Eric Reyes Buhain (; born April 12, 1970) is a Filipino politician and former competitive swimmer serving as the

Representative Representative may refer to: Politics *Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people *House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities *Legislator, someon ...

for Batangas's 1st district since 2022. He won several medals in the Southeast Asian Games from

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, and participated in the

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

and

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. He later became a sports administrator. During the Arroyo administration, he served as chairman of the

Philippine Sports Commission The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC, ) is an agency of the Philippine government which tackles matters concerning sports in the country. The sports agency is independent from the Philippine Olympic Committee which enjoys autonomy from the gov ...

, chairman of the Games and Amusements Board, and an executive director of the

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Career

Competitive swimming

Eric ventured into swimming not because he dreamed of winning an Olympic gold medal, but because of his doctor's advice to improve his lungs. Eric was born with primary lung complex. He enrolled in a two-week swimming program at the age of seven. Yet his training was breached by another illness,

hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), poor appetite, vomiting, tiredness, abdominal pa ...

. However, this didn't stop him; a year later he was training again and taking the advance course in swimming, the competitive course, at age nine. It was at this age that he got into the varsity swimming team of

De La Salle Santiago Zobel School The De La Salle Santiago Zobel School, also referred to by its acronym DLSZ or De La Salle Zobel (Filipino: Paaralang De La Salle Santiago Zobel), is a private Catholic basic education institution for boys and girls run by the Philippine District ...

and vowed to win a gold medal in the sport. By 1981, he was a member of the Philippine Team and swam in the 400-meter individual medley at age eleven. But it was in his first Southeast Asian Games in

, held in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

, where he snatched the gold in the same category at the age of fifteen. He participated in the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

and was also chosen as the country's flag bearer for the opening ceremonies. In the

1989 Southeast Asian Games The 1989 Southeast Asian Games ( ms, Sukan Asia Tenggara 1989), officially known as the 15th Southeast Asian Games, was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 20 to 31 August 1989 with 25 sports featured in the games. It was of ...

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, Buhain broke one of the existing SEA Games swimming records. In the

1991 Southeast Asian Games The 1991 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 16th Southeast Asian Games, was a multi-sport event held in Manila, the Philippines from 24 November to 3 December 1991, with 28 sports featured in the games. This was the second time that ...

, where the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

was the host, he made a huge contribution to the gold medal record of the host country by winning most of the events in swimming. He was chosen to represent the Philippines in the

. He didn't win any medals in that sporting event. Even though he won several gold medals in the

1993 Southeast Asian Games The 1993 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 17th Southeast Asian Games were held in Singapore from 12 to 19 June 1993 with 29 sports in 440 events featured in this edition. This was the third time Singapore hosted the games after 1 ...

, Buhain decided to retire from his swimming career. He was disappointed by the poor government management that led to a mediocre performance of the Philippines team in that sporting event.

Sports administration

Buhain spent his early career in sport administration as the national training director of the Philippine Amateur Swimming Association (PASA) and president of the Professional Swimming Coaches Academy of the Philippines (ProSCAP). In 2001,

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 ...

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointed Buhain as the chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission after learning of the Philippines poor international ranking in sports. He instituted reforms that led to protests by some commissioners and employees. In 2003, the Philippines increased its rank in the medal tally in the Southeast Asian Games and the country won several medals in the

2002 Asian Games The 2002 Asian Games ( ko, 2002년 아시아 경기대회/2002년 아시안 게임, Icheoni-nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheoni-nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the XIV Asian Games ( ko, 제14회 아시아 경기대회/제14회 아시안 � ...

after getting only a bronze medal in the

1998 Asian Games The 1998 Asian Games (), officially known as the 13th Asian Games and the XIII Asiad, was an Asian multi-sport event celebrated in Bangkok, Thailand from December 6 to 20, 1998, with 377 events in 36 sports and disciplines participated by 6,554 ...

. Barely six months before the

2005 Southeast Asian Games The 2005 Southeast Asian Games, officially known as the 23rd Southeast Asian Games, was a Southeast Asian multi-sport event held in Manila, Philippines. This was the third time the Philippines hosted the games and its first time since 1991 S ...

, he was appointed by President Arroyo as the chairman of the

Games and Amusement Board The Games and Amusements Board (GAB) ( tgl, Lupon sa Palaro at Libangan) is the government-ran regulatory body of professional sports in the Philippines. History The Games and Amusements Board initially started its operation in 1951 with the issu ...

(GAB), a public agency that handles professional sporting and gambling events. On March 15, 2010, he left the GAB when President Arroyo appointed him as a director of the

Politics

In the

2022 elections The following elections are scheduled to occur in 2022. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2022 United Nations Security Council election * 2022 national electoral calendar * 2022 local e ...

, Buhain is a candidate for

representative Representative may refer to: Politics *Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people *House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities *Legislator, someon ...

of Batangas' 1st district, the seat his wife is scheduled to vacate. He ran against his sister-in-law, Lisa Ermita, and won.

Personal life

The oldest child of former

Bacoor Bacoor (), officially the City of Bacoor ( fil, Lungsod ng Bacoor), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, ...

Cavite Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest ...

municipal vice mayor Cecilia Reyes-Buhain, Eric finished his elementary and secondary education at the

in Ayala Alabang. In 1991, he earned his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in finance at

La Salle University La Salle University () is a private, Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and named for St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle. History La ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, United States. Buhain is the husband of

Eileen Ermita-Buhain Ma. Elenita Milagros Ramos Ermita-Buhain (born May 12, 1969), more commonly known as Eileen Ermita-Buhain, is a Filipino politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, representing the 1st district of Bata ...

of the 1st district of Batangas, and the son-in-law of former

Executive Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

Eduardo Ermita Eduardo R. Ermita (born July 13, 1935) is a former Executive Secretary (Philippines), Executive Secretary of the Philippines and former spokesperson for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Ermita took his Defense Resource Management Course at the Na ...

. Buhain is the older sibling of Atty. Camille Buhain-Javier, one of the three women-lawyers behind the popular Filipino YouTube channel, The Soshal Network.

Honors and awards

Philippine Sports Hall of Fame The Philippine Sports Hall of Fame (PSHOF) is a hall of fame established in 1999 to honor Filipino athletes, trainers, and coaches with the first batch of inductees included in the hall of fame in 2010. The Philippine Sports Commission manages th ...

: 2021 * PSA Athlete of the Year: 1987, 1991

References