Samuel S. Verzosa Jr. (born September 1982) is a Filipino businessman who is known for being the co-founder of the

multi-level marketing Multi-level marketing (MLM), also called network marketing or pyramid selling, is a controversial and sometimes illegal marketing strategy for the sale of products or services in which the revenue of the MLM company is derived from a non-salarie ...

company, Frontrow. He is also serving as the representative of the Tutok To Win Party-List in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

since 2022.

Early life and education

Samuel Verzosa Jr. was born in September 1987. He is the eldest son of five siblings and spent his childhood growing up in Sampaloc. He attended

Angelicum College The UST Angelicum College, officially the University of Santo Tomas - Angelicum College is a private Catholic basic and higher education institution run by the Philippine Dominican Province of the Order of Preachers located in Quezon City, Metr ...

for his elementary and high school studies, and he took up bachelor's degree in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

when he entered the

University of the Philippines Diliman The University of the Philippines Diliman (also called UPD; ), also referred to as UP Diliman, is a State university and college (Philippines), public, coeducational, Research university, research university located in Diliman, Quezon City, Ph ...

Career

Business career

Verzosa learned about the

direct selling Direct selling is a business model that involves a party of people buying products from a parent organization and selling them directly to customers. It can take the form of either single-level marketing (in which a direct seller makes money pu ...

and

(MLM) industries while he was preparing for his engineering board examinations. He joined a direct-selling company, where he met RS Francisco. When the company closed, the two decided to establish Frontrow International in 2009. Frontrow also maintains the E-Skwela program, where the MLM provides Internet and printing hubs for school use in far-flung areas as part of its

corporate social responsibility Corporate social responsibility (CSR) or corporate social impact is a form of international private business industry self-regulation, self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropy, philanthropic, activist, or chari ...

. Frontrow has partnered with the Ang Probinsyano Partylist for this program's implementation. The business however has been hounded by controversies. For instance, a disgruntled former member reached out to ''Aksyon sa Radyo'' program of

Raffy Tulfo Rafael Teshiba Tulfo (; born March 12, 1960) is a Filipino politician, broadcast journalist, and media personality currently serving as a Senator of the Philippines since 2022. His works are focused on government and private sector issues, ...

accused Verzosa and his business partner of scamming him. Frontrow also sponsored

Willie Revillame Wilfredo "Willie" Buendia Revillame (; born January 27, 1961), is a Filipino television host, actor, comedian, drummer, singer, and businessman. He has hosted numerous variety shows, such as ''Lunch Date'', Sang Linggo nAPO Sila'' and ''MTB ...

's ''Tutok to Win'' program. Revillame is a close friend of Verzosa. Frontrow is also a partner of the

Miss Universe Organization Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

. Verzosa also manages the Modena Motorsports company, which distributes

Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914 in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...

cars in the Philippines. He is also a part-owner of the

Manila Batang Sampaloc The Manila Batang Quiapo are a Filipino professional basketball team based in Manila and representing the district of Quiapo, Manila, Quiapo. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's Nort ...

basketball team.

Political career

Verzosa was named as the first nominee of the Tutok To Win Party-List for the

2022 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2022. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2022 United Nations Security Council election * 2022 national electoral calendar * 2022 local e ...

. The organization managed to win a seat. As a House representative for the 19th Congress, Verzosa became vice chairman of the

Poverty Alleviation Poverty reduction, poverty relief, or poverty alleviation is a set of measures, both economic and humanitarian, that are intended to permanently lift people out of poverty. Measures, like those promoted by Henry George in his economics classi ...

, Socual Services, Welfare of Children, and Disaster Resilience committees. Among his bills filed are the Poor Job Applicants Discount Act, which seeks to provide a 20 percent discount to government-issued pre-employment documents for indigent jobseekers, and the E-Skwela Act which aims to institutionalize Frontrow's E-Skwela program under the government. In October 2024, Verzosa filed his candidacy to run for

Mayor of Manila The City Mayor of Manila (, sometimes referred to as, ''Alkalde ng Maynila'') is the head of the executive branch of Manila's city government. The mayor holds office at Manila City Hall. Like all local government heads in the Philippines, the m ...

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 ...

as an independent candidate. However, he lost to former Mayor

Isko Moreno Francisco "Isko" Moreno Domagoso (; born October 24, 1974) is a Filipino politician, actor, host and entrepreneur who is the mayor-elect of Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, having been 2025 Manila local elections, elected in 202 ...

, placing third in the race. Tutok to Win, which fielded seven of Verzosa's relatives among its ten nominees, aimed to retain a seat in 2025 but later failed to secure a seat in the

20th Congress of the Philippines The 20th Congress of the Philippines (), composed of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives, is scheduled to convene on July 28, 2025. The 20th Congress will meet during the last three years of Bongbong Marcos's presidency, and wil ...

Television

Verzosa is the presenter of the public service series ''Dear SV'' which features stories from various Filipino individuals. Its pilot episode aired in February 2023 on

CNN Philippines CNN Philippines (abbreviated sometimes as CNN PH) was a Philippine free-to-air television network owned and operated by Nine Media Corporation, together with Radio Philippines Network (RPN), under a license from Warner Bros. Discovery Asia-Pa ...

. The series returned on

GMA Network GMA Network (an acronym of its legal name, Global Media Arts and commonly known as GMA) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine commercial broadcast network, serving as the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network (company), ...

premiering on November 18, 2023. Following Revillame's return to television via TV5, he became a co-host of ''

Wil To Win ''Wil To Win'' is a Philippine television variety game show broadcast by TV5. Hosted by Willie Revillame and Randy Santiago, it aired on the network's Todo Max Primetime Singko line up and worldwide on Kapatid Channel from July 14, 2024 to ...

''.

Personal life

Verzosa has actress

Rhian Ramos Rhian Denise Ramos Howell (born October 3, 1990), known as Rhian Ramos (), is a Filipino actress, commercial model, singer, host and race car driver. Life and career Rhian Denise Ramos Howell was born in Makati on October 3, 1990 to Gareth H ...

as his girlfriend. He first publicized his relationship with Ramos in August 2022.

Libel case against Star Elamparo

In November 2024, Verzosa filed a libel case with the

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 ...

City Prosecutor's Office against '' Daily Tribune''

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...

Estrella "Star" C. Elamparo for alleged

fake news Fake news or information disorder is false or misleading information (misinformation, disinformation, propaganda, and hoaxes) claiming the aesthetics and legitimacy of news. Fake news often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person ...

publication ("Celebrities and cheating at NYCM?") implying that he and Ramos cheated in their participation at the

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon, currently branded as the TCS New York City Marathon for sponsorship reasons, is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 fini ...

. She also faces a Cebu City

arrest warrant An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual or the search and seizure of an individual's property. Canada Arrest warrants are issued by a jud ...

for a separate

defamation Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

case. In her original column, Elamparo—drawing on publicly available records, reports, and her contacts in the running community—pointed out alleged discrepancies without making any direct accusations of misconduct on Verzosa's behalf. She has further clarified her position with caveats in a follow-up column. She clarified that she did not outright claim the couple cheated and "only raised the possibility" of such The current status of Verzosa's complaint remains unclean. Meanwhile, an earlier cyber libel charge against Ellamparo – related to her earlier legal obligations as a leading litigator and former prosecutor - has already been dismissed by the Department of Justice for lack of merit. According to a resolution by the Department of Justice (NPS Docket No. VII-INV- 23E-01311 P.5, Pa III, dated Nov 28, 2024): "the most important element of libel or cyberlibel, which is the existence of malice, was not established..."

Awards and nominations

In November 2024, Verzosa received the

Gusi Peace Prize The Gusi Peace Prize is a private award given by the Gusi Peace Prize Foundation, based in Manila, Philippines. The Gusi Peace Prize is given to recognize individuals and organizations who contribute to global peace and progress through a wide v ...

at the

Manila Metropolitan Theater The Manila Metropolitan Theater (), also known as the Metropolitan Theater, abbreviated as the MET, is a historic Philippine Art Deco building located in Plaza Lawton in Ermita, Manila. It is recognized as the forefront of the Art Deco archite ...

, with the organizers citing his philanthropy. He is the youngest Filipino to be given the award. The organizers recognized for his

philanthropy Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

References

External links

*
Samuel S. Verzosa

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

Hon. Verzosa, Samuel Jr. S.

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 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verzosa, Sam 21st-century Filipino politicians 1982 births Living people 21st-century Filipino businesspeople Filipino company founders Multi-level marketing Party-list members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines People from Sampaloc, Manila