Manuel "Chaco" Longa Sagarbarria (born May 18, 1986) is a Filipino politician who has served as the governor of Negros Oriental since 2023.

Early life and education

Sagarbarria was born on May 18, 1986 to

Congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

of the 2nd District of Negros Oriental, Manuel "Chiquiting" Teves Sagarbarria and former Barangay Captain Ma. Isabel “Maisa” Longa-Sagarbarria. Sagarbarria graduated from

Silliman University Silliman University (also referred to as Silliman or SU) is a private, Protestant, and research university located in Dumaguete City, Philippines. Established in 1901 as Silliman Institute by the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, it is ...

and earned an undergraduate degree.

Political career

Early political career

Sagarbarria was elected SK Kagawad at a young age, and became Barangay Captain a few years after his election as Kagawad. In 2016, Sagarbarria was elected as City Councilor of

Dumaguete Dumaguete, officially the City of Dumaguete (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it h ...

with 22,797 votes under the Nationalist People's Coalition, and was re-elected in 2019, with a larger vote share of 35,553 votes.

Sangguniang Panlalawigan and Vice Governor

In 2022, Sagarbarria was elected as Board Member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Negros Oriental from the Second District, winning with 107,062 votes. On March 4, 2023, Sagarbarria became the Vice Governor of Negros Oriental, succeeding the then-Vice Governor, Carlo Jorge Joan L. Reyes, who became Governor following the assassination of Governor Roel Degamo.

Governor of Negros Oriental

On May 31, 2023, Sagarbarria ascended to become Governor of Negros Oriental, following the death of his predecessor, Carlo Jorge Joan L. Reyes, who died from lung cancer while receiving treatment in Metro Manila. Sagarbarria took his oath as governor from Judge Gerardo Paguio Jr. on the same day. One of his first acts as Governor was to order the flying of the Philippine flags at half-mast in honor of the late Reyes. As Governor, Sagarbarria vowed to prioritize the improvement of the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital, and to continue the projects that were started by his late predecessor. Sagarbarria called for "unity and hard work" among medical personnel in the province to aide and provide the health needs of the province's residents, and also announced the establishment of a Bids and Awards Committee, specifically for medical centers to fast-track the procurement of equipment and medicines. In June 2023, Sagarbarria implemented identical measures in handling the threats of

African Swine Fever African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a large, double-stranded DNA virus in the '' Asfarviridae'' family. It is the causative agent of African swine fever (ASF). The virus causes a hemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates in domestic pigs; ...

with

Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Gwendolyn Garcia Gwendolyn Fiel Garcia-Codilla (born October 12, 1955) is a Filipino politician who has served as the 24th governor of Cebu since 2019. She previously held the position from 2004 to 2013 and served as the representative for Cebu's third distr ...

, wherein Sagarbarria said that the two provinces would sign a memorandum of agreement that would lay out the near-same protocols about biosecurity measures, as well as lifting the ban on hogs fro
Bureau of Animal Industry
(BAI)-declared ASF-infected areas. In the same year, Sagarbarria also announced that he undertake more sporting events to intensify the provincial government’s tourism campaign. He disclosed in a separate interview that the capitol had spent about ₱50,000 the Macias Sports Center in Dumaguete. In 2024, Sagarbarria signed Executive Order No. 10, which lifted the ban on pork in the province following the ban on hogs from the BAI. In the same year, he, along with other local leaders, also expressed his support of the proposal that would create a Negros island economic superhighway, saying that the proposed Negros island economic superhighway was designed to boost agriculture, trade, and business between the two Negros provinces, further adding that the project was agreed with

Negros Occidental Negros Occidental (; ), officially the Province of Negros Occidental (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Negros, Negros Island. Its capital is the city of Bacolod, of which it is geographically s ...

, Eugenio “Bong” Lacson. Sagarbarria also distributed checks and packages amounting to P910,000 in

Sibulan Sibulan, officially the Municipality of Sibulan (; ), is a municipality in the province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 64,343 people. Sibulan is from Dumaguete. It is the location of Du ...

, where 13 former

New People's Army The New People's Army (; abbreviated NPA or BHB) is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). It acts as the CPP's principal organization, aiming to consolidate political power from what it sees as the present "bourgeo ...

rebels and one Militia ng Bayan member each received ₱50,000 worth of livelihood assistance and ₱15,000 as immediate assistance under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (ECLIP). He was elected on his own right as governor in the 2025 midterm elections with 365,020 votes, winning against former governor, Pryde Henry Teves.

Personal life

Sagarbarria was married to lawyer Farrah Mae Barot-Sagarbarria until the latter's death in 2022 due to illness. They have two children together. Sagarbarria is currently in a relationship with Juvi Calago, an Executive Administrative Assistant at the Provincial Government of Negros Oriental.

References

, - {{Current Philippine Governors 1986 births Living people Nationalist People's Coalition politicians Partido Federal ng Pilipinas politicians Filipino Roman Catholics Governors of Negros Oriental Silliman University alumni Politicians from Negros Oriental People from Dumaguete Provincial board members in the Philippines