Danilo Ramon Subiaga "Dan" Fernandez (born January 14, 1966) is a Filipino politician, actor, businessman, and optometrist who is currently serving as the representative of the Lone District of

Santa Rosa, Laguna Santa Rosa, officially the City of Santa Rosa (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Laguna (province), Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, its po ...

at the

House of Representatives of the Philippines The House of Representatives (; '','' thus commonly referred to as ''Kamara'') is the lower house of Congress of the Philippines, Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the Senate of the Philippines as the upper house. The ...

since 2022. He previously represented the 1st District of Laguna from 2007 to 2016 and again from 2019 to 2022; he also concurrently served as a

Deputy Speaker Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain ...

from 2019 to 2020. Prior to his election in the Congress, he served as a board member of Laguna from 1998 to 2001, Vice Governor of Laguna from 2001 to 2004, and Mayor of Santa Rosa from 2016 to 2019. He also ran for governor in 2004 but lost to incumbent

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 ...

Teresita Lazaro.

Early life and education

Danilo Ramon Fernandez was born January 14, 1966 in

Pagsanjan Pagsanjan (pronounced ''PAG-sang-han''), officially the Municipality of Pagsanjan (), is a municipality in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 44,327 people. Pagsanjan is the tourist capi ...

. He was the youngest of the four children of Edilberto Fernandez Sr., who served as a councilor of

, and Teresita Fernandez. He is related to Estanislao Fernandez, his paternal grandfather's first cousin who served as a lawmaker from Laguna, senator, and Supreme Court associate justice. He completed his elementary education at Francisco Benitez Memorial School in Pagsanjan, where he earned an honorable mention. He completed his secondary education at Pagsanjan Academy as a

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...

. He was granted a college scholarship at the Centro Escolar University in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, where he completed doctor of optometry. He passed the optometry licensure examination in 1986. He then took up law at

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (UST; ), officially the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines or colloquially as ''Ustê'' (), is a Private university, private Catholic school, Catholic researc ...

but later dropped out to pursue an acting career.

Acting career

Dan Fernandez entered show business when he accepted an offer to become an actor in 1986, while he was working out at YMCA of Manila during his law school days. He was known for acting in ''Mara Clara: The Movie'' (1996), ''Balawis'' (1996), ''Cobra'' (1997), ''Boy Tapang'' (1999), ''Upak Gang'' (2015), and ''Honor Thy Father'' (2015).

Political career

Fernandez was first elected as member of the Laguna Provincial Board from the 4th district in 1998, serving for one term until 2001. He was elected vice governor of Laguna in 2001, serving for one term until 2004.

2004 gubernatorial campaign

Fernandez chose not to seek re-election for vice governor and instead ran for Governor of Laguna in 2004. He eventually lost to incumbent Governor Teresita Lazaro. He filed a petition to annul Lazaro's proclamation, alleging tampering of election results in

Biñan Biñan (), officially the City of Biñan (), is a component city in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 407,437, making it the third largest in population in the province of Laguna, after ...

and San Pablo. However, on October 9, 2006, the

Commission on Elections (COMELEC) 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 ...

dismissed the petition and denied his motion for reconsideration, due to his failure in filing timely objections and providing evidence of fraud. According to his 2025 Certificate of Candidacy, he transferred his residence to

, several months after his vice gubernatorial term ended on June 30, 2004.

House of Representatives (2007-2016)

Fernandez decided to return to politics by running for representative of the first district of Laguna in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. He won the elections defeating Atty. Nereo Joaquin Jr., the son of former Representatives Nereo and Uliran Joaquin. On November 20, 2009, his election was annulled by the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal for failing to complete the two-year residency requirement prior to filing his 2007 candidacy but it was reversed by the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

on January 4, 2010. Fernandez ran for

re-election The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be a ...

in 2010 and won defeating his predecessor, Uliran Joaquin. He was once again re-elected in 2013. As a member of the House of Representatives, Fernandez sponsored and authored 19 House measures. He also co-authored 13 House Bills and Resolutions. Fernandez served on numerous committees as a member of the

Philippine House of Representatives The House of Representatives (; '','' thus commonly referred to as ''Kamara'') is the lower house of Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the Senate of the Philippines as the upper house. The lower house is commonly refe ...

: *

Ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

* Dangerous Drugs *

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

* Labor and Employment *

Public Information Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

* Public Order and Safety * Southern Tagalog Development * Trade and Industry *

Transportation Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

Mayor of Santa Rosa (2016-2019)

Fernandez ran for Mayor of Santa Rosa City in 2016. He won the elections, defeating two opponents and effectively switching places with Arlene Arcillas. However, in 2019, he decided not to seek re-election to seek a comeback to the Congress instead.

House of Representatives (2019-present)

Fernandez was elected to his fourth term as Representative of the 1st District of Laguna, without having any opponents in 2019. He switched places with Arlene Arcillas once again. He was then named as one of the Deputy Speakers under the new Speakership of

Alan Peter Cayetano Alan Peter Schramm Cayetano ( Tagalog pronunciation: ajɛˈtano born October 28, 1970) is a Filipino lawyer, diplomat, and politician serving as a senator since 2022 and previously from 2007 to 2017. He was the Senate Minority Leader from 2 ...

. He is one of the 70 congressmen who voted against the renewal of the ABS-CBN franchise. His vote of denial to his former home network's hopes of renewing its legislative franchise sparked controversy from both the entertainment industry and the social media, branding him as a "traitor". Fernandez was removed as the Deputy Speaker on November 18, 2020. In January 2021, Fernandez is announced to be part of the new bloc "''BTS sa Kongreso''" (named after the

K-pop K-pop (; an abbreviation of "Korean popular music") is a form of popular music originating in South Korea. It emerged in the 1990s as a form of youth subculture, with Korean musicians taking influence from Western Electronic dance music, danc ...

boy band group

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

), a coalition group formed by Alan Peter Cayetano during the 18th Congress. Fernandez sought re-election in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, this time for the newly established lone district of Santa Rosa. He was elected, making him the first representative of the new district. In the 19th Congress, he was named as the chairman of the House Committee on Public Order and Safety, making him a concurrent member of the

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...

. He also chaired the Quad Committee, alongside

Benny Abante Bienvenido "Benny" Mirando Abante Jr. (born July 15, 1951) is a Filipino politician and Bible- Baptist pastor who has been serving as the representative of Manila's 6th district since 2019, a position he previously held from 2004 to 2010. H ...

( Manila–6th), which investigates the alleged extrajudicial killings during the drug war under former President

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the first Philippine president from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assum ...

, until both resigned as chairmen in November 2024 after former

Mandaluyong Mandaluyong ( ; ), officially the City of Mandaluyong (, ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly-urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popula ...

City Police Chief Hector Grijaldo accused them of pressuring him to admit the existence of the drug war reward system. In January 2025, an ethics complaint was filed by Ferdinand Topacio, lawyer of

Cassandra Ong Katherine Cassandra Li Ong (born May 23, 2000), also nicknamed Cassy Li, is a Filipino businesswoman who was an associate of Lucky South 99 Outsourcing, Inc., a defunct Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) in Porac, Pampanga, that has be ...

, against Fernandez. The complaint alleged conduct unbecoming of a legislator and Quad Committee chairman, citing violations of the Code of Conduct during hearings on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) and calling for Fernandez's expulsion.

2025 gubernatorial campaign

Fernandez chose not to run for re-election to run in the House and ran instead for governor of Laguna for the second time in

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

. He chose fellow actor Gem Castillo as his vice gubernatorial running mate. On April 25, 2025, 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) Kontra Bigay committee issued show-cause order to Fernandez over alleged

vote buying Vote buying (also referred to as electoral clientelism and patronage politics) occurs when a political party or candidate distributes money or resources to a voter in an upcoming election with the expectation that the voter votes for the actor h ...

activities surrounding his campaign. Fernandez later lost the race to former Laguna 3rd district representative Sol Aragones, placing third.

Filmography

Personal life

Fernandez is married to actress Sheila Ysrael. His son Danzel Rafter is an incumbent board member of Laguna from the 1st district since 2022. Global Aero Bleu Corporation, partially (10%) owned by Fernandez, was accused of failing to settle a debt by Fly Noor, which filed a claim against it on November 5, 2023 regarding

aircraft lease Aircraft leases are leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons: to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, as well as to provide ...

References

External links

Danilo Ramon S. Fernandez Congress profile (19th Congress)Danilo Ramon S. Fernandez Congress profile (15th Congress)Danilo Ramon S. Fernandez Congress profile (14th Congress)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez, Danilo 1966 births Filipino health professionals Optometrists Living people Male actors from Laguna (province) Mayors of places in Laguna (province) Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Laguna (province) Members of the Laguna Provincial Board People from Santa Rosa, Laguna Deputy speakers of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Centro Escolar University alumni National Unity Party (Philippines) politicians Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Santa Rosa Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas politicians