Florencio Gabriel "Bem" Garcia Noel (born June 17, 1966) is a Filipino politician who served as representative of the

An Waray An Waray was a party-list in the Philippines, mainly based on the islands of Leyte, Samar and Biliran.party-list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can c ...

in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

Career

First An Waray stint

Noel first served in the

as the

party-list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can c ...

representative of

An Waray An Waray was a party-list in the Philippines, mainly based on the islands of Leyte, Samar and Biliran.Tacloban Tacloban ( ; ), officially the City of Tacloban (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city on Leyte island in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, Tacloban has a popu ...

for the 2013 election. He lost to incumbent mayor Alfred Romualdez.

PCSO

In December 2014, Noel was appointed as director of the

Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO; ) is a government-owned and controlled corporation of the Philippines under direct supervision of the Office of the President of the Philippines. It is mandated to do fund raising and provide fu ...

by President

Benigno Aquino III Benigno Simeon Aquino III (; born Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III; February 8, 1960 – June 24, 2021), also known as Noynoy Aquino and colloquially as PNoy, was a Filipino politician who served as the 15th president of the Philippines ...

. He resigned from his position on September 15, 2015 due to expressing open support for the presidential campaign of

Grace Poe Mary Grace Natividad Sonora Poe-Llamanzares (born September 3, 1968) is a Filipino politician, businesswoman, educator, and philanthropist serving as a senator since 2013. She was the chairperson of the Movie and Television Review and Classifi ...

for the 2016 election, instead of Aquino's preferred candidate

Mar Roxas Manuel "Mar" Araneta Roxas II (; born May 13, 1957) is a Filipino politician who served as a Senator of the Philippines. He is the grandson and namesake of former Philippine President Manuel Roxas. He served in the Cabinet of the Philippines ...

Second An Waray stint

In 2018, Noel announced his intent to return to the Congress as An Waray's representative once again. He filled in the lone seat An Waray was able to win in the 2019 election. He retained his role for the 2022 election. Noel lost his seat on September 27, 2023, after the

Commission on Elections An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

(COMELEC) cancelled the registration of An Waray over alleged infractions against the party-list law. This was due to his sister Victoria assuming the role of An Waray's second representative for the 16th Congress in 2013 without a proclamation from the COMELEC.

Malabon congressional bid

On October 5, 2024, Noel filed his certificate of candidacy for representative of the lone district of Malabon City under the

Nationalist People's Coalition The Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) is a conservatism, conservative political party in the Philippines which was founded in 1992 by presidential candidate Danding Cojuangco. History Formation In 1990, amid political and economic unce ...

. Noel lost in the election on May 12, 2025, finishing a distant third behind fellow ex-congressman Federico "Ricky" Sandoval II and the eventual winner, former mayor Antolin "Lenlen" Aquino Oreta III.

Personal life

Noel is married to Josephine Veronique Lacson, who was a member of the

representing

Malabon Malabon, officially the City of Malabon (), is a highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 380,522 people. Located just north of the city of Manila, Malabon is ...

, with thom they have three children. Their son Regino Federico "Nino" Noel was a city councilor of Malabon. His sister Victoria Noel also served as an An Waray representative. Noel was born in

Tacloban Tacloban ( ; ), officially the City of Tacloban (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city on Leyte island in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, Tacloban has a popu ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noel, Bem 1966 births Living people 21st-century Filipino politicians Party-list members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Nationalist People's Coalition politicians People from Malabon People from Tacloban Politicians from Metro Manila