Linabelle Ruth Ramos Villarica (born July 25, 1949) is a Filipino politician who currently serves as the member of 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 ...

from the 4th District of

Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan ( tl, Lalawigan ng Bulacan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on August 15, 1578, and part of the Metr ...

since 2022 and previously from 2010 to 2019. She previously served as mayor of

Meycauayan Meycauayan, officially the City of Meycauayan ( fil, Lungsod ng Meycauayan), is a 3rd class component city in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 225,673 people. It is one of the oldest t ...

from 2019 to 2022.

Early life and education

Linabelle Villarica was born on July 25, 1949 in Espiritu (now Banna),

Ilocos Norte Ilocos Norte, officially the Province of Ilocos Norte ( ilo, Probinsia ti Ilocos Norte; tl, Lalawigan ng Ilocos Norte), is a province of the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region. Its capital is Laoag City, located in the northwest corner of ...

. She graduated at the

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 ...

with a course of Bachelor of Arts in speech and drama.

Political career

Congresswoman for the 4th District (2010–2019)

Villarica served as the member of the

from the 4th District for nine years. She filed many house bills, including House Bill 4113 (100-Day Maternity Leave Bill). She served three terms in the House and also formerly served as Deputy Speaker.

Mayor of Meycauayan (2019–2022)

Villarica ran for mayor of

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 ...

and won. She switched places with her husband

Henry Villarica Henry Resurreccion Villarica, also known as Atorni Henry, is a Filipino attorney and politician who is currently serving as City Mayor of Meycauayan. He previously served as Mayor from 2016 until 2019, and served as the member of the Philippine ...

, who ran for congressman. She was sworn in on June 30, 2019.

Congresswoman for the 4th District (2022–present)

Villarica ran for a return to Congress, switching places once again with her husband Henry Villarica. They eventually won the elections.

Personal life

Villarica is married to

, a former mayor of Meycauayan and now congressman from Bulacan's 4th district. Their family runs the Villarica Pawnshop. They have four children together. On March 26, 2020, after her husband tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, she was placed under home quarantine.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Villarica, Linabelle 1949 births Living people Mayors of places in Bulacan Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Bulacan PDP–Laban politicians Liberal Party (Philippines) politicians University of the Philippines Diliman alumni