Marisol "Sol" Castillo Aragones Sampelo (born November 7, 1977) is a Filipino politician and former journalist who is the governor-elect of Laguna, having been elected in 2025. She previously served as the representative of Laguna's third district from 2013 to 2022. Before entering politics, she worked as a news presenter for

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...

from 1998 to 2012.

Early life and education

Marisol Castillo Aragones was born on November 6, 1977, in

San Pablo, Laguna San Pablo, officially the City of San Pablo (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Laguna (province), Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a ...

, to Rolando Aragones, a tricycle driver, and Nora Castillo, a baker. She attended secondary school in Canossa College in San Pablo, Laguna, where she was a student leader. She graduated in 1998 with a BS in Development Communication at the

University of the Philippines Los Baños The University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB; ), also referred to as UP Los Baños or colloquially as Elbi (), is a public research university primarily located in the towns of Los Baños and Bay in the province of Laguna, some 65 kilo ...

, with a major in Community Broadcasting.

Journalism career

After graduation, she worked for

as a news reporter until September 2012. She also worked as a radio anchor for

DZMM DZMM (630 AM) Radyo Patrol is a radio station owned by Philippine Collective Media Corporation and operated conjointly with ABS-CBN Corporation under Media Serbisyo Production Corporation. The station's studios is located at the ABS-CBN Broad ...

during this period. She then worked as a writer for ''

Hoy Gising! ''Hoy Gising!'' () is a Philippine television news magazine show broadcast by ABS-CBN. Originally anchored by Ted Failon and Korina Sanchez, it aired from May 4, 1992 to March 9, 2001, replacing ''Isabel, Sugo ng Birhen''. Cherie Mercado, Connie ...

'', eventually becoming a reporter. She was segment host for '' Salamat Dok'' and '' Alas Singko Y Medya'', segment producer for ''Verum EST: Totoo Ba Ito?'' and ''True Crime'', and co-host of the documentary ''Kalye'' with Anthony Taberna and

Atom Araullo Alfonso Tomas "Atom" Pagaduan Araullo (; born October 19, 1982) is a Filipino broadcast journalist and television presenter. He currently hosts documentary programs such as '' The Atom Araullo Specials'' and ''I-Witness'', and is serving as th ...

. She was the anchor for ''Nagbabagang Balita'' (breaking/hourly news) and DZMM's ''S.R.O. - Suhestyon, Reaksyon at Opinyon''. She was also the Senior Reporter for ''

TV Patrol ''TV Patrol'' is a Philippine television news broadcasting show broadcast by ABS-CBN, Kapamilya Channel, A2Z and All TV. Originally anchored by Noli de Castro, Mel Tiangco and Robert Arevalo, it premiered on March 2, 1987, on the netw ...

'', ''

Bandila ''Bandila'' () is a Philippine television news broadcasting show broadcast by ABS-CBN. Originally anchored by Korina Sanchez, Henry Omaga-Diaz and Ces Drilon, it aired on the network's Primetime Bida line up from July 3, 2006, to March 17, 2 ...

'' and ''

Umagang Kay Ganda ''Umagang Kay Ganda'' (, abbreviated as ''UKG'') is a Philippine television news broadcasting and talk show broadcast by ABS-CBN. Originally hosted by Edu Manzano, Pinky Webb, Lucky Mercado, Anthony Taberna, Alex Santos, Winnie Cordero, ...

''. She was recognized as an outstanding field reporter, winning the Gandingan Award in 2006, the Distinguished Alumna Award in Media Practice by UP in 2009, the Outstanding San Pableños Award in May 2010 and the best field reporter in the 2011 Communication Guild (Comguild) Awards.

House of Representatives of the Philippines (2013–2022)

She joined the

United Nationalist Alliance The United Nationalist Alliance (UNA ) is a political party in the Philippines. It was created as a multi-party electoral alliance replacing the former United Opposition (UNO) coalition for the 2013 midterm elections, before it was launched ...

of former president

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor, who served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 until his resignation in 2001. ...

and Vice President

Jejomar Binay Jejomar "Jojo" Cabauatan Binay Sr. (born Jesus Jose Cabauatan Binay; November 11, 1942) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 13th vice president of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016, under President Benigno Aquino III. A ...

. In 2013, she ran for Congress in her home province of Laguna. Her allies include erstwhile provincial governor ER Ejercito and board member Angelica Alarva. She won against her rival, Arago, by more than 10,000 votes.

2022 Laguna gubernatorial campaign

In 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 ...

, Aragones ran for governor of Laguna but lost to incumbent governor Ramil Hernandez.

Governor of Laguna (from 2025)

In the

2025 elections 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

, she ran again for governor and declared her support for

Iglesia ni Cristo The (INC; ; ) is an independent Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, church founded in 1913 and registered by Felix Manalo, Félix Manalo in 1914 as a corporation sole, sole religious corporation ...

(INC) member and senatorial candidate

Rodante Marcoleta Rodante Dizon Marcoleta (, ; born July 29, 1953) is a Filipino television host, lawyer and politician who is a senator-elect of the Philippines following the 2025 Philippine Senate election. He has served as the representative for the SAGIP ...

, a key figure in the shutdown of ABS-CBN and denial of broadcasting franchise renewal from the opposite side. She won the election.

Political positions

Aragones' advocacies are the provision of education, health services, and livelihood opportunities. Since the opening of the 16th Congress, she has filed House Bills according to her advocacies which include the Teen Pregnancy Prevention, Responsibility and Opportunity Act, the Pregnant Women's Protection Act, and the Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity Discrimination Prohibition Act.

Personal life

Aragones married Paulo Sampelo on December 15, 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aragones, Sol 1977 births Living people Filipino journalists Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Laguna (province) Nacionalista Party politicians People from San Pablo, Laguna United Nationalist Alliance politicians Partido Demokratiko Pilipino politicians University of the Philippines Los Baños alumni ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs people Women members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines 21st-century Filipino women politicians