Neptali "Boyet" Medina Gonzales II (born August 29, 1954) is a Filipino politician who previously served as the Representative of

Mandaluyong Mandaluyong ( ; ), officially the City of Mandaluyong (, ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly-urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popula ...

Lone District Lone may refer to: People *Destroy Lonely, a nickname for the artist * Lone (given name), a given name (including a list of people with this name) * Lone (musician), Matt Cutler, an electronic musician from Nottingham, United Kingdom * Lone (surn ...

in the

10th Tenth may refer to: Numbers * 10th, the ordinal form of the number ten * One tenth, , or 0.1, a fraction, one part of a unit divided equally into ten parts. ** the SI prefix deci- ** tithe, a one-tenth part of something * 1/10 of any unit of me ...

, 11th,

12th Twelfth can mean: *The Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution *The Twelfth, a Protestant celebration originating in Ireland In mathematics: * 12th, an ordinal number; as in the item in an order twelve places from the beginning, follo ...

, 14th, 15th,

16th 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. It is the fourth power of two. In English speech, the numbers 16 and 60 are sometimes confused, as they sound similar. Mathematics 16 is the ninth composite number, and a sq ...

, 18th, and

19th 19 (nineteen) is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number. Mathematics Nineteen is the eighth prime number. Number theory 19 forms a twin prime with 17, a cousin prime with 23, and a sexy prime with 13. ...

Congress. He was also one of the House Deputy Speakers during the entire 18th Congress and has been the

House Majority Leader Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are el ...

from 2001 to 2004 and again from 2010 to 2016.

Early life and education

Gonzales was born on August 29, 1954, in

Rizal Rizal most commonly refers to: * Rizal (province), a province of the Philippines * José Rizal, Filipino national hero whom the province is named after Rizal may also refer to: People * Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli, Malaysian footballer * Atep Ri ...

to lawyer

Neptali Gonzales Neptali Alvaro Gonzales (June 10, 1923 – September 16, 2001), better known as Neptali Gonzales, Sr., was a Filipino politician who served as the President of the Philippine Senate from 1992 to 1993, 1995 to 1996, and 1998. Early life and ...

, who would eventually become

Senate President President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for ...

, and Candida Medina-Gonzales. He is their youngest child and only son. He has three older sisters, Myrna, Sorohayda, and Rhodora. He attended the Mandaluyong Elementary School and received his secondary and college education at the Union High School of Manila of the Philippine Christian College (now the

Philippine Christian University The Philippine Christian University (PCU) is a private, Protestant, and coeducational basic and higher education institution located in Ermita, Manila, Philippines. It was founded in 1946 through the initiatives of the laymen of the Evangelical ...

). He finished his degree in political science at the

Far Eastern University Far Eastern University (), also referred to by its acronym FEU, is a Private university, private research non-sectarian university in Manila, Philippines. Created by the merger of Far Eastern College and the Institute of Accounts, Business and ...

(FEU) in 1975 and took up law at the Ateneo de Manila University, where he graduated in 1979.

Career

Before entering public service, Gonzales was a senior partner of the law firm Gonzales, Batiller, Bilog, and Associates from 1980 to 1995. He also served briefly as a bar reviewer and professor in criminal law and constitutional law at the FEU Institute of Law.

Political career

Gonzales was the first Congressman of Mandaluyong when it was converted into a city in 1995 and separated from what used to be the San Juan-Mandaluyong Congressional District. He was City Mayor of Mandaluyong from 2004 to 2007 and Congressman for the city during the 14th Congress of the Philippines (2007–2010). In the 10th Congress, he served on eight congressional committees, including the Committee on Rules. In the opening session of the 11th Congress, he was selected as one of the two vice–chairmen of the Committee on Rules, which was then chaired by Majority Leader

Mar Roxas Manuel "Mar" Araneta Roxas II (; born May 13, 1957) is a Filipino politician who served as a Senator of the Philippines. He is the grandson and namesake of former Philippine President Manuel Roxas. He served in the Cabinet of the Philippines ...

of Capiz City. Gonzales became Majority Leader toward the end of the 11th Congress and held the position into the 12th Congress. From 1995 to 2004, he authored 33 bills and was co-author of 92 bills. He was one of two newly elected members of Congress to have the greatest number of bills passed into law. During his first 9-year period in Congress, Gonzales passed a bill allowing the construction of the City of Mandaluyong Science High School and leading the conversion of the Rizal Technological Colleges into

Rizal Technological University Rizal Technological University (RTU) is a state university based in the National Capital Region of the Philippines, with its main campus in Mandaluyong City and a branch in Pasig City. It was established on July 11, 1969, as the College of Ri ...

. In recognition, the RTU awarded him a PhD in Public Administration (Honoris Causa) in October 2003. During his three-year term as Mayor of Mandaluyong, Gonzales supported the implementation of improved physical and social infrastructure in Mandaluyong. He also initiated innovations in computerization, social infrastructure and

urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

. He pushed for improvement in health care in the city by strengthening its only public hospital and empowering all health centers for preventive health care. He instigated fresh initiatives in local fiscal reforms and tax collection. He urged private bodies to support the program of housing for the poor. His administration's partnership with the

Gawad Kalinga Gawad Kalinga (GK) ("to give care" in Tagalog language, Tagalog) is a Philippine non-governmental organization known officially as the Gawad Kalinga Community Development Foundation. It describes itself as a "poverty alleviation and nation-buildi ...

and the

Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission The Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission was a state commission in charge of the rehabilitation of the Pasig River. The commission served for 20 years, from 1999 until its dissolution by President Rodrigo Duterte in November 2019. The body's po ...

provided adequate housing for more than a thousand families in the city. Gonzales was Senior Deputy Majority Leader of the 14th Philippine Congress. As such, he was an ''ex officio'' member of all House Committees. He was also Senior Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Rules, and headed the caucus of NCR Congressmen. In the 15th and 16th Congress, he was the Majority Floor Leader of the House. In the 18th Congress, Gonzales was elected to be one of the Deputy Speakers of the House.

Personal life

Gonzales' first wife was Josephine Olivia Francisco, who died in May 2001. They had one daughter, Kristine Olivia. In December 2002, Gonzales married Alexandria Pahati, a television reporter, with whom he had twins, Neptali III and Isabel Candida.

References

* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzales, Neptali ii 1954 births Living people 20th-century Filipino lawyers Filipino evangelicals Mayors of Mandaluyong Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Mandaluyong Majority leaders of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Philippine Christian University alumni Far Eastern University alumni Ateneo de Manila University alumni Deputy speakers of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Liberal Party (Philippines) politicians Partido Demokratiko Pilipino politicians Academic staff of Far Eastern University