Teodoro Casiño
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Teodoro "Teddy" Acevedo Casiño (, born November 15, 1968) is a Filipino activist, writer, and journalist. He was a member of 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 ...
for
Bayan Muna Bayan Muna () is a party-list in the Philippines, a member of the leftist political coalition Makabayan. The motto of the party is ''"New Politics, the Politics of Change"'', against "traditional, elitist, pro-imperialist politics". Its platf ...
. He is currently the chairperson of
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan () or Bayan () is an alliance of left-wing Philippine organizations. It was founded on International Workers' Day, May 1, 1985 as part of the opposition during the Marcos dictatorship. Politics Ideology The ...
(Bayan). On December 4, 2024, Casiño and 74 others filed the second
impeachment Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eur ...
complaint against Vice President
Sara Duterte Sara Zimmerman Duterte-Carpio (, ; born May 31, 1978), commonly known as Inday Sara, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who is the 15th and current vice president of the Philippines. She is the third female vice president (after Gloria Macap ...
, citing betrayal of public trust for her office's alleged misuse of confidential funds.


Early life and education

Born in
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 ...
to middle-class parents, Casiño finished elementary education at
De La Salle University De La Salle University (), also referred to as DLSU, De La Salle or La Salle, is a private, Catholic coeducational research university run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools with main campus in Taft Avenue, Malate, Man ...
(DLSU) in 1982. He continued his high school studies at
La Salle Green Hills La Salle Green Hills ("LSGH") is a private Catholic school run by the Philippine District of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools in Ortigas Avenue, Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. It was established in 1959 by the D ...
, where his stint as a volunteer for the
National Movement for Free Elections The National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections or NAMFREL is an election watchdog in the Philippines. It was the first and one of the most famous election watch campaigns. It is known to have introduced non-partisan national election monitori ...
(NAMFREL) in the 1986 snap elections swept him into the politics of People Power via the
EDSA Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, were a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...
. The EDSA experience, plus the stories about hunger in
Negros Negros (, , ) is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . The coastal zone of the southern part of Negros is identified as a site of highest marine biodiversity importance in the Coral Tr ...
, moved him to forego a DLSU scholarship to study agriculture 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 ...
(UPLB), where he became an activist in his freshman year. He became editor-in-chief of the student paper, ''The UPLB Perspective'', from 1989 to 1991, even as he consistently made it to the honor roll. In 1991, Casiño was elected national president of the
College Editors' Guild of the Philippines The College Editors Guild of the Philippines is an alliance of collegiate student publications in the Philippines. It is the oldest and only-existing publications alliance in the Asia-Pacific. It was established on July 25, 1931. It is also a memb ...
(CEGP), an alliance of over 700 student publications nationwide. He chose to delay his thesis requirement to work full-time for the CEGP. He eventually graduated from UPLB with a degree in BA Sociology in 1993, with his thesis bringing him to Pamplona town in
Cagayan Valley Cagayan Valley (; ), designated as Region II, is an Regions of the Philippines, administrative region in the Philippines. Located in the northeastern section of Luzon, it is composed of five Provinces of the Philippines, Philippine provinces: ...
, where he studied the impact of Church activism on rural communities.


Career


Activism

After his stint in the student movement, Casiño joined the
Kilusang Mayo Uno Kilusang Mayo Uno (), also known by its initials KMU is an independent labor center in the Philippines. It promotes "genuine, militant and patriotic trade unionism". The KMU was established on May 1, 1980 to fill a clear need for a workers' or ...
(KMU - May First Movement). His childhood ambition and his father's wishes for him to become a lawyer gave way to his activism. In 1996, he entered the
University of the Philippines College of Law The University of the Philippines College of Law (often referred to as UP Law) is the law school of the University of the Philippines Diliman. Formally established in 1911 in UP Manila, it is the third oldest continually-operating law school ...
but left three days later when it interfered with his work in the KMU. After four years in the KMU, he joined the
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan () or Bayan () is an alliance of left-wing Philippine organizations. It was founded on International Workers' Day, May 1, 1985 as part of the opposition during the Marcos dictatorship. Politics Ideology The ...
(BAYAN), the largest alliance of progressive people's organizations in the country. He was elected secretary general in 1999 and was catapulted to national prominence in 2001 as one of the youngest leaders of
EDSA II The Second EDSA Revolution (), also known as the Second People Power Revolution, EDSA 2001, or EDSA II (pronounced ''EDSA Two'' or ''EDSA Dos'', the Spanish word for "two"), was a political protest from January 17–20, 2001 which peacefully ...
. Casiño was appointed commissioner of the EDSA People Power Commission but was removed for constantly being critical of the administration. He had a short stint in ABS-CBN's ''
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 ...
'' and '' The Correspondents''. In 2002, he was accorded the UPLB Distinguished Alumni Award for Extension. As a writer, Casiño was a regular contributor to the ''
Philippine Daily Inquirer The ''Philippine Daily Inquirer'' (''PDI''), or simply the ''Inquirer'', is an English-language newspaper in the Philippines. Founded in 1985, it is often regarded as the Philippines' newspaper of record. The newspaper is the most awarded broad ...
''s Youngblood column from 1994 to 1996. In 1995, he became a regular columnist for ''Business World'', one of the most respected business newspapers in the country. He also wrote columns for the tabloids ''People's Bagong Taliba'' and ''Frontpage'', the OFW weekly ''Pinoy Gazette'', and the online magazine '' Bulatlat.com''. In April 2023,
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan () or Bayan () is an alliance of left-wing Philippine organizations. It was founded on International Workers' Day, May 1, 1985 as part of the opposition during the Marcos dictatorship. Politics Ideology The ...
held its 10th National Congress, in which Casiño was elected Chairperson. He succeeded Carol Araullo, who had been the Chairperson since Bayan's 2009 Congress.


Legislative career

In the May 2004 elections, Casiño was elected as Bayan Muna's representative in Congress. With the re-election of Bayan Muna in the 2007 partylist polls, he returned to Congress. In 2013, Casiño ran for the Senate as an independent, nominated by the Makabayan bloc and receiving the support of Senator
Bong Revilla Ramon Bautista Bong Revilla Jr. (; born Jose Mari Mortel Bautista; September 25, 1966) is a Filipino actor, director, producer, television presenter and politician serving as a Senate of the Philippines, senator since 2019, and previously from ...
. He failed to win a Senate seat after finishing 22nd overall in the vote tally. Casiño is running again as senator for 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 ...
under the 11-person Makabayan bloc slate. He also failed to win as well, placing 32nd in the vote tally, the highest amongst the Makabayan bloc senatorial candidates.


15th Congress

In the 15th Congress, Casiño became the chairman of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Development, where he championed the welfare of micro, small, and medium enterprises. As chairperson of the Committee, Casiño also spearheaded "Buy Pinoy, Build Pinoy!"—a grassroots campaign promoting the consumption of Filipino-made products and the development of integrated, world-class Filipino industries. He is also senior vice chairperson of the Committee on Higher and Technical Education, safeguarding the youth's right to affordable and quality education.


Authored laws and bills


= Laws

= Casiño is one of the principal authors of four laws that have benefited the poor and marginalized sectors, namely: # The Public Attorneys Act of 2007 (R.A. 9406), which strengthened the Public Attorneys Office and expanded its free legal services to poor litigants; # The Tax Relief Act of 2009 (R.A. 9504), which exempts minimum wage earners from withholding taxes; # The Rent Control Act of 2009 (R.A. 9653), which put a cap on rent for low-income earners; # The Anti-Torture Act of 2009 (R.A. 9745), which penalizes torture. Aside from this, he has authored a total of 178 authored and 376 co-authored measures, making him the 4th most prolific congressman in the 15th Congress.


= Bills

= Casiño's main advocacy is the lowering of prices of electricity, oil, and water, as well as the regulation of the cost of education, healthcare, mobile communications, toll fees, and other basic utilities and services. Towards this end, he has filed bills on: # The removal of VAT on power (HB 2719), oil (HB 1630), and toll fees (HB 5303); # The regulation of oil prices (HB 4355), mobile phone services (HB 5653), tuition fees (HB 1961), and interest rates (HB 4917). He has consistently opposed budget cuts in Philippine state colleges and universities, as well as the privatization of public hospitals and water districts. As a relentless fighter of corruption and government abuse, Casiño is also the principal author of: # The Whistleblowers Protection and Rewards Bill (HB 132), # The Freedom of Information Bill (HB 133), # The Anti-Dynasty Bill (HB 3413), # The House version of the Anti-Epal Bill (HB 2309).Republic of the Philippines House of Representatives, 15th Congress, House Bill No. 2309


References


External links


List of bills authored


R.A. 9406 Public Attorneys Act of 2007 (H.B. 5921)R.A. 9504 Tax Relief Act of 2009 (H.B. 3971)R.A. 9653 Rent Control Act of 2009 (H.B. 6098)R.A. 9745 Anti-Torture Act of 2009 (H.B. 5709)H.B. 2719H.B. 1630H.B. 5303H.B. 4355H.B. 5653H.B. 1961H.B. 4917H.B. 132H.B. 133H.B. 3413H.B. 2309
{{DEFAULTSORT:Casiño, Teodoro 1968 births Living people Alternative journalists Filipino journalists Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines for Bayan Muna People from Davao City People from Makati Politicians from Davao del Sur University of the Philippines Los Baños alumni Makabayan politicians