Pilar Juliana Schramm Cayetano KGCR (born March 22, 1966), known as Pia Cayetano, is a Filipina politician and lawyer serving as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

since 2019, a position she previously held from 2004 to 2016. She was also the Representative of

Taguig Taguig (), officially the City of Taguig ( fil, Lungsod ng Taguig), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 886,722 people. Located in the northwestern shores of ...

's 2nd district from 2016 to 2019 and was one of the Deputy Speakers. Cayetano was born to a political family currently based in Taguig. Her father was the late former senator Rene Cayetano; her younger brother, Alan Peter, is an incumbent senator who formerly represented Taguig-Pateros district and became Speaker of the House during the 18th Congress; another younger brother, Rene Carl, is a former councilor of

Muntinlupa Muntinlupa, officially the City of Muntinlupa ( fil, Lungsod ng Muntinlupa), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the ...

; her youngest brother, Lino, was mayor of Taguig; and her sister-in-law (Alan Peter's wife) Lani, is the incumbent mayor of Taguig. Cayetano authored the Expanded Senior Citizens Act, Expanded Breastfeeding Promoting Act, and the

Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 The Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012, also known as the Reproductive Health Law or RH Law, and officially designated as Republic Act No. 10354, is a Philippine law that provided universal access to methods on contracep ...

, among others. She earned her economics (''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

'') and law degrees at the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 20 ...

, where she played

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

for the

UP Lady Maroons The UP Fighting Maroons are the collegiate varsity teams of the University of the Philippines, primarily off University of the Philippines Diliman, Diliman, which play in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the premiere ...

team that won the 1983 UAAP title. She has also played for the national women's volleyball team. Cayetano is also a runner, cyclist, and

triathlete A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the t ...

. Pia Cayetano was conferred the Rizal Women of Malalos Award by the

Order of the Knights of Rizal The Knights of Rizal is an Order of Chivalry from the Philippines, created to honor and uphold the ideals of Philippine national hero José Rizal. The civic organisation of the "Order of the Knights of Rizal" was established in 1911 by Colonel A ...

Early life

Cayetano was born on March 22, 1966, to Renato "Compañero" Cayetano, who would later become Senator, and

German-American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

former school teacher Sandra Schramm.

Education

Cayetano took up Bachelor of Arts in Economics at the

, and graduated ''cum laude'' in 1985. She then took up Bachelor of Laws at

University of the Philippines Diliman , image = University of The Philippines seal.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = Official Logo of UP Diliman , motto = Honor and Excellence , established = February 12, 194 ...

. She graduated in 1991 with academic distinction, #7 in her class. She also became a member of the Honor Society, Order of the Purple Feather.ABOUT SEN. PIA , Sen. Pia S. Cayetano
/ref>

Legal career

From 1992 to 1995, Cayetano was an associate lawyer at the Castillo, Laman Tan, and Pantaleon Law Offices, specializing in corporate and intellectual property law. From 1996 to 1999, she was an officer for the legal and corporate affairs of the Belle Corporation and its affiliates, including the gaming conglomerate BW Resources. In 2000, she was general counsel for the Philweb Corporation. In 2001, she was appointed chairwoman of the Maxi Group of Companies, a retailer and distributor of educational toys, infant apparel and accessories. In 2012, she opened her own cafe, Slice, at

Bonifacio High Street Bonifacio High Street is a mixed-use development in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, Metro Manila, Philippines located just near Serendra, Market! Market! and SM Aura Premier. It is owned by Ayala Malls, a real-estate subsidiary of Ayala Land, which ...

in Taguig.

Political career

Following the death of her father, then Senator Renato Cayetano, due to

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

on June 25, 2003, several legislators including senators, encouraged Pia Cayetano to run for office. As a result, she ran for a Senate seat in the

2004 elections 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

. Initially she was a virtual unknown to the electorate but with the liberalization of political advertisements, she gained popularity with her TV advertisement as a runner, cyclist, and as a tri-athlete, and as a new host of her father's TV program ''Compañero y Compañera'' for a short stint. She won in the elections landing in the sixth position. In 2010, Cayetano ran for re-election as a guest candidate under the

Nacionalista Party The Nacionalista Party ( Filipino and Spanish: ''Partido Nacionalista''; ) is the oldest political party in both the Philippines and in Southeast Asia in general. It is responsible for leading the country throughout the majority of the 20th ...

. She won, again landing in sixth place. Her second term as senator ended in 2016. During 112th

Inter-Parliamentary Union The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU; french: Union Interparlementaire, UIP) is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members; other ...

Assembly in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

, Cayetano was elected President of the 10th Meeting of Women Parliamentarians during the sidelines of the annual meeting. On April 17, 2008, she was elected for a two-year term, president of the Committee of Women Parliamentarians of the

(IPU) during its 118th General Assembly in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

. As the first Filipino and Asian to head it, she ran unopposed and took over from

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

's Monica Xavier. This is the highest position held by any Filipino or Asian in the history of the IPU. Cayetano pushed for the enactment of the ‘Magna Carta of Women’ which seeks to end all forms of gender discrimination, and the ‘Expanded Breastfeeding Act,’ which establishes lactation stations in the workplace to encourage nursing mothers to continue breastfeeding even at work.LAWS , Sen. Pia S. Cayetano
/ref> Cayetano is likewise credited for the passage of the ‘Expanded Senior Citizens Act’ which allowed the elderly to fully enjoy the 20-percent senior citizens discount by exempting their purchases of medicines and other vital services from the 12-percent Value Added Tax. She was responsible for passing the ‘Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) Law’ and the ‘Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Law,’ both of which seek to strengthen State mechanisms to ensure safe and affordable quality drugs for all. She also authored or co-authored the Foster Care Act (RA 10165), Mandatory Infants and Children Health Immunization Act (RA 10152), Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act (RA 10028), Establishment of Persons with Disability Affairs Office Act (RA 10070), National Anti-Rabies Act (RA 9482), and the Environmental Awareness and Education Act (RA 9512), among others. Most recently, Senator Cayetano worked for the passage of two landmark laws, the Reproductive Health Act (RA 10354), for which she was the principal sponsor, and the Sin Tax Reform Act (RA 10351) which sought to fund government health programs from tax proceeds from cigarettes and alcohol products. In 2016, she won as Congresswoman of Taguig City's second district. She would later be named one of twelve Deputy Speakers of the House of Representatives under the 17th Congress. In 2019, she ran for a comeback to the Senate under the

Hugpong ng Pagbabago Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP; ) is a regional political party and former political alliance in the Philippines. Formed in 2018 by Sara Duterte, the party was established in support of President Rodrigo Duterte's administration, and was the administrat ...

coalition. She was successful, placing fourth and thus securing her third term.

Personal life

Cayetano is an advocate of sports as part of a holistic youth development program, prevention of diseases, and the need for a healthy and fit lifestyle. She is the founder of Gabriel Symphony Foundation which was established following the death of her son Gabriel, who was diagnosed with multiple

congenital A birth defect, also known as a congenital disorder, is an abnormal condition that is present at birth regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disabilities that may be physical, intellectual, or developmental. The disabilities can ...

anomalies. The foundation helps children with disabilities and life-threatening ailments. She has three siblings: Alan Peter, incumbent congressman of Taguig who formerly served as Senator,

Secretary of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

, and Speaker of the House of Representatives; Rene Carl, a former councilor of

and the owner of the collectible figurine store "Maxicollector"; and Lino Edgardo, a television and movie director, former Barangay Chairman of Barangay Fort Bonifacio in Taguig, former congressional representative of the second district of Taguig, and former

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

. Cayetano is a mother to two daughters, Maxine and Nadine, and a son Gabriel, who died from complications of a rare chromosomal disorder in 2001. She is also a foster parent to Rene Lucas. She is also the founder of the Compañero Rene Cayetano Foundation in memory of her father, which helps the underprivileged in the areas of health, education, and environment, as well as Pinay In Action (PIA), which promotes health, fitness, and women empowerment.Pinay in Action , Women’s Empowerment, Fun, Fitness, Health and Wellness
/ref> She is a member of Young Entrepreneurs' Organization and a spokesperson of the Philippine Cancer Society and the Universal Birth Registration Project.

References

External links