Kaka Bag-ao

Bag-ao believes that alternative lawyering is not simply a career but an advocacy for a particular way of life for lawyers and legal advocates; alternative lawyering is a life that is not based on sacrifices and compromises, but a choice and a lifelong commitment.

Bag-ao is one of the founders and the former Executive Director of BALAOD Mindanaw,[3] a law group based in Mindanao, the Philippines working for the advancement and protection of the rights of farmers, fisherfolks, indigenous peoples and women's and other marginalized groups through the creative and developmental use of the law.

As an alternative lawyer, Bag-ao's work is not limited to litigating cases. She is also involved in policy reform both at the local and national levels, working with different advocacy groups and law school based organizations in the country. Committed to the goal of demystifying the law as a monopoly of lawyers and the formally educated, she provides paralegal training and legal clinics to grassroots organizations and has won cases with them.

Bag-ao is a member of the independent secretariat to the peace talks between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Revolutionary Worker's Party of Mindanao (RPMM) that facilitated the signing of the agreement on the cessation of hostilities and the agreement to integrate community consultations as an essential component of the peace process.

In 2004, Bag-ao was asked to become the special consultant to the Secretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform and facilitated the awarding of numerous land titles to farmer-beneficiaries. She was also responsible for the formulation and issuance of a Memorandum Circular — later affirmed by the Supreme Court — requiring the DAR to proceed with the acquisition and distribution of lands to farmer-beneficiaries despite injunction orders issued by regular courts.

Bag-ao provided leadership for the Alternative Law Groups (ALG),[4] as a Convenor in 2005-2006 and as a Council Member thereafter. The ALG is a coalition of twenty (20) alternative legal resource non-government organizations engaged in developmental lawyering in different parts of the country. Under Bag-ao's leadership, the ALG implemented a program in partnership with the Supreme Court which complemented its Action Program on Judicial Reform and resulted in the Supreme Court's programs on access to justice by the poor. The ALG also pushed for the enactment of several social legislations, including the enactment of the Juvenile Justice Law and the Supreme Court ruling on the indefeasibility of titles issued under the agrarian reform program.

Bag-ao was the lead counsel in the Sumilao Farmers' case, a case of indigenous farmers who walked for 1,700 kilometers from Bukidnon, Mindanao to Manila to claim rights to their lands under agrarian reform against one of the biggest corporations in the Philippines. The Sumilao Farmers' case generated national and international attention and support. The case also inspired the Church to shepherd their cause and eventually resulted in an agreement under which the farmers would be given back their land.[5] She also became one of the counsels for the Banasi Farmers of Camarines Sur who have reclaimed their rights in 2008 and the Calatagan Farmers of Batangas. Bag-ao and other co-counsels, together with Farmer Leaders, helped educate the Banasi Farmers on their rights and how they could fight for these peacefully. After they won the case, the Banasi Farmers continue to be partners in the implementation of agrarian reform and in pushing for good governance.

On 30 June 2010, Bag-ao was sworn in as the second representative[6] of Akbayan Party in the 15th Philippine Congress.

Together with fellow Akbayan Representative Walden Bello, she is the author of numerous progressive bills in Congress such as House Bill 3763[7] (Minerals Management Bill), House Bill 513[8] (Reproductive Health Bill), House Bill 468[9] (Sangguniang Kabataan Reform and Empowerment Bill), House Bill 515[10] (Anti-Discrimination Bill), House Bill 5312 (Comprehensive HIV and AIDS Bill), and House Bill 4268 (Healthy Beverages Options Bill or the 'Chip's Bill').

Bag-ao is a principal author of Republic Act 10354[11] or the Reproductive Health Law. She is also the principal author of House Bill 6545[12] or the National Land Use Bill, which was passed by the House of Representatives.

Bag-ao was the Vice Chairperson of the House Committee on Agrarian Reform. She is one of the champions of Kaya Natin,[13] a non-government organization founded by the late Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo that advocates good governance and ethical leadership. She is also one of only two lady public prosecutors in the impeachment trial of convicted Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.[14]

As a native of the province and through the endorsement of Surigao del Norte Representatives Francisco Matugas and Guillermo Romarate, Jr., Bag-ao was appointed by House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. as the Legislative Liaison Officer or Caretaker of the Lone District of Dinagat Islands.[15][16]

Upon her assumption as Dinagat caretaker, Bag-ao led a series of consultations in the province's 100 barangays, asking the residents of their community concerns and development projects they wish to see. In just three months, Bag-ao was able to roll-out the following development programs and projects:

• P3-million worth of free medical assistance at the Caraga Regional Hospital;
• P8-million worth of scholarships for the Dinagat youth at the Surigao State College of Technology (SSCT) and other state universities and colleges;
• P120-million worth of infrastructure projects for all barangays, including roads, bridges, water systems, barangay halls, barangay gym, sea walls, etc.; and
• 77 "Sasakyan Ng Barangay" multicabs for faster delivery of government services even in the province's remotest communities.

At the May 2013 general elections, Bag-ao was elected representative of the Lone District of Dinagat Islands, edging out Dinagat municipal mayor Gwendolyn Ecleo with 3,248 votes.[17] Bag-ao was dubbed as a 'Dragon Slayer' as she managed to defeat a political behemoth in her province.[18]

In the 16th Congress, she was elected as the Chairperson of the Special Committee on Land Use.[19]

She is the principal author of several legislative measures, such as the proposed National Land Use Act, the People's Freedom of Information Act, the Anti-Discrimination Bill, and the Agrarian Reform Commission Bill.[20]

In November 2015, she, along with fellow legislators Rep. Leni Robredo (3rd District of Camarines Sur), Rep. Bolet Banal (3rd District of Quezon City), and Rep. Teddy Baguilat (Lone District of Ifugao), introduced a new proposed measure entitled the Open Door Policy Bill,[21] which seeks to prohibit government offices from denying citizens access to front line services and public meetings on the basis of attire. The bill gained international recognition when it was featured in Time.com.[22]

In January 2016, the Sangguniang Kabataan Reform Act was passed into law.[23] Bag-ao is one of its principal authors in the House of Representatives through House Bill No. 109.[24]

In the May 2016 elections, Bag-ao was reelected as representative of the lone district of Dinagat Islands, defeating this time Gwendolyn Ecleo's older sibling, Jade Ecleo, who was the province's former governor. She was again lauded as a 'Dragon Slayer' as she has defeated the two most prominent members of the Ecleo political dynasty in Dinagat Islands.[18]

She has been pushing for the Anti-Discrimination Bill (now known as the SOGIE Equality Bill) to be passed into law since her assumption in the House of Representatives. Geraldine Roman has called her the "heart and soul" of the Anti-Discrimination Bill, to which she said that Roman is the "face of the Anti-Discrimination Bill" as she is the only transgender lawmaker in the country. Bag-ao is the pioneer of the Equality Champions Coalition between the Senate and the House of Representative, along with Senator Risa Hontiveros.

In March 2017, Bag-ao voted against the re-imposition of the death penalty in the Philippines. The ruling party in the Philippines stripped her committee chairmanship on People's Participation afterwards. She later said that she voted "no" because of her principle and her belief that the death penalty is always inhumane and wrong.[25]

In September 2017, Bag-ao voted against a House budget ruling that shall give one thousand pesos (around 20 dollars) for the 2018 budget of the Commission on Human Rights in the Philippines. Bag-ao was one of the only 32 lawmakers to vote against the budget. The budget, however passed in the House after more than a hundred Duterte-allied lawmakers voted in its favor.[26] Public outraged erupted afterwards, condemning the humongous budget cut for a commission responsible for looking at the human rights violations of the government. Protests were held in various cities nationwide. The budget was eventually restored to its original amount after a few days of public outcry against the budget cut.[27]

On the same month, after 17 years of political limbo, the SOGIE Equality Bill finally passed in the House of Representative under Bag-ao's principal authorship.[28] Bag-ao was the vice-chairperson of the House Committees on Ecology, Labor and Employment, and Population and Family Relations. She had influential political powers on the Committees on Women and Gender Equality, Natural Resources, Mindanao Affairs, Human Rights, Justice, and Constitutional Amendments, among many others.[28]

In October 2017, she was one of the only two House committee members who voted against the sufficiency of the grounds to impeach Chief Justice Sereno. Bag-ao argued that many of the allegations being thrown at the Chief Justice are not sufficient and not even grounds for impeachment.[29]

The following are some of the bills principally authored by Kaka Bag-ao and were deemed as priority legislation:[30]

• SOGIE Equality Act
• National Land Use Act
• Philippine HIV and AIDS Policy Act
• Philippine Mineral Resources Act
• Security of Tenure Act
• Coconut Farmers Development Act
• Agrarian Reform Commission Act
• People's Freedom of Information Act
• Open Door Policy Act
• Land Acquisition and Distribution Completion Law
• Barangay Security, Health, and Nutrition Worker's Benefits Act
• Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Act
• Department of Ocean, Fisheries, and Aquatic Resources Act
• Anti-Political Dynasty Act
• Participatory Reform for Rural Development Act
• On-Ste, In-City, or Near-City Resettlement Act
• National Food Security Act
• Right to Adequate Food Framework Act
• Individual Income Tax Reduction Act
• Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Act
• Caraga Regional Hospital Upgrade Law
• Local Population Development Act