Conrado Masonsong Estrella III (born September 12, 1960) is a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

politician serving as the

Secretary of Agrarian Reform The secretary of agrarian reform (Filipino: ''Kalihim ng Repormang Pansakahan'') is the head of the Department of Agrarian Reform and is a member of the president’s Cabinet. List References External linksDAR website {{DEFAULTSORT:Sec ...

since June 30, 2022. He was previously one of the deputy speakers of the 18th Congress under the leadership of Speaker

Alan Peter Cayetano Alan Peter Schramm Cayetano (Tagalog pronunciation: ajɛˈtano born October 28, 1970) is a Filipino politician, lawyer, and diplomat serving as a Senator since 2022 and previously from 2007 to 2017. He was the Senate Minority Leader from 20 ...

and

Lord Allan Velasco Lord Allan Jay Quinto Velasco (born November 9, 1977) is a Filipino politician and lawyer who served as the Speaker of the House of Representatives from October 12, 2020 to June 2022. He is concurrently serving as the Representative of Marindu ...

Early life

Estrella was born on September 12, 1960 in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

to former Congressman Robert B. Estrella Sr. and Ma. Teresita Masonsong-Estrella. He is the grandson of Conrado Estrella Sr., a former governor of

Pangasinan Pangasinan, officially the Province of Pangasinan ( pag, Luyag/Probinsia na Pangasinan, ; ilo, Probinsia ti Pangasinan; tl, Lalawigan ng Pangasinan), is a coastal province in the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region of Luzon. Its capit ...

and Secretary/Minister of Agrarian Reform during the Marcos Sr. administration.

Education

He graduated from

De La Salle University De La Salle University ( fil, Pamantasang De La Salle or Unibersidad ng De La Salle), also referred to as DLSU, De La Salle or La Salle, is a private university, private, Catholic Church, Catholic coeducational research university run by the I ...

with a degree in history and political science.

Political career

His early political career began in the

Kabataang Barangay Sangguniang Kabataan (abbreviated as SK; ) is a council meant to represent the youth in each barangay in the Philippines. It was put "on hold", but not quite abolished, prior to the 2013 barangay elections. In January 2016, the Sangguniang ...

(KB) where he became the president of the provincial KB federation of

, chairman of the regional KB federation of

Ilocos Region Ilocos Region ( ilo, Rehion/Deppaar ti Ilocos; pag, Sagor na Baybay na Luzon/Rehiyon Uno; tl, Rehiyon ng Ilocos) is an administrative region of the Philippines, designated as Region I, occupying the northwestern section of Luzon and part of ...

, and member of the KB National Council. From 1980 to 1985, he was a member of the

Pangasinan Provincial Board The Pangasinan Provincial Board is the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (provincial legislature) of the Philippine province of Pangasinan. The members are elected via plurality-at-large voting: the province is divided into six districts, each having tw ...

. Estrella was elected to 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 language, Spanish word ''cámara'', meaning "chamber") is the lower house ...

in 1987 and 1992, representing Pangasinan's 6th congressional district. In the 8th Congress, he ran under the

Kilusang Bagong Lipunan The New Society Movement ( fil, Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, KBL), formerly named the New Society Movement of United Nationalists, Liberals, et cetera ( fil, Kilusang Bagong Lipunan ng Nagkakaisang Nacionalista, Liberal, at iba pa, KBLNNL), is a ...

, was one of the youngest elected representative at age 26 and was a member of the opposition. It was reported that his first campaign was funded by

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

. In the 9th Congress, he was the vice-chairman of the House Committees on Accounts and

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

. In 1994, he was offered by then-President

Fidel V. Ramos Fidel Valdez Ramos (, ; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR and Eddie Ramos, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military ...

to head the

Philippine Sports Commission The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC, ) is an agency of the Philippine government which tackles matters concerning sports in the country. The sports agency is independent from the Philippine Olympic Committee which enjoys autonomy from the gov ...

in an attempt to block his reelection bid where he would run against Ranjit Shahani, Ramos' nephew and son of then-Senator

Leticia Ramos-Shahani Leticia Valdez Ramos-Shahani (September 30, 1929 – March 20, 2017) was a Filipina senator, diplomat, and writer. She was the younger sister of Fidel V. Ramos, the 12th president of the Philippines. Early life She was born on September 30, ...

. The sports community, however, did not approve of the plan prompting Ramos to appoint

Philip Juico Philip Ella Juico is a Filipino sports official. He is the chairman emeritus of the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA), the NSA for athletics in the Philippines. He was president of PATAFA from 2015 to 2022. Juico served a ...

instead. Estrella ultimately withdrew from the race and was later appointed to the

Manila Economic and Cultural Office The Manila Economic and Cultural OfficeIn .In tl, Tanggapang Pang-ekonomiya at Pangkultura ng Maynila. Also known as the Philippine Representative Office in Taiwan(; tl, link=no, Tanggapan ng Kinatawan ng Pilipinas sa Taiwan). is the representa ...

where he served as one of its directors from 1995 to 1998. During the Estrada presidency, he became the administrator of the

National Electrification Administration The National Electrification Administration (NEA; fil, Pambansang Pangasiwaan ng Elektripikasyon) is a government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) attached to the Department of Energy of the Philippines tasked in the full implementation ...

. Estrella returned to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

as the representative of the 6th district of Pangasinan in 2001 and served until 2010. During the 12th Congress, he was the chairman of the House Special Committee on the North Luzon Growth Quadrangle. In 2013, he became the party-list representative of Abono succeeding his brother Robert Raymond Estrella. He was among the 23 representatives linked to the

pork barrel scam The Priority Development Assistance Fund scam, also called the PDAF scam or the pork barrel scam, is a political scandal involving the alleged misuse by several members of the Congress of the Philippines of their Priority Development Assistance ...

by a ''

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 bro ...

'' exposé in 2013. The National Bureau of Investigation subsequently named Estrella and his brother in its 2015 report to the

Ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

among those allegedly involved in malversation, direct bribery, and other graft and corrupt practices. That same year, he was served numerous notices of disallowances from the Commission on Audit with regards to the use of his

Priority Development Assistance Fund The Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) was a discretionary fund in the Philippines available to members of Congress. Originally established as the Countrywide Development Fund (CDF) in 1990, it was designed to allow legislators to fund sm ...

to implement livelihood projects worth

₱ The Philippine peso sign (₱) is the currency symbol used for the Philippine peso, the official currency of the Philippines. The symbol resembles a Roman letter P with two horizontal strokes. It differs from the currency symbol used for the pe ...

64million in Pangasinan coursed through questionable

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

s. He was later excluded from liability by the commission in 2018 due to a court decision which declared his signatures in the documents facilitating the transactions to be forgeries. On July 10, 2020, he was one of the 70 representatives who voted to reject the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN. And on June 8, 2022, he accepted the offer of President

Bongbong Marcos Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr. ( , , ; born September 13, 1957), commonly referred to by the initials PBBM or BBM, is a Filipino politician who is the 17th and current president of the Philippines. He previously served as a senat ...

to head the

Department of Agrarian Reform The Department of Agrarian Reform ( fil, Kagawaran ng Repormang Pansakahan}, abbreviated as DAR or KRP) is an executive department of the Philippine government responsible for the redistribution of agrarian land in the Philippines. List of th ...

as its secretary after his grandfather, Conrado Estrella Sr. who also became secretary from 1971 to 1986.

Personal life

Estrella married Sandra S. Romero on June 7, 1985 at the age of 24. The couple produced four children: Maria Sergia Susana, Conrado Andrew IV, Albert and Gilbert.Department of Agrarian Reform

Retrieved July 12, 2022.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Estrella 03, Conrado 1960 births Deputy Speakers of the House of Representatives of the Philippines People from Pangasinan Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Pangasinan Party-list members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Living people Secretaries of Agrarian Reform of the Philippines Bongbong Marcos administration cabinet members Estrada administration personnel