Arnulfo Palma Fuentebella (October 29, 1945 – September 9, 2020) was the

Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives The speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines ( fil, Ispiker ng Kapulungan ng mga Kinatawan ng Pilipinas), more popularly known as the House speaker, is the presiding officer and the highest-ranking official of the lower house ...

from 2000 to 2001. He was also a representative of the

3rd Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * H ...

(now 4th) district of

Camarines Sur Camarines Sur ( bcl, Habagatan na Camarines; tl, Timog Camarines), officially the Province of Camarines Sur, is a province in the Philippines located in the Bicol Region on Luzon. Its capital is Pili and the province borders Camarines Norte a ...

, more popularly known as the Partido district.

Early life and education

Arnulfo "Noli" Fuentebella was born on October 29, 1945, in

to former Representative and Governor Felix A. Fuentebella and Rita Palma. He was educated in his home province and spent most of his life in scouting until he reached Life Scout. At the age of 15, Fuentebella was a Philippine delegate to the 50th anniversary of the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded in ...

in 1960. He is also a member of

Alpha Phi Omega Alpha Phi Omega (), commonly known as APO, but also A-Phi-O and A-Phi-Q, is a coeducational service fraternity. It is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of over 25, ...

, a fraternity with deep roots in scouting. He studied law at the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 20 ...

in 1970 and graduated being the 7th in his class and passed the Bar Exams in 1971.

Career

After he passed the Bar Exams, Fuentebella pursued a career in law and banking. But after President Ferdinand E. Marcos imposed martial rule and called for elections to the

Interim Batasang Pambansa The Interim Batasang Pambansa (English: Interim National Assembly) was the legislature of the Republic of the Philippines from its inauguration on June 12, 1978 to June 5, 1984. It served as a transitional legislative body mandated by the 1973 ...

(IBP), Fuentebella was chosen by the President to run in Congress to represent Partido. He subsequently won the elections and served as an assemblyman in the IBP from 1978 to 1984. However, he lost his bid for a seat in the 1984 Regular Batasang Pambansa and used the hiatus to practice law in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, where he was admitted to the State Bar. Then the

EDSA Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a sustained campaign of c ...

happened and President Marcos fled into exile. As the Fuentebellas had been identified with the Marcoses, he opted to sit out the

Cory 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 ...

years. In 1992, political allies asked Fuentebella to run again in Congress. He won three consecutive terms as Congressman (1992–2001).

Speakership

After then Speaker

Manuel Villar, Jr. Manuel "Manny" Bamba Villar Jr. (; born December 13, 1949) is a Filipino billionaire businessman and former politician. He previously served as senator from 2001 to 2013 and as the President of the Senate of the Philippines from 2006 to 2008. ...

passed President

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice presi ...

's Articles of

Impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, Fuentebella was elected Speaker after Estrada's allies in 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 ...

motioned to make all positions in the House vacant; Fuentebella won the nomination. On January 20, 2001, during the

Second EDSA Revolution The Second EDSA Revolution, also known as the Second People Power Revolution, EDSA 2001, or EDSA II (pronounced ''EDSA Two'' or ''EDSA Dos''), was a political protest from January 17–20, 2001, which peacefully overthrew the government of Jos ...

, Estrada left the Malacañan Palace and

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 ...

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the House Deputy Speakers since 2022, and previously from 2016 to 2017. She previously ...

was sworn to the presidency at the EDSA Shrine by Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr. Accompanying Davide were the chairs of the two houses of Congress, Senate President

Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. Aquilino Quilinging Pimentel Jr. (, December 11, 1933 – October 20, 2019), commonly known as Nene Pimentel, was a Filipino politician and human rights lawyer who was one of the leading political opposition leaders during the regime of Ferdinan ...

and Speaker Fuentebella. Four days later, on January 24, the Arroyo allies mustered enough votes to unseat Fuentebella, replacing him with

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 ...

representative

Feliciano Belmonte Fernando Feliciano "Sonny" Racimo Belmonte Jr., KGCR (born October 2, 1936) is a Filipino politician who served as a member of the Philippine House of Representatives for the Fourth District of Quezon City from 1992 to 2001 and from 2010 to 201 ...

Post-speakership

When Fuentebella had served the maximum three consecutive terms as a congressman, his son Felix William/Wimpy took over for one term (2001–2004). In the interim, Fuentebella took up post-graduate courses at the Kennedy School of Governance of

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 highe ...

. He ran again for Congress and won three more consecutive terms (2004–2013). He was instrumental in the proposed creation of a new province to be called

Nueva Camarines Nueva Camarines is a proposed province of the Philippines to be created out of Camarines Sur in the Bicol Region of the island of Luzon. The proposed province would border Camarines Sur to the west, the Philippine Sea to the north, Albay to the so ...

, which will be composed of the fourth and fifth congressional Districts of

. In the

14th Congress of the Philippines The 14th Congress of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Ikalabing-apat na Kongreso ng Pilipinas''), composed of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives, met from July 23, 2007, until June 9, 2010, during the last three years of Gloria Maca ...

, Fuentebella was elected

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines The deputy speakers of the House of Representatives of the Philippines are the second highest-ranking officials of the House of Representatives of the Philippines. During the absence of the House speaker, one of the House deputy speakers will pr ...

for

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

. In 2015, a complaint for misappropriation of public funds was lodged against Fuentebella and his wife before the Ombudsman. In May 2016, Fuentebella won the election as Camarines Sur fourth district representative by just 740 votes. His opponent, singer

Imelda Papin Imelda Arcilla Papin (born January 26, 1956) is a Filipino singer and politician. Dubbed the "Sentimental Songstress", Papin sang songs such as "Bakit (Kung Liligaya Ka sa Piling ng Iba)" and "Isang Linggong Pag-ibig". Early life Papin was bor ...

filed an electoral protest asking for a

recount An election recount is a repeat tabulation of votes cast in an election that is used to determine the correctness of an initial count. Recounts will often take place if the initial vote tally during an election is extremely close. Election reco ...

Death

He died on September 9, 2020. His son said he succumbed to heart failure after battling kidney disease for almost two years.

External links

Congress Profile

References

* Building Institutions: The Fuentebella Legacy by Coylee Gamboa * Sunday Inquirer Magazine (Pushing for Nueva Camarines: A New Beginning) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fuentebella, Arnulfo 1945 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Filipino lawyers Speakers of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Camarines Sur University of the Philippines alumni Nationalist People's Coalition politicians People from Pampanga Arnulfo Minority leaders of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Deputy Speakers of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Members of the Batasang Pambansa