Eric Morales Martinez (; born May 3, 1972) is a Filipino politician who is currently a member of

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 ...

from Valenzuela's 2nd district since 2016 and he was the House Deputy Speaker for 18th Congress from 2020 to 2022.

Personal life

Martinez was born in Barangay Marulas,

Valenzuela Valenzuela may refer to: Places *Valenzuela, Paraguay * Valenzuela, Metro Manila, Philippines *Valenzuela, Spain * Valenzuela de Calatrava, Spain * Valenzuela, Louisiana Other uses * Valenzuela (surname) Valenzuela is a surname that originated i ...

on May 3, 1972. He was president of Liturgy of Music of

National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima The Parish of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima ''(Filipino: Pambansang Dambana ng Birhen ng Fatima)'' is a parish church and national shrine in the Diocese of Malolos in the Philippines. It serves as a Philippine apostolate of Our Lady of ...

on year 1995 and a music teacher at St. Patrick School from 1997 to 1998. He also became Board of Director of

Philippine National Red Cross The Philippine Red Cross (PRC; fil, Krus na Pula ng Pilipinas) is a non-profit humanitarian organization and a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The PRC was established in 1947, with roots in the Philippine Rev ...

of Valenzuela Chapter. He attained Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Miguel ...

and both primary and secondary education at Notre Dame of Greater Manila.

Political career

Martinez first served in Barangay Marulas, Valenzuela as member of

Sangguniang Kabataan 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 ...

from 1993 to 1997 and as barangay kagawad from 1997 to 2001. He was later elected councilor of Valenzuela from the 2nd district in 2001, serving for two terms until 2007.

Vice Mayor

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, Martinez won his first term as Vice Mayor of

Valenzuela City Valenzuela (, Tagalog: ), officially the City of Valenzuela ( fil, Lungsod ng Valenzuela), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 714,978 peopl ...

together with re-elected mayor

Win Gatchalian Sherwin Ting Gatchalian (born April 6, 1974), known as Win Gatchalian, is a Filipino politician and businessman serving as a Senator since 2016. A member of the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC), he previously served as the Representative of ...

. On

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, Martinez seek for his second term as vice mayor while

seek for his third term as mayor of the city. Both of them won the local election. On 2013, he ran again for his third term as vice mayor of the city while former mayor

ran as representative of Valenzuela's 2nd district because he is unable to run for the position once more due to being

term limit A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

ed. Instead, his brother

Rex Gatchalian Rexlon Ting Gatchalian (born January 21, 1979) is a Filipino politician, first district representative of Valenzuela City, and was the 26th Mayor of the Valenzuela, Philippines. He already served as the representative of the first district of ...

won 2013 Valenzuela local elections as mayor of the city.

Representative for the 17th to 19th Congress

17th Congress

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, Martinez was elected for his first term as representative for Valenzuela's 2nd district representative.

18th Congress

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, he was re-elected representative for Valenzuela's 2nd district representative, defeating his predecessor Magi Gunigundo. On July 10, 2020, Martinez voted to reject the franchise renewal of

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN (an initialism of its two predecessors' names, Alto Broadcasting System and Chronicle Broadcasting Network) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast broadcast network, network tha ...

together with Valenzuela's 1st district representative

Wes Gatchalian Weslie "Wes" Ting Gatchalian (born August 11, 1980) is a Filipino politician who has served as the 27th mayor of Valenzuela since 2022. A member of the Nationalist People's Coalition, Gatchalian was first elected to public office in 2013, as t ...

and 68 other congressmen. On October 6, 2020, Martinez was removed as chairman of the House committee on youth and sports development.

19th Congress

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, Martinez seek for re-election for his third and last term as Valenzuela's 2nd district representative. His candidacy received endorsement from President

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...

, which was a big help for his victory. He was re-elected to his third term in

, beating former representative Magi Gunigundo once again.

References

{{reflist Living people 1972 births Filipino educators Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Valenzuela, Metro Manila Metro Manila city and municipal councilors People from Valenzuela, Metro Manila PDP–Laban politicians Liberal Party (Philippines) politicians University of Santo Tomas alumni