Norberto Borja Gonzales (born April 17, 1947) is a Filipino

social democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...

politician who served as

secretary of national defense {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

and

national security adviser A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. National sec ...

under 14th President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Gonzales was a candidate in the 2022 presidential election.

Career

Foundation of the PDSP

Gonzales completed a pre-medicine course in

Ateneo de Davao Ateneo may refer to: Cultural institutions * Ateneo de la Juventud, a society of Mexican writers, philosophers and intellectuals * Ateneo de Madrid, a private cultural institution located in the capital of Spain * Ateneo de Ponce, a nonprofit, ...

. During the second term of President

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

, Gonzales joined the burgeoning anti-government protests. The protest movement he co-organized became the Kilusan ng mga Demokratikong Sosyalista ng Pilipinas, which later became the Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas (PDSP). The PDSP worked together with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) to help overthrow Marcos. Once Marcos was ousted, his successor

Corazon Aquino Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People P ...

appointed him as a negotiator to the MNLF. Two years later, a peace agreement was signed between the government and the MNLF. A decade later. Gonzales was appointed presidential adviser for special concerns and presidential chief of staff by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Arroyo administration

Gonzales was appointed as

in February 2005 until his appointment as the defense chief in July 2007. He briefly served for a month and was replaced by Gilbert Teodoro. As national security adviser, he was ordered detained by the Senate for

contempt of Congress Contempt of Congress is the act of obstructing the work of the United States Congress or one of its committees. Historically, the bribery of a U.S. senator or U.S. representative was considered contempt of Congress. In modern times, contempt of Co ...

in 2005. Later on, he cited the ongoing communist insurgency as a reason why the Philippines remained a " Third World country." He proposed crafting a good strategy to defeat the rebels, or extending President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's term. After Teodoro's announcement of his presidential candidacy, Gonzales served as the

again from November 2009 until June 30, 2010.

Post-Arroyo administration

Upon Teodoro losing in the 2010 election, he and Gonzales were originally seen to form the new opposition bloc to counter president-elect Benigno Aquino III. In 2015, Senator

Antonio Trillanes Antonio Fuentes Trillanes IV (; born August 6, 1971) is a retired Philippine naval officer who also served as a senator of the Philippines from 2007 to 2019. He is known for his involvement in the Oakwood mutiny of 2003 and the Manila Peninsula ...

said that Gonzales was planning a coup to oust Aquino. Gonzales replied that while "coups don't succeed in the Philippines," president Aquino should "step down." During the presidency of

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...

, Gonzales said that "a Chinese invasion is not unthinkable."

2022 presidential campaign

Gonzales is the chairman and official nominee for president in the 2022 election of the Philippine Democratic Socialist Party. He announced and filed his candidacy on October 6, 2021. A lifelong social democrat, he insists on a "new and more politically mature approach to winning the nation's heart and its consent to govern." He also wants the

Department of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

to be reformed and asserted that "food production" will be his priority if elected. He mentioned President

’s "weak COVID-19 response" as one of the main reasons why he ran for president. He ended up being 9th Place in the 2022 presidential election having about 89,097 votes. https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/eleksyon2022/, website=gmanetwork.com, date= May 13, 2022, access-date=May 13, 2022

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzales, Norberto 1947 births Filipino social democrats Filipino exiles National Security Advisers of the Philippines Politicians from Bataan Secretaries of National Defense of the Philippines Candidates in the 2022 Philippine presidential election Presidential chiefs of staff (Philippines) Living people