Marlyn Belizario Alonte-Naguiat (born 15 July 1974) 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 who has been serving as the Member of the House of Representatives of the Philippines for

Biñan Biñan (), officially the City of Biñan ( fil, Lungsod ng Biñan), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Laguna (province), Laguna, Philippines. According ...

since 2016. A member of the

centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the Right-wing politics, right of the Left–right politics, political spectrum, but are closer to the Centrism, centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure a ...

Lakas–CMD Lakas–Christian Muslim Democrats, abbreviated as Lakas–CMD and also known simply as Lakas, is a political party in the Philippines. Lakas–CMD is considered to sit on the centre-right of the political spectrum, and is influenced by Christi ...

, she previously served as one of the deputy speakers of the House of Representatives from March 2021 to June 2022, as well as the 3-term Mayor of

from 2007 to 2016, the Vice Mayor of Biñan from 2004 to 2007 and the Member of the then Biñan Municipal Council from 1998 to 2004.

Political career

Her political career began when she was elected Member of

Municipal Council at the 1998 local elections, which she was re-elected in 2001. In 2004, she contested for Vice Mayorship of the city, instead of seeking re-election for Councilor. She was elected Mayor of Biñan at the 2007 local elections. Being a 33 years old during that time, she was the youngest and the first female Mayor of the city. During her mayorship, she oversaw the adoption of the new seal of the city, as well as implementing a plastic-free policy in order to promote the citizens to use ''

bayong A bayong is a kind of bag originating in the Philippines and made by weaving dried leaves. The leaves used for making the bayong vary but the traditional bayong is made from buri leaves in the Visayas and pandan leaves in Luzon. Abaca, bacba ...

'', an environmental-friendly traditional Filipino bag. She also organised the establishment of Polytechnic University of the Philippines Biñan.

Parliamentary career

Formerly a long-term member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, Alonte joined the

centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The c ...

PDP-Laban following her election as the representative for

at the 2016 election. She was re-elected under the PDP-Laban ticket at the 2019 election. On 25 March 2021, Alonte was elected

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

, making her as the 33rd Deputy Speaker under the speakership of

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 ...

. Following her re-election as the Biñan MP at the 2022 election, she left the PDP-Laban and joined the Lakas-CMD, along with 22 others. This movement was referred as "to support the newly-elected

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 ful ...

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 ...

and the

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

Sara Duterte Sara Vicenta Zimmerman Duterte-Carpio (, ; born May 31, 1978), commonly known as Inday Sara, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who is the 15th and current vice president of the Philippines. She is the third female vice president, the third ...

" by the Lakas-CMD President

Martin Romualdez Ferdinand Martin Gomez Romualdez (, born November 14, 1963) is a Filipino businessman, lawyer and politician serving as the Speaker of the House of Representatives since July 25, 2022. He is also serving as the Representative for the 1st dis ...

Political positions

Alonte has been in favor of women and children rights since her involvement into the politics. During her Biñan mayorship, she organised Kababaihan Unlad Biñan, which has been celebrating the Women's Month and holding various activities. She also focused on improvising children education of the city in order to overcome poverty. Even since being elected MP, she has been contributing for several bills and acts i.e. Republic Act No. 11510, as well as House Bill No. 8097, to enhance the lives of out-of-school youths and

single parent A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include divorce, break-up, abandonment, becoming wid ...

. Alonte is also a supporter of

LGBTQ ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

rights. She attended the 2018 Pride Month Celebration organised by the Gay Alliance for Len Alonte.

Controversies

Bribery scandal

In February 2017, Alonte provoked a controversy when the then Secretary of Justice

Vitaliano Aguirre II Vitaliano "Vit" Napeñas Aguirre II (; born October 16, 1946) is a Filipino lawyer serving as a commissioner of the National Police Commission from January 11, 2021 to June 30, 2022. He previously served as Secretary of Justice under the Duter ...

accused her and a former Senator

Jamby Madrigal Maria Ana Consuelo Madrigal-Valade (born Maria Ana Consuelo Abad Santos Madrigal; April 26, 1958), better known as Jamby Madrigal, is a Filipina politician and businesswoman. She was elected as a senator in the 2004 elections. After only one t ...

for providing to several high-class prisoners of the

New Bilibid Prison The New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa, Metro Manila is the main insular prison designed to house the prison population of the Philippines. It is maintained by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) under the Department of Justice. As of Octob ...

. Several newspapers reported that the bribery was in order to withdraw their testimonies against a Senator

Leila de Lima Leila Norma Eulalia Josefa Magistrado de Lima (born August 27, 1959) is a Filipina politician, lawyer, human rights activist and law professor who previously served as a Senator of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. She was the chairperson of ...

. Nevertheless, netizens criticized Aguirre for simply accusing others without any evidences.

Kris Aquino Kristina Bernadette Cojuangco Aquino (born February 14, 1971), professionally known as Kris Aquino (), is a Filipino television host, actress, producer, socialite and businesswoman. Dubbed as Philippine's "Queen of All Media", Aquino has hos ...

, who is younger sister to the former President

Benigno Aquino III Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III (; February 8, 1960 – June 24, 2021), also known as Noynoy Aquino and colloquially as PNoy, was a Filipino politician who served as the 15th president of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016. The son of ...

, also defended Alonte, stating that she does not agree with any unproven accusations. Alonte herself also denied the accusation.

Vote buying

Marlyn Alonte was one of the 3 Biñanense politicians — 2 others are: Mayor Arman Dimaguila and Vice Mayor Angelo Alonte, who was accused and sued for alleged

vote buying Vote buying (also referred to as electoral clientelism and patronage politics) occurs when a political party or candidate distributes money or resources to a voter in an upcoming election with the expectation that the voter votes for the actor handi ...

for the 2022 election.{{cite news , date= 23 June 2022, title= Vote-buying complaint filed vs Biñan, Laguna officials, url= https://mb.com.ph/2022/06/23/vote-buying-complaint-filed-vs-binan-laguna-officials/, access-date= 1 October 2022 According to ''

Manila Bulletin The ''Manila Bulletin'' (), (also known as the ''Bulletin'' and previously known as the ''Manila Daily Bulletin'' from 1906 to September 23, 1972, and the ''Bulletin Today'' from November 22, 1972, to March 10, 1986) is the Philippines' largest ...

'', one of the 3 complainants was Michael Yatco, the former

Partido Federal ng Pilipinas Partido Federal ng Pilipinas ( en, Federal Party of the Philippines; PFP) is a national political party in the Philippines. It is chaired by Bongbong Marcos, president of the Philippines who won by a landslide in the 2022 election. During the r ...

candidate for Biñan who was defeated by Alonte.

Personal life

A native Biñanense, Alonte is a daughter of Arthur Alonte, who served as Mayor of Biñan from 1988 to 1992, and Fe Erlinda Francisco Belizario, a daughter of philanthropist Dr. Ildefonso Belizario. She attended

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 ...

, where she obtained a Bachelor in Tourism degree. She married Steve Naguiat, a cousin of Cristino Naguiat, who formerly served as the Chairman of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation. They have 2 children — Nico and Isabel. She has a close relationship with Kris Aquino.

References

External links

Marlyn Alonte
on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

1974 births Living people Filipino politicians University of Santo Tomas alumni Lakas–CMD politicians People from Biñan Mayors of places in Laguna (province) Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Laguna (province) Deputy Speakers of the House of Representatives of the Philippines