Jesus "Jess" Gestuveo Dureza (born December 24, 1947) 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 ...

lawyer, consultant, journalist and politician from

Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dabaw; ), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the largest city in the Philippines in terms of lan ...

, Philippines. He was the adviser on the peace process to President Rodrigo Duterte from 2016 to 2018 and is the Founding Chairman of Advocacy MindaNow Foundation, a group advocating for peace in

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

. He has held various appointive positions in past administrations including the chairmanship of the

Mindanao Development Authority The Mindanao Development Authority (Filipino: ''Pangasiwaang Pangkaunlaran ng Mindanao'', abbreviated MinDA) is a government agency of the Philippines created through Republic Act 9996 or the Mindanao Development Authority Act of 2010. The office ...

, the chairmanship of the Government Peace Negotiating Panel for Talks with the

Moro Islamic Liberation Front The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF; ar, ''Jabhat Taḥrīr Moro al-ʾIslāmiyyah'') is a group based in Mindanao seeking an autonomous region of the Moro people from the central government. The group has a presence in the Bangsamoro r ...

, and Presidential Assistant for Mindanao. He is also a former Representative of the 1st District of Davao City in the

Philippine House of Representatives The House of Representatives of the Philippines ( fil, Kapulungan ng mga Kinatawan ng Pilipinas, italic=unset, ''Kamara'' or ''Kamara de Representantes'' from the Spanish word ''cámara'', meaning "chamber") is the lower house of Congress, the ...

Early life and education

Dureza was born in

Guimbal Guimbal, officially the Municipality of Guimbal ( krj, Banwa kang Guimbal; hil, Banwa sang Guimbal; tl, Bayan ng Guimbal), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population o ...

Iloilo Iloilo (), officially the Province of Iloilo ( hil, Kapuoran sang Iloilo; krj, Kapuoran kang Iloilo; tl, Lalawigan ng Iloilo), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is the City of Iloilo, the ...

on December 24, 1947. His father, Martin Dureza, hails from

Janiuay Janiuay (), officially the Municipality of Janiuay ( hil, Banwa sang Janiuay, krj, Banwa kang Janiuay, tgl, Bayan ng Janiuay), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Iloilo, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

and took part in the local guerrilla warfare against the Japanese army during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He was one year old when his family migrated to Davao. He finished elementary as the class valedictorian at Guihing Elementary School in Hagonoy in 1959. He attended the Holy Cross of Digos High School (now

Cor Jesu College Digos, officially the City of Digos ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Digos; fil, Lungsod ng Digos), is a 2nd class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Davao del Sur, Phil ...

) in

Digos Digos, officially the City of Digos ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Digos; fil, Lungsod ng Digos), is a 2nd class component city and capital of the province of Davao del Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 188,376 people. ...

where he was classmates with the future President Rodrigo Duterte and graduated with honors in 1963. Dureza then enrolled at the

Ateneo de Davao University , mottoeng = Strong in Faith , type = Private Catholic Research Non-profit Coeducational Basic and Higher education institution , established = , founder = Society of Jesus , religiou ...

in Davao City where he graduated ''cum laude'' with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1967. He earned his law degree from the same university in 1973. He placed 10th in the

Philippine Bar Examination The Philippine Bar Examination is the professional licensure examination for lawyers in the Philippines. The exam is exclusively administered by the Supreme Court of the Philippines through the Supreme Court Bar Examination Committee. Brief hist ...

the same year.

Career

Dureza had a career in journalism before entering politics. In 1972, while a law student at the Ateneo, he worked as a radio host for RMN Davao and as Davao correspondent for

The Manila Times ''The Manila Times'' is the oldest extant English-language newspaper in the Philippines. It is published daily by The Manila Times Publishing Corp. (formerly La Vanguardia Publishing Corporation) with editorial and administrative offices at 2/F ...

. After finishing law, he was hired as an editor for

Mindanao Times ''Mindanao Times'' is the oldest extant community newspaper in Mindanao, southern part of the Philippines. It was founded in 1946 with editorial and business office located at C. Bangoy cor. Palma Gil Sts., Davao City. History Before World War ...

, as a correspondent for

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 ...

, and as television presenter of "Brainstorm" in Davao City. He was also President of the Davao Press Club. Dureza then joined politics in 1987 after being elected as Congressman of the newly established First District of Davao City. He served in the Corazon Aquino administration after his term in Congress as Director of the

Philippine Coconut Authority The Philippine Coconut Authority ( fil, Pangasiwaan sa Niyog ng Pilipinas, abbreviated as PCA or PHILCOA) is an agency of the Philippine government under the Department of Agriculture (from 2014 to 2018, under the Office of the President of the ...

in 1989. In 1992, he was again elected as Davao City Representative. Dureza was appointed by

Fidel 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 his presidential assistant for Mindanao and chairman of the Mindanao Economic Development Council. From 1998 to 2000, he served as the official spokesperson for the former president. In 2002, he founded the Advocacy MindaNow Foundation. During the Gloria Arroyo administration, he was appointed as Chairman of the GRP Panel for Talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in 2003, Chairman of Mindanao Economic Development Council in 2006, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process in 2008, Press Secretary in 2009, and Presidential Adviser on Mindanao also in 2009. His last appointive position with the Arroyo government was as Chairman of the

in 2010. Before returning to government service in 2016, Dureza was a senior partner at the Rama Dureza Abarquez Law Firm. He was also the publisher of

, Chairman of the Philippine Press Institute, Director of Maple Tree Foundation for Mountain Communities, and Consultant for SM Investments Corporation. Dureza was awarded the Presidential Medal of Merit by President Fidel Ramos in June 1998. He is also a recipient of the Datu Bago Award (1983), the highest award given to a Davaoeño. He served as Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process of the Philippines under the Rodrigo Duterte administration from June 30, 2016, to November 27, 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dureza, Jesus 1947 births Filipino consultants Filipino newspaper publishers (people) Filipino journalists Living people Presidential Advisers on the Peace Process of the Philippines Presidential spokespersons (Philippines) Assistants to the President of the Philippines Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Davao City Heads of government agencies of the Philippines People from Iloilo People from Davao City Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino politicians Ateneo de Davao University alumni Corazon Aquino administration personnel Ramos administration personnel Arroyo administration cabinet members Duterte administration cabinet members Hiligaynon people Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Merit (Philippines) Secretaries of the Presidential Communications Operations Office