Maria Angelica Rosedell Malbas Amante-Matba (born April 16, 1970), is a Filipino registered nurse and politician currently serving as the governor of

Agusan del Norte Agusan del Norte, officially the Province of Agusan del Norte ( ceb, Amihanang Agusan; Butuanon: ''Probinsya hong Agusan del Norte''; tl, Hilagang Agusan), is a province in the Caraga region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Cabadb ...

, a position she previously held from 1995 to 2004 and from 2013 to 2019. She was also a member of the

House of Representatives of the Philippines The House of Representatives of the Philippines ( fil, Kapulungan ng mga Kinatawan ng Pilipinas, italic=unset, ''Kamara'' or ''Kamara de Representantes'' from the Spanish word ''cámara'', meaning "chamber") is the lower house of Congress, the ...

representing Agusan del Norte's 2nd congressional district.

Early life and education

Amante-Matba was born and raised in

Cabadbaran City Cabadbaran, officially the City of Cabadbaran ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Cabadbaran), is a sixth class component city and ''de jure'' capital of the province of Agusan del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 80,354 ...

. She is the daughter of former

Executive Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

and Congressman

Edelmiro Amante Edelmiro A. Amante, Sr. (April 21, 1933 – March 10, 2013), was a Filipino politician. Early life Amante was born in Butuan. He attended Ampayon Elementary School, then Mindanao Institute, where he graduated from high school as a saluta ...

and former

Mayor Rosario Malbas-Amante. Her brother Erlpe John Amante is also a politician. She took up nursing at

St. Luke's College of Nursing, Trinity University of Asia St. Luke's College of Nursing or SLCN (formerly, St. Luke's Hospital School of Nursing) is one of the educational units of Trinity University of Asia. It started operating under Trinity College of Quezon City in 1965 when its first class was admitt ...

in 1991. She passed the licensure examination for nursing in 1991 and the California State Board Exam in Nursing in 1994. She also holds a masters degree in public administration from

Father Saturnino Urios University The Father Saturnino Urios University ( lat, Pater Saturnino Urios Universitas; fil, Pamantasang Padre Saturnino Urios), also referred to by its acronym FSUU, is a private Roman Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution run ...

Butuan City Butuan (pronounced ), officially the City of Butuan ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Butuan; Butuanon: ''Dakbayan hong Butuan''; fil, Lungsod ng Butuan), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Caraga, Philippines. It is the ''de facto'' c ...

Political career

Amante-Matba started her political career as the governor of

serving three consecutive terms from 1995 to 2004. At the time, she was the youngest provincial governor assuming office at only 25 years old. From 1995 to 1998, she was the chairperson of the Regional Development Council of

Caraga Caraga, officially the Caraga Administrative Region (or simply known as Caraga Region) and designated as Region XIII, is an Regions of the Philippines, administrative region in the Philippines occupying the northeastern section of Mindanao. Th ...

. From 1998 to 2001, she was elected as the secretary of the Confederation of Provincial Governors, City Mayors and Municipal Mayors League Presidents of Mindanao of the Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCO). Due to constitutional provisions that limit gubernatorial terms of office to only three consecutive terms, in the 2004 elections, Amante-Matba ran for congress and won a seat in the House of Representatives representing

Agusan del Norte's 2nd congressional district Agusan del Norte's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district for the House of Representatives of the Philippines in the province of Agusan del Norte. It is one of only two districts in the province in existence since 1987. The distri ...

. She served for one term before running as mayor of

Butuan Butuan (pronounced ), officially the City of Butuan ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Butuan; Butuanon: ''Dakbayan hong Butuan''; fil, Lungsod ng Butuan), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Caraga, Philippines. It is the ''de facto'' c ...

in 2007 which she lost to incumbent Democrito Plaza. In 2010, she ran for congress again while her brother ran for governor. They both won their respective races. In 2013 and 2016, Amante-Matba and her brother swapped their positions wherein the latter served as congressman while Amante-Matba served governor. They won and Amante-Matba served as governor until 2019. She ran and won again the congressional seat in 2019 and served for one term before returning as governor in 2022.

2016 presidential elections

Amante is a close ally of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Rodrigo Duterte. She was once quoted by President Duterte as the girl who he has love at ''first sight''.

Rodrigo Duterte admitted publicly that a governor from Mindanao whom he once fell in love with was one of his supporters during the campaign.

Personal life

Amante is married to

Tawi-tawi Tawi-Tawi, officially the Province of Tawi-Tawi ( tl, Lalawigan ng Tawi-Tawi; Tausug: ''Wilaya' sin Tawi-Tawi''; Sinama: ''Jawi Jawi/Jauih Jauih''), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim ...

congressman Rashidin H. Matba. On March 27, 2015, she survived an ambush attempt at

Nasipit, Agusan del Norte Nasipit, officially the Municipality of Nasipit ( ceb, Lungsod sa Nasipit; tgl, Bayan ng Nasipit), is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Agusan del Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 44,822 people. ...

perpetrated by members of the

New People's Army The New People's Army ( fil, Bagong Hukbong Bayan), abbreviated NPA or BHB, is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), based primarily in the Philippine countryside. It acts as the CPP's principal organization, aim ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amante, Maria Angelica Rosedell M. Filipino nurses People from Agusan del Norte People from Butuan Governors of Agusan del Norte Women members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines 1970 births PDP–Laban politicians Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Agusan del Norte Politicians from Agusan del Norte Living people

Early life and education

Political career

2016 presidential elections

Personal life

Related Links

References