Gregorio "Gringo" Ballesteros Honasan II (, born March 14, 1948), is a Filipino politician and a cashiered

Philippine Army The Philippine Army (PA) () is the main, oldest and largest branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), responsible for ground warfare. , it had an estimated strength of 143,100 soldiers The service branch was established on December ...

officer who led unsuccessful coups d'état against President

Corazon Aquino María Corazón "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipino politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines and the first woman president in the country, from Presidency of Corazon ...

. He played a key role in the

1986 EDSA Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, were a series of popular demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a sustained campaign of ...

that toppled President

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

, and participated in the

EDSA III The May 1 Riots, or EDSA III (pronounced as ''EDSA Three'' or ''EDSA Tres'', the Spanish word for "three"), were protests sparked by the arrest of newly deposed president Joseph Estrada of the Philippines from April 25 to May 1, 2001. Th ...

rallies in 2001 that preceded the May 1 riots near

Malacañang Palace Malacañang Palace (, ), officially known as Malacañán Palace, is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the Philippines. It is located in the Manila district of San Miguel, Manila, San Miguel, along Jose Laurel S ...

. After 1986, he led a series of unsuccessful but violent coup attempts against the administration of

. President

Fidel Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military officer to reached ...

granted him amnesty in 1992. He entered politics and became a

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

from 1995 to 2004, and again from 2007 to 2019. He ran for vice president of the Philippines, being Jejomar Binay's running-mate in 2016, but both were respectively defeated by

Leni Robredo Maria Leonor "Leni" Gerona Robredo (; Gerona; born April 23, 1965) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 14th vice president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. She is the mayor-elect of Naga, Camarines Sur, having won the ...

and

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 ...

. On November 22, 2018, President Duterte appointed then-Senator Honasan as Secretary of

Department of Information and Communications Technology The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) () is the Executive departments of the Philippines, executive department of the Government of the Philippines, Philippine government responsible for the planning, development a ...

, which took effect after the latter's senatorial term, with Eliseo Rio serving as acting secretary. He established much digital policies that helped the Philippine ICT landscape.

Early life and education

Gregorio Honasan was born in

Baguio Baguio ( , , ), officially the City of Baguio (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

to Colonel Romeo Gillego Honasan and Alicia "Alice" Masip Ballesteros, both from

Sorsogon Sorsogon, officially the Province of Sorsogon ( Bikol: ''Probinsya kan Sorsogon''; Waray: ''Probinsya han Sorsogon''; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Bicol Region. It is the southernmost province in the island of Luzon and ...

province. He has six siblings. Honasan spent his elementary days at San Beda College from Kindergarten to Grade 6. After which, he went to Taiwan and studied at the Dominican School, Taipei, Taiwan. He then returned to the Philippines and finished his high school at

Don Bosco Technical College Don Bosco Technical College, also referred to by its acronym DBTC, Don Bosco Mandaluyong or informally DB Manda, is a private Catholic basic and higher education institution run by the Salesians of the Society of Saint John Bosco in Mandaluyon ...

. He attained his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree at the

Philippine Military Academy The Philippine Military Academy ( / ) also referred to by its acronym PMA is the premier military academy for Filipinos aspiring for a commission as a military officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). It was established on Decembe ...

, where he received the title of "Class Baron", the academy's highest leadership award. Among his advisors at the academy was Victor Corpus, whom he later credited with instilling the "radical thinking" of him and his batchmates.

Military career

After graduating in 1971, he joined the Philippine Army's

special forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

, 1st Scout Ranger Regiment and went into combat against separatist and communist insurgents in

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

and

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

. He was wounded in action at battles in Lebak and

Jolo Jolo () is a volcanic island in the southwest Philippines and the primary island of the province of Sulu, on which the capital of the same name is situated. It is located in the Sulu Archipelago, between Borneo and Mindanao, and has a populatio ...

. Making his way up through the armed forces, he became aide-de-camp to Defense Minister

Juan Ponce Enrile Juan Valentin Furagganan Ponce Enrile Sr., (born Juan Valentin Furagganan; February 14, 1924), also referred to by his initials JPE, is a Filipino politician and lawyer who served as 21st President of the Senate of the Philippines from 2008 to ...

in 1974, and later became the Defense Ministry's Chief of Security. Concurrent with his position as security chief, he was a board member of the Northern Mindanao Development Bank and president of the Beatriz Marketing Company.

Political career

People Power

In 1986, Honasan and a cabal of colonels, backed by Enrile, tried to use popular unrest to overthrow the

dictatorship A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...

of President

. When the plot was uncovered, the conspirators sought refuge in the military headquarters and called on civilians, the media, and the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

for protection. Hundreds of thousands of people served as human shields to protect Honasan and his men from Marcos' forces, sparking the 1986

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, were a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...

that led to Marcos' fall from power and the installation of

as president.

Coups d'état

Aquino awarded Honasan a Distinguished Conduct Star for the EDSA Revolution and the Presidential Government Medal in 1986. Under the new government, he was head of a special group in the defense ministry. Using his position, he was covertly involved in various coup attempts against Aquino. On August 28, 1987, fighting broke out in the streets and Honasan ordered his men to attack government installations, resulting in the deaths of dozens, including many civilians. The attack was put down by government forces, but Honasan was able to escape. He was later captured and imprisoned on a Navy ship in

Manila Bay Manila Bay (; ) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the Manila, capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Philippines and ...

. He later escaped once again by convincing his guards to join his cause.

Senate

Philippine President

, who was elected in 1992, granted

amnesty Amnesty () is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet be ...

to Honasan, who utilized his rebel infamy to enter politics in 1995, becoming the second independent candidate in Philippine history to win a seat in the

Senate 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 ...

after

Magnolia Antonino Magnolia Rodriguez Welborn Antonino ( Welborn; December 14, 1915 – July 22, 2010) was a Senate of the Philippines, Senator of the Philippines. The daughter of George Welborn and Hipolita Rodriguez, she was married to Gaudencio Antonino, also a ...

. He was re-elected in 2001, filling the vacant seat left by Senator Teofisto Guingona Jr., who was appointed by President

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal-Arroyo (; born April 5, 1947), often referred to as PGMA or GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician who served as the 14th president of the Philippines from Presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 2001 to 2010 ...

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

. From April 25 to May 1, 2001, together with

, Miriam Defensor Santiago, Panfilo Lacson and

Vicente Sotto III Vicente Castelo Sotto, III (; born August 24, 1948), is a Filipino politician and television personality who is a senator-elect of the Philippines. He is the longest-serving senator in the history of the upper chamber, being the only one ele ...

, he spoke at the

protests in support of deposed President

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor, who served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 until his resignation in 2001. ...

. On May 1, 2001, the protesters stormed

. He left the Senate when his term expired in 2004. In the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

held in May 2007, he was again elected to the Senate. Running as an

independent candidate An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have polit ...

, he polled some 11.6 million votes, finishing 10th out of 37 candidates for 12 Senate vacancies. He took up his post on June 30. He was reelected during the 2013 elections, placing 12th with 13,211,424 votes, his fourth term. During the

2016 Philippine general election A general election in the Philippines took place on May 9, 2016, for executive and legislative branches for all levels of government – national, provincial, and local, except for the barangay officials. At the top of the ballot was the elec ...

s, Honasan was Jejomar Binay's running mate under the United Nationalist Alliance party. Honasan placed 6th in the vice presidential race, garnering only 788,881 or 1.92% of votes. In 2017, the

Sandiganbayan The Sandiganbayan () is a special Appellate court, appellate collegial court in the Philippines that has jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases involving Graft (politics), graft and corrupt practices and other offenses committed by public ...

anti-corruption court ordered the arrest of Honasan over allegations of graft connected to the pork barrel scam.

Information and Communications Technology Secretary

On November 22, 2018, President Duterte appointed Honasan as secretary of

. Acting Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr. held the position until the end of Honasan's Senate term. Honasan was sworn into the office on July 1, 2019, and confirmed by the

Commission on Appointments The Commission on Appointments (, abbreviated as CA) is a constitutional body which confirms or rejects certain political appointments made by the President of the Philippines. The current commission was created by the 1987 Constitution. Whil ...

on September 11, 2019. In January 2020, the Department was flagged by the

Commission on Audit of the Philippines The Commission on Audit (COA; ) is an independent constitutional commission established by the Constitution of the Philippines. It has the primary function to examine, audit and settle all accounts and expenditures of the funds and properties ...

for worth of cash advances of confidential funds under Honasan. Undersecretary of Operations Eliseo Rio Jr. also questioned the cash advances as he resigned from his position. Secretary Honasan and Undersecretary Rio later issued a joint statement to state that the confidential expenses were "lawful and legitimate" and that "Undersecretary Rio's resignation was due to personal reasons, and not due to any rift with the Secretary, nor to any anomaly in the Confidential Expense."

Senate comeback attempts

On October 8, 2021, Honasan filed his certificate of candidacy to run for senator 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 ...

, effectively ending his time as Secretary of Information and Communications Technology. His candidacy was endorsed by President

, making him part of the

PDP–Laban The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP, ) is a populist political party in the Philippines founded in 1982. It was previously known as Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP–Laban) from 1983 to 2024 as a result of a merger with L ...

senatorial slate, although he was an independent. He was also named to the senatorial slate of tickets led by presidential aspirants Panfilo Lacson and

Bongbong Marcos Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. (, , ; born September 13, 1957), commonly referred to by the initials BBM or PBBM, is a Filipino politician who has served as the 17th president of the Philippines since 2022. He is the second child ...

(under

UniTeam UniTeam was an electoral alliance in the Philippines formed to support the candidacies of Bongbong Marcos and Sara Duterte in the 2022 presidential and vice-presidential elections and their allies in the 2022 Philippine general election. The ...

), respectively. However, he lost his bid with 10,668,886 votes, ranking 18th out of the 12 seats up for election. He conceded from the race on May 11, 2022. On October 7, 2024, Honasan filed his certificate of candidacy to run for senator 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 ...

, this time under Reform PH Party. However, he lost once again, placing 28th.

Post-political life

In April 2024, lawyer and film producer Ferdinand Topacio announced plans for a biographical film about Honasan titled ''Gringo: The Greg Honasan Story'' to be directed by Lester Dimaranan, with Senator

Robin Padilla Robinhood Ferdinand Cariño Padilla (; born November 23, 1969), also known by his Muslim name Abdul Aziz, is a Filipino actor, film director, and politician serving as senator of the Philippines. He is known as the "Bad Boy" of Philippine cin ...

later cast as Honasan; Padilla had previously portrayed him in the 1994 action film '' Col. Billy Bibit, RAM''. On June 10, 2024, Honasan and other colleagues in Magdalo and the RAM established the Reform PH party in

San Juan, Metro Manila San Juan, officially the City of San Juan (), 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 had a population of 126,34 ...

In popular culture

*Parodied by veteran comedian Chiquito in the 1988 comedy film ''Gorio Punasan, Rebel Driver'', the title being a pun on his name which literally translates as "Wipe Gorio". *Parodied in the 1987 comedy film ''Kumander Gringa'' starring Roderick Paulate. *Portrayed by Rez Cortez in the 1988 true to life drama TV film '' A Dangerous Life''. *Portrayed by

in the 1994 true-to-life action-drama film '' Col. Billy Bibit, RAM'' and the upcoming biopic film ''Gringo: The Greg Honasan Story''. *Portrayed by Moises Miclat in the 2007 comedy film '' Ang Cute ng Ina Mo!''.

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial campaign site of Gregorio HonasanGringo Honasan, Election 2016 Data
{{DEFAULTSORT:Honasan, Gregorio 1948 births Living people Bicolano politicians Candidates in the 2016 Philippine vice-presidential election Duterte administration cabinet members Independent politicians in the Philippines People from Baguio People from Marikina People of the People Power Revolution Philippine Army personnel Philippine Military Academy alumni Filipino anti-communists Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Star Reform PH Party politicians Reform the Armed Forces Movement Secretaries of information and communications technology of the Philippines Senators of the 10th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 11th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 12th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 14th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 15th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 16th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 17th Congress of the Philippines United Nationalist Alliance politicians