrada was ousted from a power grab after former Chief Justice Hilario Davide allowed
the prosecution to walk out of the impeachment court when the Senator Judges voted no in the
opening of the second envelope.

In 2007, he was sentenced by a "special court" to reclusion perpetua for plunder, but was later
granted pardon by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Jose Marcelo Ejercito, was born on April 19, 1937 in Tondo, the poorest district of Manila. He
belonged to an upper middle class family, and was the eighth of 10 children of Emilio Ejercito, a
government engineer, and his wife Maria Marcelo.[3] He finished his primary studies at the
Ateneo de Manila University, but was expelled in his sophomore year of high school for unruly
behavior.[3] He went to Mapúa Institute of Technology to continue schooling with an engineering
course, but dropped out from studies altogether two years later.

In the nineties, he began a career as a film actor. He adopted the screen name "Joseph Estrada",
as his father objected to his chosen career and his decision to quit schooling.[3] He also acquired
the nickname "Erap" (a play on the Tagalog word "pare", meaning buddy) from his good friend
Fernando Poe, Jr..

Estrada entered politics in 1967 when he ran for mayor of San Juan, a municipality of Metro
Manila, in 1968 and ended up losing his bid for mayor. He was only proclaimed mayor in 1969,
after winning an electoral protest against Dr. Braulio Sto. Domingo. As mayor of San Juan he
turned it to one of Metro Manila's outstanding municipalities (now a city). He built public
schools both for elementary and high school and had children go to school for free. He also built
parks, playgrounds, and modern police stations.[6] When Corazon Aquino assumed the
presidency in 1986, all officials of the local government suspected of malfeasance and anomalies
were removed and replaced by appointed officers-in-charge. Estrada was then removed from his
position as mayor.

The following year, he ran and won a seat in the Senate under the Grand Alliance for Democracy
(GAD). He placed 16th place in the said elections (out of 24 winners). As senator, Erap
denounced the presence of US military bases in the country. He became chairman of the senate
committee on cultural minorities and passed a bill on commission on ancestral domain. He also
sponsored bills that were signed into law, namely, The Preservation of the Carabao (Republic
Act no. 7307) and The Construction of Irrigation Projects (Republic Act no. 6978).

In 1992, Joseph Estrada ran for vice-president as the running mate of Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr.
under the Nationalist People's Coalition party. Though the latter lost to former National Defense
Secretary Fidel Ramos, Estrada won the vice-presidency garnering more votes than his closest
opponent, Ramon Mitra, Jr.'s running mate, Marcelo Fernan.

As Vice-President, he as the chairman of President Ramos' Presidential Anti-Crime Commission

(PACC). Estrada arrested criminal warlords and kidnapping syndicates[7]. He resigned as
chairman of the PACC on 1997. In 1997 Vice-President Estrada, together with former President
Corazon Aquino, Jaime Cardinal Sin, Senator Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and other political
leaders, led an anti-charter change rally brought in an estimated half a million people to Rizal
Park against the charter change moves by supporters of President Fidel Ramos.

The 1998 presidential election campaign, like most presidential election campaigns in the
Philippines, had hardly anything to do with a contest between political platforms and programs.
Estrada’s political strategists and financial backers were aware that a large share of the
Philippine electorate, the "masa" (the poor and undereducated masses), were looking for a
leadership they could relate to. Estrada’s financial backers designed a campaign strategy that
reflected Estrada’s pro-poor image that he had built up throughout his movie career. Central in
the campaign was Estrada’s campaign slogan "Erap para sa Mahirap" (Erap for the poor) that
succeeded in inspiring the masses with the hope that Estrada would be the president of and for
the masses. Estrada's running mate, Edgardo Angara, was defeated by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
During the campaign, Estrada's political rivals tried but failed to discredit him while publicizing
his womanizing, drinking and gambling.
Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Cojuangco Aquino, III (born February 8, 1960)
is a Senator of the Philippines and a candidate for President of the Philippines in the 2010
election, as the standard-bearer of the Liberal Party.[1] He is the only son of former President
Corazon Aquino and former Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr.

A graduate of Ateneo de Manila University, he was severely[quantify] wounded by rebel soldiers in a

failed coup attempt during his mother's presidency. In 1989, he was elected to the House of
Representatives as Representative of the 2nd district of Tarlac province in the 11th Congress of
the Philippines. In 2007, he was elected to the Senate of the 14th Congress of the Philippines.

Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Cojuangco Aquino III was born on February 8, 1960 . He is the third
of the of five children of Benigno Aquino, Jr., who was then Vice Governor of Tarlac province,
and Corazon Aquino. He has four sisters, Maria Elena ("Ballsy"), Aurora Corazon ("Pinky"),
Victoria Eliza ("Viel"), and Kristina Bernadette ("Kris").

Aquino studied in Ateneo de Manila University for his elementary, high school, and college
education, graduating in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. After college, he
joined his family in Boston in exile.

In 1983, shortly after the murder of his father, Noynoy had a short tenure as a member of the
Philippine Business for Social Progress. From 1985 to 1986., he was retail sales supervisor and
youth promotions assistant for Nike Philippines and later an assistant for advertising and
promotion for Mondragon Philippines. In 1986, he joined Intra-Strata Assurance Corp. as vice-
president of the family-owned corporation.

On August 28, 1987 , eighteen months into the presidency of Aquino's mother, rebel soldiers led
by Gregorio Honasan staged an unsuccessful coup attempt, attempting to siege Malacañang
Palace. Aquino was two blocks from the palace when he came under fire. Three of his four
security escorts were killed, and the last was wounded protecting him. Aquino himself was hit by
five bullets, one of which is still embedded in his neck.[2]

From 1986 to 1993, Aquino was vice president and treasurer for Best Security Agency
Corporation, a firm owned by his uncle Antolin Oreta. He went to work for the Central
Azucarera de Tarlac in 1993, the sugar refinery owned by the Cojuangco clan.

Aquino is a leading member of the Liberal Party. He currently holds the position of Vice
Chairman of the Liberal Party, having assumed the post on 17 March 2006. He was previously
Secretary General of the party (1999-2002), Vice-President of the Luzon Liberal Party (2002-
2004), and Secretary General of the party (2004-16 March 2006).[3]

Aquino is associated with a faction of the Liberal Party which opposes the government of
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, citing alleged human rights violations.

Aquino was elected to the House of Representatives in 1998, representing the 2nd District of
Tarlac. He won re-election in 2001 and 2004, and served until 2007.
Aquino served on numerous committees as a member of Congress: the Public Order and
Security, Transportation and Communications, Agriculture, Banks and Financial Intermediaries,
Peoples’ Participation, Suffrage and Electoral Reforms, Appropriations, Natural Resources, and
Trade and Industry committees (11th Congress), the Civil, Political and Human Rights, Good
Government, Public Order and Security, Inter-Parliamentary Relations and Diplomacy
committees (12th Congress), and the Banks and Financial Intermediaries, Energy, Export
Promotion, Public Order and Safety committees (13th Congress).[citation needed]

Aquino was also Deputy Speaker from November 8, 2004-February 21, 2006

Barred by term limits from seeking a fourth term as the Representative for the second district of
Tarlac province, Aquino was elected to the Senate in the May 15, 2007 midterm elections under
the banner of the Genuine Opposition (GO), a coalition comprising a number of parties,
including his own Liberal Party, seeking to curb attempts by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
to amend the Constitution. In his political ads, he was endorsed by younger sister, TV host Kris
Aquino, and mother, the late former President Corazon Aquino. Although a devout Roman
Catholic, he was endorsed by one of the largest Protestant churches in the Philippines, the Jesus
is Lord.[4][5][6] With more than 14.3 million votes, Aquino's tally was the sixth highest of the 37
candidates for the 12 vacant seats elected from the nation at large. He assumed his new office on
June 30, 2007.

During the campaign, Aquino reached out to his former enemy, Senator Gregorio Honasan,
supporting his application for bail. "I endorse Honasan's request for bail para parehas ang
laban. I was hit by bullets from Honasan's men in the neck and hips but that's past now. The
principle of my father was, ' Respect the rights even of your enemies.' Ito ang nagpatingkad ng
demokrasya. Genuine reconciliation is democracy in action," Aquino told Job Tabada of Cebu
Daily News on 5 March 2007.[citation needed] He was referring to two bloody coup attempts against
his mother in 1987 and 1989, in the first of which Aquino was seriously injured.

In the Liberal Party, Aquino has held various positions such as Secretary General and Vice
President for Luzon. He is currently the LP Vice Chairman.

After the death of President Corazon Aquino, calls for him to run for higher office reached its
highest and he has decided after the retreat that he would run as a candidate for the Presidency in
the 2010 National Elections. This groundswell of support became known as the 'Noynoy
Phenomenon.'[8]

A group of lawyers and activists formed the NAPM — the Noynoy Aquino for President
Movement — and a nationwide campaign led by the son of the late influential businessman,
Chino Roces, began to collect a million signatures in order to persuade Aquino to run for
President. In the last weekend of August, Senator Aquino and his fellow partymate in the Liberal
Party, Senator Mar Roxas and an unnamed presidential aspirant commenced days of talks to
decide what to do for next year's elections.

On September 1, 2009, in a press conference at the Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan City,
Senator Roxas, a leading candidate for the Liberal Party nomination announced his withdrawal in
the presidential race and expressed his support for Aquino's candidacy.[9] Sen. Aquino later stood
side by side Sen. Roxas, but did not make a public statement on the said press conference.[1]

On September 9, 2009, 40 days after the death of his mother, Aquino officially announced his
bid for the Presidency in a press conference at the Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan City,
which also served as the site of his mother's Presidential Inauguration in February 1986. [10]

Aquino's campaign platform includes a promise to fight corruption and poverty as well as
investing in public health and education.
Maria Ana Consuelo Madrigal-Valade (born Maria Ana Consuelo Abad
Santos Madrigal April 26, 1958), better known as Jamby Madrigal, is a politician in the
Philippines. She was elected during the 2004 general elections and is currently serving as a
Senator .

Jamby Madrigal was born on April 26, 1958 in Manila to Antonio Madrigal (1921-2007) and
Amanda Abad Santos-Madrigal. She is the granddaughter of the former Supreme Court Chief
Justice Jose Abad Santos of San Fernando, Pampanga. Her granduncle – pre-Commonwealth
Assemblyman Pedro Abad Santos – founded the Socialist Party of the Philippines. The Abad
Santos brothers were from a modest family.

Her paternal grandfather was Senator Vicente Madrigal of Ligao, Albay, one of the Philippine
Republic’s elected senators in 1949.She, her father, and grandfather are members of the rich
Spanish-Visayan Madrigal family. Her aunt, Senator Pacita Madrigal-Gonzalez was a senator
during the Quezon and Magsaysay administrations and was the first administrator of the Social
Welfare Administration, the predecessor of today’s Department of Social Welfare and
Development (DSWD). Her late married uncle and aunt were former Acting Minister of Foreign
Affairs Manuel Collantes and heiress Consuelo “Chito” Madrigal.

Madrigal is the head of several foundations that aim to heighten awareness of the plight of street
children, and to raise funds for various centers that award school scholarships to the children of
the poor. The Books-for-the-Barangay Foundation Inc. (BBFI) is the lead partner of U.S-based
“Books for the Barrios” organization, which has shipped more than P2.5 billion worth of books
for Philippine public elementary and high schools[citation needed]. The Abad Santos Madrigal
Foundation (ASMF) Inc. works to empower women and children through relevant and accessible
livelihood programs. Its flagship project, the Basic Reflexology Training Program (BRTP) has
trained more than 10,000 reflexology therapists nationwide[citation needed]. Program graduates are
accredited by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

She married Frenchman Eric Jean Claude Dudoignon Valade on December 7, 2002 at the
Calatagan, Batangas farm estate of her aunt, the late Doña Consuelo "Chito" Madrigal-Collantes
(1921-2008).[2]

In May 2008 Jamby Madrigal formally filed court pleadings to contest the validity of the last will
and testament of her late aunt Chito Madrigal-Collantes.

In October 1999, President Estrada created the Office of the Presidential Adviser for Children’s
Affairs. He appointed her to head this office, which gives the children of the poor access to the
President’s highest councils.

She organized the First National Summit for Children in Malacañang Palace on October 26,
2000 where government agencies, local government units, industry leaders and non-government
organizations signed a declaration of commitment upholding Child 21 – a framework on which
to anchor all action plans and strategies relating to children. This declaration was a first in
Southeast Asia – a fitting prelude to the United Nations’ World Declaration on the Survival,
Protection and Development of Children, which was adopted during the World Summit for
Children on September 30, 1990.

She travels nationwide while coordinating the agency’s feeding and educational programs,
confirming her commitment to the cause of poor Filipino children. She became especially
concerned over the fate of teachers and school children who were taken hostage by the Abu
Sayyaf terrorists in 2001. After consultation with the victims themselves, she sought the help of
clinical psychologists from Ateneo de Manila and Ateneo de Zamboanga, who soothed the
trauma victims and trained their parents in stress management.

In addition to her work for her numerous foundations, in later 2003 she has become
spokesperson for the youth-based Kontra Pulitika Movement (KPM) – which champions
education, protection of the environment and economic empowerment through livelihood
programs.

She has acted in a movie on the life of Luis Taruc, the Kapampangan founder of the Hukbo ng
Bayan Laban sa mga Hapon (Hukbalahap). Ka Luis was the protégé of her grandfathers, the
Abad Santos brothers. In the film, ‘Anak Pawis’, she portrays her grandmother, Amanda
Teopaco.

She is currently the Chairperson of four Senate Committees: Committee on Environment,

Committee on Youth, Women and Family Relations, Committee on Peace, Unification and
Reconciliation, and the Committee on Cultural Communities.

She has filed bills in the areas of education, juvenile justice, gender equality, empowerment, anti-
trafficking and anti-pornography. She has also authored bills on the protection of the indigenous
peoples and their ancestral domain as well as the protection and conservation of the environment.

She likewise sponsored bills advancing national economic interests, such as the repeal of the
Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998, as well as measures seeking to place LPG
under price control and for the recovery of PETRON and Malampaya.

She recently filed a bill repealing RA 7942, the "Mining Act of 1995" and a bill for the
imposition of a total log ban. Both bills aim to protect the last remaining natural resources from
wholesale plunder.

In an opposition protest, she was one of the political leaders who were subjected to the Manila
Police water cannons while attending a religious procession on October 14, 2005.[6]

Madrigal has declared her candidacy for President in the upcoming 2010 presidential elections.
Richard Juico "Dick" Gordon (born August 5, 1945 in Castillejos, Zambales) is a
Philippine senator and a 2010 Philippine presidential candidate under the Bagumbayan -
Volunteers for a New Philippines. He is also the present chairman of the Philippine National Red
Cross.

Gordon is the son of James Leonard T. Gordon, the second municipal mayor of Olongapo, and
Amelia Juico Gordon, the first mayor of Olongapo when it was converted into a city[1].

In 1954, he completed his elementary education at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran in Manila.
He then finished his secondary education in 1962 at the Ateneo de Manila University. He stayed
in Ateneo and completed his tertiary education, earning a degree of Bachelor of Arts, major in
History and Government in 1966. After serving as a delegate for the 1971 Constitutional
Convention, he successfully pursued a degree of Bachelor of Laws at the University of the
Philippines College of Law in the year 1975.[2]

Between 1966 to 1967 he served as a Brand Manager for Procter and Gamble Philippines. As the
1960s came to a close, he aided his mother Amelia in running the government of Olongapo after
the assassination of his father James.[2] In 1975, he became an Associate for the prestigious
ACCRA Law Offices

In the year 1971, while still studying at the UP, he was elected as the delegate of the first district
of Zambales to the 1971 Constitutional Convention, which drafted the 1973 Constitution of the
Philippines. He was the youngest delegate in the said convention.[2]

In 1980, he was elected Mayor of Olongapo City. During his term as mayor, Olongapo soon
became a highly urbanized city by the year 1983. Under his leadership, Olongapo City was
converted from being a "sin city" into a “model city” by raising police accountability through
I.D. systems, proper health and sanitation, waste management and the strict observance of color
coding in public transport.[4]

In 1986, Gordon and then San Juan mayor Joseph Estrada became two of the local executives
who refused to vacate their positions after the government reorganization by President Corazon
Aquino. Gordon gave way for the Aquino appointed Officer-In-Charge after a formal written
directive from the Executive Secretary representing Aquino was issued. In the same year, he
joined Philippine Vice President Salvador Laurel in reorganizing the Nacionalista Party around
the country. They campaigned for a "No" vote on the 1987 Constitution framed by the Aquino
appointed constitutional convention. In 1988, he was elected as mayor with the help of the
Nationalist People's Coalition, a breakaway of the Nacionalista Party under Eduardo "Danding"
Cojuangco.

The looming withdrawal of the Americans from the U.S. naval base in Subic meant the loss of
over 40,000 jobs for Filipinos who were employed in the said base[6]. Also, $ 8 million worth of
infrastructure left behind by the Americans in the base and was in danger of being looted from
outsiders, as evidenced by the looting that occurred in 1991 at the Clark Air Base due to the
aftermath of the Pinatubo eruption[7].
To address the problems beforehand, Gordon led the citizens of Olongapo to mobilize and lobby
for the inclusion of a free port concept into the national legislation for the conversion of the U.S.
bases. The effort was successful, with the inclusion of the establishment of the Subic Bay
Freeport Zone (also known as the Subic Special Economic Zone) in Section 12 of Republic Act
No. 7227, otherwise known as the Bases Conversion and Development Act, which was approved
in March 13, 1992. Section 13 of the same legislation also provided for the establishment of the
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), which was tasked to administer the Subic Bay
Freeport Zone[8].

On April 3, 1992, Gordon was appointed as the chairman of the SBMA by President Corazon
Aquino[9]. By November 24, 1992, the U.S. Navy completed its withdrawal from the facility and
its conversion for civilian and commercial use began[10]. Volunteerism and the high civic spirit of
the host community marked the pioneering efforts at conversion[11].

In the 1992 local elections, Gordon was reelected as mayor of Olongapo City by a landslide
victory. In 1993, a citizen questioned Gordon's dual duty as mayor of Olongapo City and as
chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. The Supreme Court decided that Gordon
must hold one position. Gordon decided to vacate his position as Mayor and assumed the
position of SBMA chairman in full capacity. In the 1995 local elections, his wife Katherine, a
three term Congresswoman, was elected mayor of Olongapo. In the 1996 APEC Summit, 18
world leaders were impressed with the facility and Subic became a new investment hub in
Southeast Asia[7]. Bluechip companies like FedEx Express, Enron, Coastal Petroleum now El
Paso Corporation, Taiwan computer giant Acer and France telecoms company Thomson SA
invested US$2.1 Billion in the freeport reinvigorating the economy and creating 200,000 jobs
replacing those lost during the US Navy withdrawal.

In 1998, Gordon resigned as Chairman of the SBMA in order to run for president in the national
elections held during that year. However, he eventually backed out from pursuing his candidacy.
He was later re-appointed by outgoing President Fidel Ramos as chairman of the SBMA for a
new six-year term

In the 1990s, Gordon was a fierce critic of Joseph Estrada due to their difference of opinions
regarding the US Naval Base. This was seen as early as 1991, when Gordon refused to let then-
Senator Estrada film inside Subic Bay for a movie that criticized American bases in the
Philippines.[14]

After winning the 1998 presidential elections on May of that year, newly elected President
Joseph Estrada issued Administrative Order No. 1, which ordered the removal Gordon as
Chairman of the SBMA.[14] Estrada appointed Felicito Payumo, Gordon's critic and congressman
of Bataan as new chairman. Gordon refused to step down, stating that his re-appointment from
the Ramos administration gave him civil service protection [13]. The removal process was not
easy. Hundreds of volunteers barricated the gates of SBMA and Gordon locked himself inside
the SBMA Administrative Office Building 229. The issue sparked the interest local and foreign
press known as the Showdown at Subic.
Gordon filed for a temporary restraining order before the local court. The local court of
Olongapo granted Gordon's request but Payumo's party filed an appeal before the Court of
Appeals (CA). The CA reversed the local court's ruling and it was affirmed by the Supreme
Court[13]. With the Supreme Court decision, Gordon called Payumo and turned over the reins of
SBMA at the Subic Bay Yacht Club two months later on 3 September 1998. Together with the
Subic volunteers, they cleaned up the facility.

Since 1986, Gordon was elected as governor of the Philippine National Red Cross, taking active
roles in rescue, relief and rehabilitation in various disasters from shipwrecks, typhoons, 1990
earthquake in Cabanatuan, 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, 2004 landslides in Aurora, Quezon
and 2006 Ginsaugun, Southern Leyte mudslide and the PhilSports Arena stampede. Currently he
is the chairman as well as a Member of the Governing Board of the International Federation of
the Red Cross.

On January 2001, Gordon actively participated in the second EDSA Revolution that led to the
removal of Joseph Estrada from the presidency. Newly installed President Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo appointed Gordon as secretary of the Department of Tourism. With his experience as a
former brand manager of Procter and Gamble Philippines and chairman of SBMA, Gordon
placed the Philippines in the international tourism map by actively marketing the Philippines in
several tourism expositions and road shows with the Wow Philippines campaign strategy
winning awards at ITB and WTM. From 2002, after four years of negative growth and in spite of
threats of terror post 9-11, Abu Sayyaf kidnappings, SARS, Oakwood Mutiny, tourism arrival
increased heavily. He also encouraged domestic tourism by holding regional events and having
provincial destinations showcased at Intramuros and the rationalization of Holiday Economics.
He held the position until January 2004.

In the 2004 national elections, Gordon ran for senator of the Philippines under the Koalisyon ng
Katapatan at Karanasan sa Kinabukasan (Coalition of Truth and Experience for Tomorrow) of
President Arroyo. He won the election with 12,707,151 votes, which was the fifth highest
number of votes from the electorate.

During the 13th Congress (2004–2007), as Chairman of the Senate Committee of Constitutional
Amendments and Revision of Laws, he upheld the supremacy of the Constitution at all times.
Though he may not have voted for the ratification of the 1987 Constitution, he took an oath to
preserve and defend it. He insisted on the lawful process of Charter Change only according to the
process set forth in the Constitution. He opposed the method of Constituent Assembly or "con-
ass" initiated by President Arroyo and House Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr., which was possible in
the 1935 Constitution but unlawful in the current Constitution [15], as well as the dubious[16] Sigaw
ng Bayan People's Initiative and was one of the triumphant parties in the case of Lambino and
Aumentado vs. COMELEC, G.R. No. 174153, October 25, 2006.

He also preserved the separation of powers in government and asserted the Senate’s
constitutional right and duty to conduct inquiries in aid of legislation against Executive Order
No. 464 in Senate, et al. vs. Ermita, G.R. No. 169777, April 20, 2006, and Executive Order No. 1
in Sabio vs. Gordon, et al., G.R. No. 174340, October 17, 2006.
He was also responsible for the passage of Republic Act No. 9369 — or the Automated Elections
System to obviate cheating and post election controversies and protests that hound Philippine
elections.

On April 9, 2008, Araw ng Kagitingan or Day of Valor in Bataan, President Arroyo signed into
law Republic Act No. 9499- Gordon's Veterans Bill[17]. The Filipino World War II Veterans
Pensions and Benefits Act of 2008 amends Sections 10 and 11 of Republic Act No. 6948, as
amended, by removing the prohibition against our veterans receiving benefits from the United
States government. Before the law was signed, the Philippine government benefits of veterans
would be revoked once they were granted benefits by the United States government. Because of
Gordon’s advocacy and persistence, this prohibition is now eliminated, and Filipino veterans will
now be able to receive any form of benefit from any foreign government without losing the
benefits given to them by the Philippine government.

He was the principal author of the National Tourism Policy Act of 2009 or Republic Act 9593 [18],
declaring a national policy for tourism as an engine of Investment and employment, growth and
national development that was signed by President Arroyo in Cebu on May 12, 2009 and
witnessed by the country's tourism private sector.

On August 5, 2007, Gordon was asked in a radio interview in dzBB if he had any plans to run for
president, to which he answered, "Well, I am available". He further elaborated that he plans to
form a new political party aimed at pushing for the interest of the Filipinos and that he would run
on a platform that is pro-people.[19]. His comments were eventually reported the next day on
newspapers such as the Philippine Star, Malaya, Daily Tribune and Abante[20].

Gordon quickly issued a press release on August 6, 2007 to clarify his comments in the dzBB
interview. In the press release, he said that he did not declare his candidacy in the interview but
merely answered to the interviewer's question regarding the possibility of him running for
President. He further said that he would like to focus more on his work at the Senate, the
Philippine National Red Cross, and the various causes that he supports[20].

On April 26, 2009, the Bagumbayan Movement was launched in the Rizal Park and in the
Manila Hotel. The movement, which advocated "transformative politics", served to push for the
presidential candidacy of Gordon in the 2010 elections. [21][22] The movement was eventually
recognized as a political party by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) in October 2009[23]

On November 29, 2009, then Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Bayani Fernando
revealed that he and Gordon were having discussions on a possible team-up for the 2010
elections[24]. A few days later, on December 1, 2009, Gordon and Fernando officially announced
their tandem during a press conference at the Senate press office in Pasay City, with Gordon
running for the presidency and Fernando running for the vice-presidency. During the press
conference, they billed themselves as "the transformers" since they intend to "transform the
nation"[23]. Later in the day, the tandem filed their certificates of candidacy in the COMELEC
main office.