Marlyn Belizario "Len" Alonte-Naguiat (born July 15, 1974) is a Filipino politician who served as the Member of the House of Representatives of the Philippines for

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 ...

from 2016 to 2025. A member of the

centre-right Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...

Lakas–CMD Lakas–Christian Muslim Democrats, abbreviated as Lakas–CMD and also known simply as Lakas, (and known as Lakas–Kampi until 2011) is a political party in the Philippines. Lakas–CMD is considered to be on the Centre-right politics, centre ...

, she previously served as one of the deputy speakers of the House of Representatives from March 2021 to June 2022, as well as the 3-term Mayor of

from 2007 to 2016, the Vice Mayor of Biñan from 2004 to 2007 and the Member of the then Biñan Municipal Council from 1998 to 2004.

Political career

Her political career began when she was elected as a top member of the

Municipal Council in 1998, at the age of 23. She was re-elected as councilor in 2001. In 2004, she contested for Vice Mayorship of the city, instead of seeking re-election for Councilor, and won. She was elected Mayor of Biñan in 2007. Being 32 years old during the election, she was the youngest and the first female Mayor of the city. During her mayorship, she oversaw the adoption of the new seal of the city, as well as the implementation of a plastic-free policy in order to promote the citizens to use '' bayong'', an environmental-friendly traditional Filipino bag. She also organised the establishment of

Polytechnic University of the Philippines Biñan Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Biñan, or PUP Biñan (), is a PUP campus located in the city of Biñan, Laguna (Province), Laguna, Philippines, offering eleven (11) course, one (3) diploma program and undergraduate programs. The camp ...

. It was during her term when Biñan was converted into a city on February 2, 2010. She was re-elected in 2010 and in 2013.

House of Representatives

Formerly a long-term member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, Alonte joined the

centre-left Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...

PDP-Laban The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP, ) is a Populism, populist List of political parties in the Philippines, political party in the Philippines founded in 1982. It was previously known as Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP–L ...

, the new ruling party, following her election as the representative for

at the 2016 election. She was re-elected under the PDP-Laban ticket at the 2019 election. On March 25, 2021, Alonte was elected Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, making her as the 33rd Deputy Speaker under the speakership of

Lord Allan Velasco Lord Allan Jay Quinto Velasco (born November 9, 1977) is a Filipino politician and lawyer who served as the Speaker of the House of Representatives from October 12, 2020 to June 2022. He is concurrently serving as the Representative of Marin ...

. Following her re-election as the Biñan representative at the 2022 election, she left the PDP-Laban and joined the Lakas-CMD, along with 22 others. This movement was referred to as "support of the newly-elected

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

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 ...

and the

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 ...

Sara Duterte Sara Zimmerman Duterte-Carpio (, ; born May 31, 1978), commonly known as Inday Sara, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who is the 15th and current vice president of the Philippines. She is the third female vice president (after Gloria Macap ...

" by the party president

Martin Romualdez Ferdinand Martin Gomez Romualdez (, born November 14, 1963) is a Filipino businessman, lawyer, and politician who has served as the 24th Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, speaker of the House of Representatives since 2 ...

, who was later elected House Speaker.

Political positions

Alonte has been in favor of women and children's rights since her involvement in politics. During her Biñan mayorship, she organised Kababaihan Unlad Biñan, which has been celebrating the Women's Month and holding various activities. She also focused on improving children's education in the city in order to overcome poverty. Ever since being elected representative, she has been contributing for several bills and acts i.e. Republic Act No. 11510, as well as House Bill No. 8097, to enhance the lives of out-of-school youths and

single parents A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include death, divorce, break-up, abandonment, bec ...

. Alonte is also a supporter of

LGBTQ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, Gay men, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (sexuality and gender), questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, Asexuality, asexual, ...

rights. She attended the 2018 Pride Month Celebration organised by the Gay Alliance for Len Alonte.

Controversies

Bribery scandal

In February 2017, Alonte provoked a controversy when the then Secretary of Justice Vitaliano Aguirre II accused her and a former Senator

Jamby Madrigal Maria Ana Consuelo Abad Santos Madrigal-Valade (born April 26, 1958), better known as Jamby Madrigal, is a Filipina politician and businesswoman. She was elected as a senator in the 2004 elections. After only one term, she ran for the presi ...

for providing to several high-class prisoners of the

New Bilibid Prison The New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa, Metro Manila, is the main insular prison designed to house the prison population of the Philippines. It is maintained by the Bureau of Corrections (Philippines), Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) under ...

. Several newspapers reported that the bribery was in order to withdraw their testimonies against Senator

Leila de Lima Leila Norma Eulalia Josefa Magistrado de Lima (born August 27, 1959) is a Filipino politician, lawyer, human rights activist and law professor who is the representative-elect for Mamamayang Liberal, the sectoral wing of the Liberal Party. De ...

. Nevertheless, netizens criticized Aguirre for simply accusing others without any evidences.

Kris Aquino Kristina Bernadette Cojuangco Aquino (; born February 14, 1971) is a Filipino retired television presenter, actress, talent manager and film producer. She notably appeared as Princess Intan in the acclaimed '' Crazy Rich Asians'' and is a rec ...

, the younger sister of former President

Benigno Aquino III Benigno Simeon Aquino III (; born Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III; February 8, 1960 – June 24, 2021), also known as Noynoy Aquino and colloquially as PNoy, was a Filipino politician who served as the 15th president of the Philippines ...

, also defended Alonte, stating that she does not agree with any unproven accusations. Alonte herself also denied the accusation.

Vote buying

Marlyn Alonte was one of the 3 Biñanense politicians, together with Mayor Arman Dimaguila and Vice Mayor Angelo Alonte, who were accused and sued for 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 ...

for the 2022 election. According to ''

Manila Bulletin The ''Manila Bulletin'' () (also known as the ''Bulletin'' and previously known as the ''Manila Daily Bulletin'' from 1906 to September 23, 1972, and the ''Bulletin Today'' from November 22, 1972, to March 10, 1986) is the Philippines' largest ...

'', one of the 3 complainants was Michael Yatco, the former

Partido Federal ng Pilipinas The Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP; ) is a national political party in the Philippines. It is chaired by Bongbong Marcos, president of the Philippines, who won in the 2022 election. During the run-up to the 2022 general election, the UniTea ...

candidate for Biñan who was defeated by Alonte.

Personal life

A native Biñanense, Alonte is the daughter of Bayani Arthur Alonte, who served as Mayor of Biñan from 1988 to 1992, and Fe Erlinda Francisco Belizario, the daughter of philanthropist Dr. Ildefonso Belizario. She is the sister of incumbent Biñan Vice Mayor Angelo Alonte. She attended

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 ...

, where she obtained a Bachelor in Tourism degree. She married Steve Naguiat, a cousin of Cristino Naguiat, who formerly served as the Chairman of the

Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR; ) is a government-owned and controlled corporation established in 1977 through the Presidential Decree No. 1869. PAGCOR is the Philippines' largest contributor of revenue to the government a ...

(PAGCOR). They have 2 children — Nico and Isabel. She has a close relationship with Kris Aquino.

References

External links

Marlyn Alonte
on

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alonte, Marlyn 1974 births Living people University of Santo Tomas alumni Lakas–CMD politicians People from Biñan Mayors of places in Laguna (province) Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Biñan Deputy speakers of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Women mayors of places in the Philippines Women members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Filipino city and municipal councilors