Reynaldo Villar Umali (February 26, 1957 – January 7, 2021) was 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 served 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 ...

from 2010 to 2019 representing the 2nd district of Oriental Mindoro. He ran as governor of Oriental Mindoro during the

2019 Philippine gubernatorial elections Gubernatorial elections were held in the Philippines on May 13, 2019. All provinces elected their provincial governors for three-year terms, who will be inaugurated on June 30, 2019 after their proclamation. Governors that are currently serving ...

but lost to Humerlito Dolor.

Early life and education

Umali was born on February 26, 1957, in

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

to Alfonso Umali Sr., a governor of Oriental Mindoro, and Alberta Villar-Umali. He is the brother of Representatives Alfonso Umali and Ma. Victoria Umali of

A Teacher Partylist Advocacy for Teacher Empowerment Through Action, Cooperation and Harmony Towards Educational Reforms, Inc, also known as A Teacher Partylist, is a party-list in the Philippines. In the May 14, 2007 election An election is a formal gro ...

. Umali attended

San Beda University es, Universidad de San Beda , image = San Beda University seal.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = University Seal , latin_name = Universitas Sancti Bedæ , former_names ...

for his elementary and secondary education. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics degree from Ateneo de Manila University and his Bachelor of Laws degree from

Manuel L. Quezon University The Manuel L. Quezon University (MLQU) is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational basic and higher education institution in Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines. It is named after the second president of the Philippine Manuel L. Quezon. History ...

. He also studied at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

where he obtained a certificate program in Executive Management. He passed the Philippine Bar Examination in 1988 and was a member of the Lambda Rho Beta fraternity.

Career

Umali was a practicing lawyer before he entered government service. His first government job was at the National Economic and Development Authority where he worked as an economist and division chief. He also worked for former Representative Gerardo Cabochan of

Caloocan Caloocan, officially the City of Caloocan ( fil, Lungsod ng Caloocan; ), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in Metropolitan Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 1,661,584 people making it the fourth-most ...

as his legislative chief of staff. He served as the director of the

Presidential Agrarian Reform Council 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 ...

Secretariat from 1990 to 1992. From 2005 to 2010, he worked at the

Bureau of Customs The Bureau of Customs (abbreviated BoC or BOC; fil, Kawanihan ng Adwana) is a Philippine government agency under the Department of Finance. The Bureau of Customs was established on February 6, 1902 by the Insular Government of the Philippine ...

as its legal office chief and as deputy commissioner. During his term as Customs Deputy Commissioner, he and his team drafted the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act. He was also the executive director of the bureau's Run After the Smugglers (RATS) program.

Congressman

Umali was first elected to Congress in 2010 as a Liberal Party candidate. He replaced his brother who was in his third consecutive term and was ineligible to run. During his term in the 15th Congress, he was the vice chairman of the House Committees on Constitutional Amendments, Good Governance and Public Accountability,

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

, and Ways and Means; and member of the Committees on Appropriations,

Aquaculture and Fisheries Resources Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. Nelumb ...

, Games and Amusements,

Information and Communications Technology Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals) and computers, ...

, National Cultural Communities,

Social Services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

, Suffrage and Electoral Reforms, and

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 ...

. He also pushed for the impeachments of former

Ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

Merceditas Gutierrez Ma. Merceditas Consunji Navarro Gutierrez (born September 24, 1948) is a Filipino former government official who served as the 4th ombudsman of the Philippines. After graduating from the Ateneo de Manila University Law School in 1973, she quick ...

and Chief Justice Renato Corona. During the Corona impeachment trial, he was a member of the prosecution team and was the lead prosecutor of the 8th article of impeachment. Umali ran for a second term in 2013 again under the Liberal Party where he became the deputy spokesperson of the party's National Political Council. During the 16th Congress, he was chairman of the House Committee on Energy and co-chairman of the Joint Congressional Power Commission. In the 2016 House of Representatives elections, Umali still ran under the Liberal Party. However, in July 2016, he left the party and joined the ruling

PDP–Laban Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (), abbreviated as PDP–Laban, is a democratic socialist List of political parties in the Philippines, political party in the Philippines founded in 1982. It was part of the country's ruling party al ...

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 ...

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 ...

. During the 17th Congress, he was the chairman of the House Committee on Justice which tackled the impeachment proceedings of then-Chief Justice

Maria Lourdes Sereno Maria Lourdes "Meilou" Aranal Sereno (; born Maria Lourdes Punzalan Aranal; July 2, 1960) is a Filipina lawyer and judge who served as de facto chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from 2012 until her removal in 2018. Appoin ...

and the investigation regarding the

New Bilibid Prison drug trafficking scandal The New Bilibid Prison drug trafficking scandal is a criminal investigation and political scandal concerning allegations of government involvement in illegal drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa, Metro Manila, Philippines. The alle ...

. Being the Justice Committee chair, he also served as an ''ex-officio'' member of the Judicial and Bar Council. After serving three consecutive terms in Congress, Umali was barred from running another term. In the 2019 gubernatorial elections, he ran as governor of Oriental Mindoro under the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas but lost to PDP–Laban candidate Humerlito Dolor.

Personal life and death

Umali was married to Ma. Linda Tantoco-Umali and had six children. On December 12, 2020, Umali went for a medical check-up following previous visits that had diagnosed him with having fatty liver disease. During that check-up, Umali 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 ...

and was also found to have Stage 3

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

. After a few days, his condition aggravated into Stage 4 liver cancer and he was later admitted to the

intensive care unit 220px, Intensive care unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensiv ...

on December 21. On December 26, he was intubated and on the morning of January 7, 2021, he went into

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

and died.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Umali, Reynaldo Villar 1957 births 2021 deaths 20th-century Filipino lawyers San Beda University alumni Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Oriental Mindoro Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines Liberal Party (Philippines) politicians PDP–Laban politicians Partido Federal ng Pilipinas politicians