Manuel "Lito" Mercado Lapid (; born October 25, 1955) is a Filipino actor and politician 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, and previously from 2004 to 2016. He started his political career in Pampanga, serving as vice governor from 1992 to 1995, and governor from 1995 to 2004. In 2015, he was charged for graft over his alleged involvement in the 2004 Fertilizer Fund scam while he was governor of Pampanga, but the case was dismissed in 2016 by the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court due to the "inordinate delay" in the investigation.

Early life and education

Lapid was born in Porac, Pampanga on October 25, 1955. He is the fifth child out of nine children of Jose Songco Lapid and Eleuteria Mercado. He completed his elementary education at the Porac Central School in 1968 and secondary education at St. Catherine's Academy in Porac in 1972. He did not enroll for his tertiary education as he pursued acting.

Acting career

Lapid entered the film industry as a stuntman, and became an actor. He is the nephew of Jess Lapid and the cousin of Jess Lapid Jr. The movie "The Jess Lapid Story" got him noticed in the movie industry.

Political career

In the 1992 general election he ran under the opposition block

Nationalist People's Coalition The Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) is a conservative political party in the Philippines, founded in 1992 by then-presidential candidate Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. History The Party was founded in 1992 after some members of the Nacionalista ...

as vice governor of Pampanga, and defeated the incumbent vice governor Cielo Macapagal-Salgado. In 1995, he ran for governor of Pampanga under the same party against Governor Bren Guiao, who had the support of former President Corazon Aquino, and won. When he sought a second term in 1998, Lapid joined the administration party Lakas-NUCD. After the impeachment of President Joseph Estrada in 2000 and the second EDSA Revolution the following year, he ran again for his final term and won. He decided to run as mayor of Angeles City, in the 2004 elections but abandoned his plans when he was encouraged to run as a senator.

Senate

During the 2004 Senatorial elections, the then- president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo encouraged Lapid to run as a senator under the administration coalition K4. He accepted the offer and won the election where he placed eleventh. In May 2010, he was re-elected as senator, placing 11th in the overall ranking. He ran under the Lakas–CMD but subsequently left the party in 2012 and served until 2016 as an independent. He was chairman of the Senate Committee on Tourism and Cooperatives. On October 15, 2018, Lapid filed his Certificate of Candidacy for senator at the Commission on Elections in Intramuros,

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...

. On May 22, 2019, he was proclaimed as one of the winners of the 2019 Philippine Senate election by the Commission on Elections sitting as National Board of Canvassers. He garnered 16,954,677 votes placing him in seventh place, succeeding Senator Sonny Angara at sixth and preceding former Ilocos Norte governor Imee Marcos at eighth.

Personal life

Lapid is married to Marissa Tadeo, with whom he has four children including Mark. Lapid also has a child with former supermodel

Melanie Marquez Mimilanie Laurel Marquez-Lawyer (; born 16 July 1964), popularly known as Melanie Marquez, is a Filipino personality development coach, actress, film producer, author, celebrity endorser, former supermodel and beauty pageant titleholder who was ...

and another, actress Ysabel Ortega with former singer, Michelle Ortega.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Senate of the Philippines - Lito Lapid
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lapid, Lito 1955 births Living people ABS-CBN personalities Filipino actor-politicians Filipino film directors Filipino male film actors GMA Network personalities Governors of Pampanga Kapampangan people Lakas–CMD politicians Male actors from Pampanga Members of the Pampanga Provincial Board Nationalist People's Coalition politicians People from Makati Senators of the 13th 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 18th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 19th Congress of the Philippines