Isagani Sybico Amatong (born October 19, 1940) 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 from the province of

Zamboanga del Norte Zamboanga del Norte ( Cebuano: ''Amihanang Zamboanga''; Subanon: ''Utara Sembwangan''; tl, Hilagang Zamboanga), officially the Province of Zamboanga del Norte, is a province in the Philippines situated within the Zamboanga Peninsula region in M ...

. He last served as

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

in 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 ...

representing the 3rd legislative district of Zamboanga del Norte.

Early years

Isagani Sybico Amatong was born in

Dipolog Dipolog, officially the City of Dipolog ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dipolog; Subanen: ''Gembagel G'benwa Dipuleg/Bagbenwa Dipuleg''; Chavacano: ''Ciudad de Dipolog''; fil, Lungsod ng Dipolog), is a 3rd class component city and capital of the province o ...

, Province of Zamboanga, on October 19, 1940, to Amando Borja Amatong and Felicidad Mabanag Sybico who were founders of

Andres Bonifacio College Andres Bonifacio College (ABCollege or ABC) is a community college institution in the Philippines. Its campus is located at College Park, Brgy. Miputak, Dipolog. ABCollege offers course programs from kindergarten to postgraduate levels. Alumni an ...

. He graduated elementary from Miputak Elementary School, and finished her secondary education at Andres Bonifacio College as a valedictorian. He obtained his

pre-medicine Pre-medical (often referred to as pre-med) is an educational track that undergraduate students in the United States pursue prior to becoming medical students. It involves activities that prepare a student for medical school, such as pre-med course ...

from

University of the Philippines Manila The University of the Philippines Manila (UPM) is a state-funded medical and research university located in Ermita, Manila, Philippines. It is known for being the country's center of excellence in the health sciences, including health professio ...

in 1960; earned his

Bachelor of Arts in Economics The Bachelor of Economics (BEc or BEcon), or the "Bachelor of Applied Economics", is a bachelor's degree awarded by many universities and colleges for completion of an undergraduate program in economics, econometrics, or applied economics; the ...

and

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from

University of the Philippines Diliman , image = University of The Philippines seal.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = Official Logo of UP Diliman , motto = Honor and Excellence , established = February 12, 194 ...

in 1964 and 1970 respectively. In 1970, he earned his

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degree from

, and then became a full-fledged lawyer the same year. He also finished his Master of Laws in UP Diliman.

Career

Prior to his entry into politics, Amatong was a law associate. He also worked as a management consultant, a financial comptroller and trustee in Andres Bonifacio College, and founder-publisher for the Mindanao Observer. In 1984, he was appointed as City Councilor of Dipolog after the death of his brother,

Jacobo Amatong Jacobo Sybico Amatong (October 11, 1936 – September 24, 1984) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, and newspaper publisher from the province of Zamboanga del Norte. He was best known for founding the Mindanao Observer, a community newspaper which ...

. He would then be appointed by former President

Corazon Aquino Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People P ...

to serve as Officer-in-Charge Governor of Zamboanga del Norte from 1986, until being elected as such in 1988 and 1992. After leaving the provincial capitol in 1995, he ran again for, won and served as Governor from 1998 to 2004. From there, he briefly retired from politics. Amatong made his run for Governor in 2010 but was defeated. In 2013, he ran for Congressman of the 3rd District of Zamboanga del Norte and won. He would later on run for and win re-election bids in 2016 and

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 ...

House of Representatives

In the 18th Congress, he is currently the minority leader of the House Committee on Accounts, and a member of the House Committees on Appropriations, Agriculture and Food, and Basic Education and Culture.

Notable works

In 2017, Amatong introduced House Bill No. 5040 in the House of Representatives seeking to carve out a new province from Zamboanga del Norte. The proposed Zamboanga Hermosa province was to consist of 12 municipalities and 2 legislative districts that make up the 3rd legislative district of Zamboanga del Norte: Baliguian, Godod, Gutalac, Kalawit, Labason, Leon B. Postigo, Liloy (its proposed capital), Salug, Sibuco, Siocon, Sirawai, and Tampilisan. However, the bill ultimately did not pass the 16th congress. In 2020, House Bill No. 4226 which Congressman Amatong authored in 2019 was approved by the House Committee on Basic Education. HB No. 4226 seeks to convert Siocon National High School in the far-flung municipality of

Siocon Siocon, officially the Municipality of Siocon ( ceb, Lungsod sa Siocan; Subanen: ''Benwa Siocan''; Chavacano: ''Municipalidad de Siocan''; tl, Bayan ng Siocan), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines. Acc ...

into Siocon Science High School. This measured would be passed in to law as Republic Act No. 11629, and was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in December 2021.

Recognitions

In 2014, Amatong was one of the awardees of the UPAA Distinguished Awardees by the University of the Philippines Alumni Association for his role in Good Governance.

Electoral history

Personal life

Amatong is married to Anita Alto Amatong, and have three children together including Adrian Michael.

References

External links

Isagani Amatong, House of Representatives
, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Amatong, Isagani Isagani 1940 births Living people Liberal Party (Philippines) politicians People from Dipolog University of the Philippines alumni University of the Philippines Diliman alumni Filipino city and municipal councilors Governors of Zamboanga del Norte Politicians from Zamboanga del Norte Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Zamboanga del Norte