Martin Belleza Delgra III (born November 11), nicknamed "Chuckbong", is a Filipino lawyer who previously served as chairman of the

Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB; ) is an agency of the Republic of the Philippines under the Department of Transportation (DOTr). The LTFRB was established on June 19, 1987, during the former president Corazon Aq ...

from 2016 to 2022. A self-affirmed loyalist of 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 ...

, Delgra served as his legal counsel during his

2016 presidential campaign This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *7 January: Kiri ...

, and was among the few people who accompanied Duterte at

Villamor Air Base Colonel Jesus Villamor Air Base, known simply as Villamor Air Base , is the headquarters of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) and shares runways with Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). It was formerly known as Nichols Field or Nichols ...

when he was

arrested An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be Interroga ...

by police authorities in March 2025.

Early life and education

Martin Delgra III was born to Martin V. Delgra Jr. (1921–1977), a lawyer, and Carmen "Bebe" B. Delgra (1928–2021), and has six siblings. Delgra passed the

Philippine Bar Examination The Philippine Bar Examinations is the professional licensure examination for lawyers in the Philippines. The exam is exclusively administered by the Supreme Court of the Philippines through the Supreme Court Bar Examination Committee. History ...

in 1988.

Career

Delgra initially began his private law practice in the island province of

Basilan Basilan, officially the Province of Basilan (; ; ; ), is an island province of the Philippines located primarily in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region. Basilan Island is the largest and northernmost of the major islands of the Sulu Archipelago ...

, working for three years alongside Spanish bishop José María Querejeta. After returning to Davao City, he worked at Delgra, Lanzona and Quilatan Law Offices, based in Ecoland,

Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao, is a City of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the List of Philippine cities and municipalities ...

LTFRB chairman

Delgra served as chairman of the

(LTFRB) from 2016 to 2022. In 2017, upon president Duterte's issuance of an executive order banning portraits of himself in government offices and replacing them with national heroes, Delgra put up a picture of

Lapulapu Lapulapu (floruit, fl. 1521) or Lapu-Lapu, whose name was first recorded as Çilapulapu, was a datu (chief) of Mactan, an island now part of the Philippines. Lapulapu is known for the 1521 Battle of Mactan, where he and his men defeated Spa ...

on his office wall alongside the presidential portrait of Duterte, reasoning that he considers both to be his heroes.

Post-government activities

Delgra continued to serve as Duterte's legal counsel after stepping down as LTFRB chairman in 2022. On March 11, 2025, Delgra accompanied Duterte and his family at the

when Duterte was served an arrest warrant by police authorities led by General Nicolas Torre III, chief of the

Criminal Investigation and Detection Group The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) is the primary investigation arm of the Philippine National Police. History The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group was established as the Criminal Information Service whose origin tra ...

(CIDG).

Personal life

Delgra is a resident of

. He is an avid mountain climber and scuba diver, and has advocated for environmental protection in the face of climate change.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delgra, Martin III Living people 20th-century Filipino lawyers 21st-century Filipino lawyers Duterte administration personnel People from Davao City Year of birth missing (living people) Filipino lawyers