Alvaro Trinidad Antonio, also known by his nickname Bong or Ambong, (born February 19, 1952) is a Filipino politician, who was the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Cagayan Cagayan ( ), officially the Province of Cagayan (; ; ; isnag language, Isnag: ''Provinsia nga Cagayan''; ivatan language, Ivatan: ''Provinsiya nu Cagayan''; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Cag ...

from 2007 to 2016. He is a former pro-bono lawyer at the Citizen's Legal Action Office (now known as Public Assistance Office or PAO) and a former

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Alcala.

Education

Antonio spent his high school years at San Jacinto Seminary in Peñablanca, Cagayan, where he graduated in 1968. He thereafter went to the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (UST; ), officially the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines or colloquially as ''Ustê'' (), is a Private university, private Catholic school, Catholic researc ...

in Manila, to pursue his college studies. Antonio completed his baccalaureate in philosophy, with honors, in 1972. Antonio proceeded to take up law, also at UST. While finishing his law degree, Antonio joined the Suprema Lex Fraternity.

Career

Antonio started his career as a ''pro bono'' lawyer at the Citizen's Legal Action Office (now the Public Attorney's Office). He then ran and won as mayor of his hometown of Alcala, Cagayan. In

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, he was elected as Governor of Cagayan, with the support of then Congressman

Manuel Mamba Manuel Noveno Mamba Sr. (born August 19, 1958) is a Filipino physician and politician who is serving as provincial governor of Cagayan since 2016. He was elected to the House of Representatives of the Philippines, representing the 3rd District ...

and Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, narrowly defeating former governor Edgar Lara by a margin of 662 votes. Antonio went on to win two more terms, leaving office in 2016. During his governorship, Antonio's relations with Mamba deteriorated, leading to the latter unsuccessfully challenging Antonio for governor in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. During the 2013 Philippine general election on 13 May, Mamba accused Antonio of firing an

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is an assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kala ...

at his convoy in Alcala. At the time, Mamba's brother William lost his bid to unseat Antonio for the governorship. Antonio denied the accusation. On December 22, 2014, Antonio was arrested at the Cagayan provincial capitol on charges relating to the incident but was released on the same day after posting P10,000 in bail. Antonio ran again for governor in 2019 but lost to the incumbent Governor Manuel Mamba, landing in third place. Antonio is running for vice governor of Cagayan in the 2025 Philippine general election.

Other ventures

Antonio owned a series of defunct sports teams, including the Cagayan Valley Lady Rising Suns, the Cagayan Valley Rising Suns (volleyball), and the Cagayan Rising Suns basketball team.

Personal life

Antonio has been married twice, with his second wife, Digna Puzon-Antonio, being a mayor of Pamplona, Cagayan. His eldest daughter, Cristina, has also served as mayor of Alcala and ran unsuccessfully to succeed him as governor in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

. Another daughter, Criselda, also served as mayor of Alcala and is married to former

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

coach Alvin Pua. His brother, Patrick Antonio, served as a member of the

House of Representatives of the Philippines The House of Representatives (; '','' thus commonly referred to as ''Kamara'') is the lower house of Congress of the Philippines, Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the Senate of the Philippines as the upper house. The ...

for Agbiag party-list.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Antonio, Alvaro Mayors of places in Cagayan Living people Governors of Cagayan 1952 births Lakas–CMD politicians United Nationalist Alliance politicians 20th-century Filipino lawyers People from Cagayan