Ramil L. Hernandez

Hernandez was the third of thirteen children born to former Barangay Captain Norberto Perea Hernandez and Rosalinda Laurel Hernandez. He finished his primary studies as the valedictorian of Mabato Elementary School in 1985.[1] He was elected as a president of the Student Body Organization and became a Corps Commander of Citizen Advancement Training during his high school years at Laguna College of Business and Arts, where he was a member of the Honor Society.[1] While he was an undergraduate at Colegio de San Juan de Letran Calamba, he worked at a fast-food chain while studying for a Bachelor of Science in Commerce with a major in Accounting. He graduated in 1993, receiving the college's Best Student Researcher award.[1]

Hernandez entered public service in 1993 as a Sangguniang Kabataan Chairman of Barangay Mabato, Calamba City. Following this, he was elected as a city counselor at the age of 22. He served this position for three consecutive terms from 1995 to 2004 and was also elected as the President of the National Movement of Young Legislators (NMYL) Laguna Chapter. In 2004, he ran for the position of Provincial Board Member and was elected with 121,672 total votes. He presided over the province legislature as Majority Floor Leader of Sangguniang Panlalawigan.[1]

In 2007, at the age of 34, Hernandez was elected as Vice Governor of Laguna with 160,368 votes; the youngest person in the history of the province to win the position. Although he was eligible to run for a second term, Hernandez voluntarily gave up running for the post of Vice Governor in 2010 and pursued the governorship while still being the youngest candidate in the province of Laguna.[1] He placed fourth, with Emilio Ramon "E.R" Ejercito, a nephew of former Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, taking the office of Governor. Beating two opponents, he was elected for the second time as the province's Vice Governor in 2013 with 434,405 votes running under the Nacionalista Party. Meanwhile, Ejercito remained in the position of Governor for a 2nd term.

On May 21, 2014, Ejercito was disqualified from the gubernatorial race by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) First Division due to campaign overspending during the 2013 elections. The petitioner in the disqualification case was Edgar San Luis, the former Congressman of the 4th district of Laguna and an opponent of Ejercito for the 2013 gubernatorial race. Hernandez assumed the post of Governor and was sworn in as the new Governor of Laguna at the main office of the Commission on Elections in Manila on May 27, 2014.[2] The writ of execution disqualifying Ejercito as the Governor was served by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on May 28, 2014, at the provincial capitol in Santa Cruz, Laguna.[3]

Under the Nacionalista Party, Hernandez ran for his first full three-year term as Governor against his predecessor ER Ejercito and Jorge Antonio Ejercito in the 2016 elections. He garnered 606,002 votes and was elected as the Governor, beating his opponent Ejercito, who garnered 336,797 votes. His running mate Katherine Agapay (481,700 votes) assumed the vice governorship.

In the 2019 elections, Hernandez ran for reelection under the banner of Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP Laban). He faced E.R. Ejercito (391,270 votes) and four other candidates including Berlene Alberto (7,414 votes), Leonardo Almadrigo (4,063 votes), Bronson Grajera (4,362 votes), and Manolo Samia (3,652 votes). With a total count of 817,250, or 66.55% of all votes votes, Hernandez assumed his second term as Governor along with his running mate Katherine Agapay (930,387 votes), who was again re-elected as Vice Governor.

Hernandez's governance has included various projects and programs focused on the 8 point program of Serbisyong Tama, or 'Rise High Laguna Advocacy'. Notable projects include:

• Epektibong Serbisyong Pangkalusugan (Effective and People Sensitive Health Management Program)
• Serbisyong Pangkahalatan para sa Higit na Nangangailangan (Complete Social Welfare and Services Development Program)
• Dekalidad na Edukasyon (Quality Education and Vocational Development Program)
• Programang Pangkabuhayan (Comprehensive Employment Programs)
• Pangangalaga sa Kalikasan at Modernong Programa Pang-Agrikultura (Timely Agricultural Development and Food Security Program)
• Prayoridad ng Proyektong Pang-Imprastraktura (Appropriate Infrastructure Program)
• Pagpapataas ng Kalidad ng Serbisyo (Transformative and Professionalized Bureaucracy Program)
• Programang Pangkapayapaan at Kaayusan (Sustainable Peace and Order Program)[4]

Some of Hernandez's most significant recognitions are:

• The 2014 Good Practices Award from the National Economic and Development Authority and Department of Health[5]
• The 2015 (50th Anvil Anniversary) Gold Anvil Award from the Public Relations Program Directed at Specific Stakeholders: External Communities[6]
• 51 awards, including 3 major awards, from the Department of Health, Region IV-A during the 3rd Kalusugan Pangkalahatan Awarding (2015)[7]
• Hall of Fame inductee and Seal of Good Local Governance (SGLG) recipient from the Department of Interior and Local Government for the years 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019[8]
• Red Orchid Award from Department of Health.[9]
• 2016 Best Provincial Police Office in Region IV-A Award[10]
• The first ever ISO 9001 Quality Management System Certification from the Government Quality Management Committee (2017)[11]
• Best Provincial Disaster and Risk Reduction Council (PDRRMC) Category award[12] and the silver award in 1st National ADAC Performance in 2018,[13] followed by a gold award in 2019[14]
• Gawad Parangal Award as an Outstanding Provincial Governor of the Philippines
• Hall of Fame inductee in the Field of Social Welfare and Development Office of the Philippines, for the years 2018, 2019, and 2020 from the Association of Local Social Welfare and Development Officers of the Philippines, Inc. (ALSWDOPI)
• Excellence award from the Filipino Awards for Movies and Arts and Science in 2019[15]
• ATOP-DOT Pearl Awards for best tourism practices (2019)[16]
• 2nd Most Competitive Province award from the Department of Trade and Industry (2019)[17]
• The Provincial Government of Laguna was among the National Best Public Employment Service Office awardees as part of the celebration of DOLE’s 87th anniversary in 2020[18]
• At the Digital Governance Award 2020, Laguna won the championship Best in Customer Empowerment (G2C) award and the Best in LGU empowerment (G2G) 2nd place award at the provincial level

• Hon. Mariano-Hernandez, Ruth