The People’s Reform Organization, the political party founded by the late Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, stated on Thursday that former Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro is the candidate who can carry on her legacy in the Senate.
Party president Narciso ” Jun” Santiago Jr. stated their party colleagues were happy to have “a new Miriam” who would fit in the Senate when he endorsed Teodoro for senator in the 2022 May elections under the PRP flag.
“I know Gibo Teodoro to be an honest and wonderful person,”
Santiago made the announcement following Teodoro’s courtesy call at the PRP headquarters in Quezon City.
“ Like Miriam, Gibo is brilliant and honest. He wants to prove his worth as a senator, that’s why we are giving our people time to examine his credentials so they could look for the very same qualities of a public servant that had endeared Miriam to many Filipinos.”
Santiago stated that Teodoro’s campaign for good governance is a fight for all Filipinos.
“He wants to champion laws in the Senate that would help uplift the lives of Filipinos in the new normal, and pave the way for the rebuilding of the economy so that we could all go back to the pre-Covid era,”
Santiago further said.
He urged Filipinos who admired and continue to support Miriam to fully support Teodoro for senator as “her chosen one.”
“We’re confident that Gibo’s brilliance and soft heart for the people, especially the poor, would shine upon the halls of the Senate, and bring more joy and wisdom in the lawmaking process,”
Santiago said.
Teodoro, 57, was born in Manila and graduated first in his class, earning the Dean’s Medal for Academic Excellence from the University of the Philippines in 1989. In the same year, he topped the Philippine Bar Examinations. In 1997, he received his Master of Laws from Harvard University and was admitted to the New York State Bar.
Teodoro hails from a family of well-known public employees. His father was a Social Security System administrator, and his mother was a member of Congress.
Teodoro, the defense secretary’s youngest at 43, advocated for the implementation of the Defense System of Management (DSOM), which gave decision-makers with timely, relevant, and accurate information, enhancing efficiency and transparency in the defense sector.
He contributed to the settlement of internal security challenges and strengthened bilateral and multilateral security and defense cooperation with both regional and extra-regional states in order to advance peace and battle non-traditional security threats.
Teodoro authored numerous key laws during his three terms as Tarlac’s congressman in Congress. He was the primary author of the Securities Code of 2000, which transitioned the Philippine securities regulatory system from merit regulation to full disclosure.