User:Gianella.samonte/sandbox

Lorenzo "Erin" Reyes Tañada III (born August 16, 1963) is a Filipino lawyer, broadcaster, and human rights and labor rights advocate who has served as a Deputy Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives. A member of the Liberal Party, he was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2004, as the representative of the 4th District of Quezon Province.

He is particularly known for being the author the "Anti-Torture Act of 2009" (Republic Act No. 9749), the "Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity" (Republic Act No. 9851), and the "Renewable Energy Act of 2008" (RA 9513) as well as for his strong advocacy of the Freedom of Information Bill.

He currently serves as the manager for news and public affairs of UNTV-37 and host for several programs of the said station.

Early life and career
Erin as he is fondly called by friends, represents the third generation of Tañadas in the field of politics. He is the grandson of the "grand old man of Philippine politics" – the late Senator Lorenzo M. Tañada who is known for his fiery speeches, great oratorical and debating skills and fearless stand against the dictatorship of late President Ferdinand Marcos; and the son of former Senator Wigberto E. Tañada, the Senator who led the fight to rid the country of the U.S. military bases in Clark and Subic. He is the eldest among the four children of Wigberto and Nanay Zeny, along with Toby, Marites and Trina.

HIs exposure to public service brought him to the parliament of the streets during the latter part of the Martial Law years. Tañada was a college student at Ateneo de Manila University where he actively updated his fellow students on political developments. When former Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. was assassinated in 1983, he joined the university's Task Force Ninoy, a group supporting the advocacies of Ninoy Aquino. He finished his legal studies at the Manuel L. Quezon University - School of Law, and with a never give up attitude, passed the Philippine Bar Examination on his third try. He would later practice law at the Tañada, Vivo and Tan law office.

Tañada is married to Ria Nuñez Tañada. He has two children from a prior marriage.

Political career
Tañada started his political career by winning the seat of the fourth district of Quezon Province in the House of Representatives in 2004. He was the Assistant Majority Leader of the 13th Congress, the Chairman of the House of Representatives' Committee on Human Rights of the 14th Congress, and the Deputy Speaker of the 15th Congress. He was re-elected unopposed for his third term as Congressman. While he eyed the Speakership of the 15th Congress, he gave way to Quezon City representative Feliciano Sonny Belmonte.

He was at the forefront of the second high government official to ever be impeached, Philippine Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, for betrayal of the public trust. The House of Representatives successfully impeached Gutierrez on March 2011, with him being one of the representatives that defended the impeachment on the floor, and among the 212 representatives that voted to impeach her.

As Congressman for three consecutive terms, his advocacies include having -


 * opposed the increase of the Value-Added Tax to 12%
 * recommended that legislators give up their pork barrel to cover the national budget deficit
 * called for the creation of a Congressional commission for the audit of the public debt and the repeal of the law on automatic appropriations for debt servicing
 * worked for the passage into law of the Magna Carta for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises which mandated that banks allocate a portion of their loan portfolios to these enterprises
 * co-authored the law creating the Personal Equity and Retirement Account (PERA)
 * co-authored the Agri-Agra Reform Credit Act which mandated that banks set aside 25% of their loan portfolios for the agriculture and fisheries sector
 * authored the bill creating the Coconut Farmer's Trust Fund, which makes use of the recovered coconut levy which was misappropriated by Marcos and his cronies
 * authored the first Universal Health Care law and inserted amendments to the Cheaper Medicines Act
 * authored the bill which led to the passage of the Graphic Health Warnings law on cigarette packs
 * funded a program for the continuing education of school teachers, in partnership with the Philippine Normal University
 * funded scholarship programs for students
 * led a campaign for the passage of a Freedom of Information law
 * pushed for the abolition of the death penalty
 * shepherded into law the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Compensation Act, for the benefit of the victims of Marcos' human rights violations

Tañada is currently a Liberal Party candidate for Senator in the May 13, 2019 election, as a member of the Otso Diretso coalition.

Candidacy for Senator
In 2013, Tañada planned to run for senator in the 2013 election under the Liberal Party slate. However, as then President Benigno Aquino III announced the administration’s senatorial ticket for the 2013 elections, Tañada did not make the cut. This is reportedly due to his low ranking in the September Pulse Asia Survey, ranking 26-35, while all 12 in the administration ticket were within the Top 20 as well as the former president not favoring Tañada's Freedom of Information Bill.

On October 16, 2018, Tañada filed his Certificate of Candidacy for senator in the May 2019 election in the Philippines as a candidate of the opposition Liberal Party (LP).

In the February 2019 Pulse Asia nationwide survey on the May 2019 Senatorial Elections conducted from February 24 - 28, 2019, Tañada ranked between 23-31.

Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act of 2008 (Republic Act No. 9502)
Approved on June 6, 2008: An act providing for cheaper and quality medicines, amending for the purpose Republic Act No. 8293 or The Intellectual Property Code, Republic Act No. 6675 or The Generics Act of 1988 , and Republic Act No. 5921 or The Pharmacy Law , and for other purposes. Also known as the Cheaper Medicines Law.

Renewable Energy Act of 2008 (Republic Act No. 9513)
Approved on December 16, 2008: An act promoting the development, utilization and commercialization of renewable energy resources for other purposes.

Anti-Torture Act of 2009 (Republic Act No. 9745)
Approved on November 10, 2009: An act penalizing torture and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment and prescribing penalties therefor.

Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity (Republic Act No. 9851)
Approved on December 11, 2009: An act amending Republic Act No. 9851, “an act defining and penalizing crimes against international humanitarian law, genocide and other crimes against humanity, organizing jurisdiction, designating special courts, and for related purposes.”

People’s Survival Fund (Republic Act No. 10174)
Approved on August 16, 2012: An act establishing the people's survival fund to provide long-term finance streams to enable the government to effectively address the problem of climate change, amending for the purpose Republic Act No. 9729, otherwise known as the "Climate Change Act of 2009", and for other purposes.

Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act (Republic Act No. 10353)
Approved on December 21, 2012: An act defining and penalizing enforced or involuntary disappearance.