Francis Pangilinan

He believes in active citizenship that is why his involvement in civic affairs began even as a student in high school. He has over 20 years of civic and public service experience. He entered mainstream politics in 1988 in the first free electoral exercise after the Marcos dictatorship. He was elected the youngest councilor of Quezon City from the 4th district.[13] During his stint as QC councilor, he 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. In 1992, he unsuccessfully ran in the congressional elections in Quezon City.

The Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations (TAYO) Awards, established in 2002 to recognize young people’s initiatives in public service and nation-building, was his brainchild.

He remained an active organizer of multi-sectoral groups fighting for the return of decency, competence, and accountability to national leadership.

Pangilinan was elected to the senate in 2001 and was re-elected six years thereafter.

In his first term at the Senate, he championed the plight of the most vulnerable children, and authored and shepherded the measure that would keep children in conflict with the law out of cells that detained mostly adult hardcore criminals. He recognized that the country’s judicial system needs to be overhauled, and ensured that salaries and benefits of judges and prosecutors were increased so that the best and the brightest lawyers would be drawn to public service.

He was first elected as Senate Majority Leader in 2004. On July 23, 2007, Jinggoy Estrada was voted Senate president pro tempore, while Pangilinan was the majority leader following the assumption of Manuel Villar to the chamber's leadership of the 14th Congress.[14]

Formed in 2008, Pangilinan created the Judicial Executive Legislative Advisory and Consultative Council, first proposed on the July 16–17, 2007 Manila Hotel Summit on extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances in the Philippines.[15]

When he chaired the Senate Committee on Agriculture in 2010, he was able to speak to farmers all over the country and was inspired to start his own small farm, from which he learned this insight: the success of the country lies in the success of the poorest in Philippine society—our farmers and fishers, our food producers.

After winning in the 2016 senatorial elections, Pangilinan continued his advocacy in agriculture. He was part of the minority bloc in the Senate together with Senators Franklin Drilon, Risa Hontiveros, Leila de Lima, and former Senators Bam Aquino and Antonio Trillanes.[16] His most recent law was RA 11321 or the Sagip Saka Act, which he principally authored and principally sponsored in the Senate.[17] Sagip Saka aims increase farmers' income by empowering them and connecting them to the market. The law was signed on April 17, 2019.[18]

In May 2014, Pangilinan was appointed as Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization - a Cabinet-level position under the Office of the President of the Philippines - by President Benigno Aquino III.[3] In September 2015, Pangilinan announced his resignation from the post.[19]

As OPAFSAM head, he pushed for the creation of the coco levy trust fund for coconut farmers—in an attempt to correct the injustice started by Marcos and his cronies who collected taxes from the farmers purportedly to develop the industry. In 2016, he pursued the same advocacy in his third term at the Senate. But after he and fellow opposition senators were removed from the Senate majority, and subsequently lost the chairpersonship of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, he continued to defend the coco levy trust fund bill with new committee chairperson Sen. Cynthia Villar agreeing to let him finish work he has started.

In October 2016, he was appointed interim Liberal Party president. His appointment became permanent in August 2017.