Silvestre Hernando Bello III (born June 23, 1944) is a Filipino businessman and lawyer from Isabela, who served as the

secretary A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, program evalu ...

of the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Department of Labor and Employment A ministry of labour ('' UK''), or labor ('' US''), also known as a department of labour, or labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, and s ...

, and concurrently Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, under the Duterte administration. Bello was appointed by 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 ...

to replace Rosalinda Baldoz as the Department of Labor secretary. Bello was a former justice secretary,

solicitor general A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

and representative of 1-BAP party-list during the

16th Congress of the Philippines The 16th Congress of the Philippines () composed of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives, met from July 22, 2013, until June 6, 2016, during the last three years of Benigno Aquino III's presidency. The convening of the 16th Co ...

. In July 2022, he presented his credentials to

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 ...

Tsai Ing-wen Tsai Ing-wen (; pinyin: ''Cài Yīngwén''; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician and legal scholar who served as the seventh president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2016 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party ...

as de facto Philippine Ambassador to Taiwan.

Early life and education

Bello was born in Gattaran,

Cagayan Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan (; ; ; isnag language, Isnag: ''Provinsia nga Cagayan''; ivatan language, Ivatan: ''Provinsiya nu Cagayan''; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Cag ...

, on June 23, 1944. He obtained his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in Political Science from Manuel L. Quezon University in

Quiapo, Manila Quiapo () is a district of the city of Manila, in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. Known as the “Old Downtown of Manila", the district’s most famous landmark is Quiapo Church, a Basilicas in the Catholic Church, minor basilic ...

, in 1966. He earned his

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from Ateneo de Manila University Law School in 1970.

Career

Bello worked in private practice in the 1970s and 1980s and became active in several civic and human rights groups during the Marcos dictatorship such as the

Free Legal Assistance Group The Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) is a nationwide organization of human rights lawyers in the Philippines. It was founded in 1974 by Senate of the Philippines, Sen. Jose W. Diokno, Lorenzo Tañada, J.B.L. Reyes, and Joker Arroyo during th ...

(FLAG), the Justice for Aquino, Justice for All (JAJA) Movement, the Coalition of Organizations For The Restoration of Democracy and the Coalition For The Protection of Workers’ Rights. He was appointed by then

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 ...

as an undersecretary of the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

from 1986 to 1991. Bello served as justice secretary from 1991 to February 1992 when he resigned to run for the Senate as a candidate of

Fidel V. 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 ...

' Lakas-CMD party in the May 1992 elections, which he lost. He was then appointed to several government positions by President Ramos such as the government negotiating panel during peace talks with the CPP- NPA- NDF before running again in 1995 for governor of Isabela but lost to Benjamin Dy. He was then reappointed by President Ramos as

from September 23, 1996, until February 3, 1998 when he was reappointed secretary of justice. In June of that year he was also concurrently reappointed as solicitor general which he occupied until the end of Ramos' presidency on June 30. He was the chairman of the Government Negotiating Panel for Talks with the CPP-NPA-NDF from January 2001 to August 2004. He served as president and CEO of PNOC Development and Management Corporation from November 2004 to December 2005. From January 2006 to December 2006 he was the general manager and CEO of the

Philippine Reclamation Authority The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. He was a presidential adviser for New Government Centers from July 2007 to July 2008. He served as

Cabinet Secretary A cabinet secretary is usually a senior official (typically a civil servant) who provides services and advice to a cabinet of ministers as part of the Cabinet Office. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powe ...

during the presidency of

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 ...

. He later served as Secretary of Labor and Employment during the entire term of President

from 2016 to 2022. After which, Bello served as chairperson of the

Manila Economic and Cultural Office The Manila Economic and Cultural OfficeIn .In . Also known as the Philippine Representative Office in Taiwan; . simple known as MECO is the List of diplomatic missions of the Philippines, representative office of the Philippines in Taiwan, functi ...

, representing the Philippines to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, during the presidency of

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 ...

, until he stepped down in September 2024. Following the

arrest of Rodrigo Duterte On March 11, 2025, former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the Philippine National Police and Interpol in Operation Pursuit under an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant charging him with crimes against humanity relat ...

in 2025, Bello serves as Duterte's legal counsel.

Personal life

Bello is married to Regina Gerona. He has five children.

References

, - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bello, Silvestre III 1944 births 20th-century Filipino lawyers Diplomats for the Philippines Living people Secretaries of labor and employment of the Philippines Secretaries of justice of the Philippines Solicitors general of the Philippines Cabinet secretaries of the Philippines Politicians from Cagayan Lakas–CMD (1991) politicians Lakas–CMD politicians Partido Demokratiko Pilipino politicians Politicians from Quezon City Manuel L. Quezon University alumni Ateneo de Manila University alumni Corazon Aquino administration cabinet members Ramos administration cabinet members Arroyo administration cabinet members Duterte administration cabinet members Presidential advisers on the peace process of the Philippines Heads of government-owned and controlled corporations of the Philippines Party-list members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Grand Crosses of the Order of Lakandula Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Merit (Philippines)