Rafael "Raffy" Moreno Alunan III (born May 17, 1948) is a Filipino businessman and former government official. He is a former

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 ...

and Interior and Local Government Secretary of the Philippines.

Education

Rafael Alunan III was born on May 17, 1948 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 ...

and raised in

Bacolod Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; hil, Dakbanwa/Syudad sang Bacolod; fil, Lungsod ng Bacolod), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Western Visayas, Philippines. It is the capital of the province of Negros Occidenta ...

. He graduated secondary school at La Salle College - Bacolod and attended

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 ...

where he graduated with bachelor degrees in political science and business administration in 1970. He also attended the Ateneo de Manila University under its MBA Senior Executive Program from 1980 to 1981. He entered the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

of the

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in the United States acquiring a master's degree in public administration in 1997. He also attended the Command and General Staff College of the Philippine Army in 2002.

Career

Government

Rafael Alunan III served as

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

of the Department of Tourism (DOT) from January 9, 1991 to February 16, 1992 under 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 ...

and as

of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) from July 1, 1992 to April 15, 1996 under 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 ...

. As Interior Secretary, Alunan initiated Oplan Paglalansag, a measure against

private armies Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

. Under such initiative a politician having more than two personal armed guards would be considered as having a private army and such groups should be dissolved. Oplan Paglalansag also sought the recovery of loose firearms across the country. This policy would later be known as the Alunan doctrine. Alunan ran for Senator in the 2016 election and was supported by then-presidential candidate

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 ...

but failed to get elected after placing 26th. Duterte advised against Alunan running again in the

2019 elections The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2019. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems has a calendar of upcoming elections around the world, and the National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections in coun ...

and offered his appointment to the DILG as Secretary. Alunan declined and became a guest candidate of PDP-Laban, Duterte's party during the 2019 elections. He ran under the Bagumbayan Party. His second Senate bid also failed.

Other

Alunan was also part of the Manindigan as a trustee, an organization of academics, entrepreneurs, and professionals which launched protests against the presidency of

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 1980s. He also served as board chairman of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations and the independent director of Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines. Amidst the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Alunan promoted ivermectin as an alternative to the

COVID-19 vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an e ...

through a post that the drug was approved only as a antinematodal agent by the Philippine

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

rather as a treatment 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 ...

Personal life

Alunan is married to Elizabeth Alunan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alunan, Rafael III 1948 births Living people Politicians from Manila Ramos administration cabinet members Corazon Aquino administration cabinet members Filipino business executives Filipino radio personalities Filipino columnists De La Salle University alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni People from Bacolod