QUEZON City, Philippines (March 23) – “I have always been a good soldier.”
These are the words of the four-term senator and retired soldier Gringo Honasan when he referred to his decision to run for higher office and become the running mate of Vice President Jejomar Binay. A hesitant runner, Senator Gringo emerged as United Nationalist Alliance’s (UNA) final VP bet when he considered the judgment of his political party.
Public officer, former soldier and rebel.
Born Gregorio Ballesteros Honasan II, he is the son of Colonel Romeo Honasan and Alice Ballesteros. He spent his elementary days at San Beda College, then transferred in the Dominican School in Taipei, Taiwan. When he returned, he finished his high school at Don Bosco Technical College, receiving honorable mention. He attained his Bachelor of Science degree at the Philippine Military Academy, where he garnered the “Class Baron” title, the academy’s highest leadership award.
From combat duty, he made his way up until he became aide-de-camp of then Secretary of National Defense Juan Ponce Enrile in 1974, and later as the department’s Chief of Security.
His name shot to everyone’s ears when he became one of the principal icons of the EDSA People Power revolution. Hundreds of thousands of people served as human shields to protect Honasan and his company when their plot was uncovered, thus sparking the uprising that led to Marcos’ downfall.
The senator is more infamous for being the mastermind of various coup attempts. Two during the Aquino regime, accused plotter of Oakwood Mutiny, and the alleged 2006 plot to bring down the Arroyo administration.
Despite of all his rebellious deeds, he entered politics in 1995, becoming the first independent candidate in Philippine history to win a spot in the Senate. He was re-elected in 2001 and left the scene along with the expiration of his term in 2004.
He again won a Senate seat in 2007 and re-elected again in 2013, making it his fourth consecutive term.
Throughout his public office career, he is an advocate of peace and order, national security, agrarian reform, and freedom of information.
Some of the bills and acts he authored and co-authored are the following:
- Senate Bill 3208 or the People’s Ownership of Government Information (POGI) Bill, the Upper House’s version of the FOI Bill.
- The civil society-backed National Land Use Policy Bill
- Republic Act 8749 or the Clean Air Act of 1999
- Republic Act 9275 or the Clean Water Act of Republic Act 9700 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms (CARPER) Law of 2009
- Republic Act 10121 or the Disaster Risk Reduction Management Act of 2010
Sources:
Wikipilipinas- http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php/Gringo_Honasan
Bilang Pilipino 2016- http://www.bilangpilipino.com/candidata/gringo-honasan
(written by Rex Felix Salvador, edited by Jay Paul Carlos, additional research by Lovely Ann Cruz)