The Spice Boys were six
neophyte and two-term
congressmen of the
House of Representatives of the Philippines openly critical of the administration during
Joseph Estrada's term as President of the
Philippines.
The group's name is an allusion to the British girl-group, the
Spice Girls
The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Vict ...
. They also played a key role in
Estrada's removal from office.
The Estrada administration's equivalent of this opposition
clique was a seven-member group of congressmen Estrada christened as the "
Bright Boys".
Background
The
1998 Philippine general election
Presidential elections, legislative and local elections were held in the Philippines on May 11, 1998. In the presidential election, Vice President Joseph Estrada won a six-year term as president by a landslide victory. In the vice-presidential ...
ushered in a wave of neophyte congressmen into the House of Representatives, filling 140 seats of the 220-seat Lower House.
About a fifth of its members were under 40 years of age, roughly equivalent to Generation X.
[ This influx of young blood changed the way legislative business was undertaken and the image of the Filipino politician, most of whom were derided as ''trapos'' or "TRAditional POliticians". Incidentally, the Spanish word ''trapo'' means "rag", as in rag doll or dish rag.
After the Lakas-NUCD party was reduced to 25 members at the height of the Charter-change debate in 1999 and became the minority bloc in the House, six young congressmen became media sensations due to their fervent opposition to the issue of making changes to the Philippine Constitution. This group came to be dubbed by the media as the "Spice Boys", effectively becoming the face and voice of the opposition.]
Composition
The group consisted of:
# Rolando Andaya, Jr. – 1st District, Camarines Sur
# Robert Ace Barbers – 2nd District, Surigao del Norte
# Michael Defensor – 3rd District, Quezon City
# Hernani Braganza – 1st District, Pangasinan
# Federico Sandoval II – Navotas-Malabon
# Juan Miguel Zubiri – 3rd District, Bukidnon
# Magtanggol Gunigundo II – lone District, Valenzuela, Metro Manila, Valenzuela
Post EDSA II
After the EDSA Revolution of 2001, the Spice Boys were assigned key positions in the Arroyo administration. In 2003, the Spice Boys pledged their support for Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's 2004 Presidential campaign. In 2004, three were given committee chairmanships in the House of Representatives. Andaya became chairman of the appropriations committee;[
]
See also
* 11th Congress of the Philippines
* Bombay Talkie (band), Bombay Talkie
References
{{reflist, 40em
Living people
Political party factions in the Philippines
Year of birth missing (living people)