Bright Boys
Encyclopedia
The Bright Boys were seven first-term administration congressmen of the House of Representatives of the Philippines
who were dubbed as such by Joseph Estrada
during his term as President of the Philippines
.
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.
The name "Bright Boys" was coined by Estrada during a social call on the then-President by the group. Rodolfo Albano III, the group's elder, commented that the six other young congressmen he was with were a smart clique
. This led to Estrada calling them the "Bright Boys", as he thought they had a bright future in congress. It was also an allusion to a similar clique in the opposition, the Spice Boys
.
House of Representatives of the Philippines
The House of Representatives of the Philippines is the lower chamber of the...
who were dubbed as such by Joseph Estrada
Joseph Estrada
Joseph "Erap" Ejercito Estrada was the 13th President of the Philippines, serving from 1998 until 2001. Estrada was the first person in the Post-EDSA era to be elected both to the presidency and vice-presidency.Estrada gained popularity as a film actor, playing the lead role in over 100 films in...
during his term as President of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
Background
The 1998 Philippine general electionPhilippine general election, 1998
The senatorial election was held in the Philippines on May 11, 1998. The two main competing coalitions in the senatorial election were the Lakas-NUCD-UMDP and the Laban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino -led coalition composed of the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino , Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino , the...
ushered in a wave of neophyte congressmen into the House of Representatives, filling 140 seats of the 220-seat Lower House
Lower house
A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
. About a fifth of its members were under 40 years of age, roughly equivalent to Generation X
Generation X
Generation X, commonly abbreviated to Gen X, is the generation born after the Western post–World War II baby boom ended. While there is no universally agreed upon time frame, the term generally includes people born from the early 1960's through the early 1980's, usually no later than 1981 or...
. 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
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
word trapo means "rag", as in rag doll
Rag doll
A rag doll is a children's toy. It is a cloth figure, a doll traditionally home-made from spare scraps of material. They are one of the most ancient children's toys in existence; the British Museum has a Roman rag doll, found in a child's grave dating from 300 BC.Rag dolls have featured in a...
or dish rag.
The name "Bright Boys" was coined by Estrada during a social call on the then-President by the group. Rodolfo Albano III, the group's elder, commented that the six other young congressmen he was with were a smart clique
Clique
A clique is an exclusive group of people who share common interests, views, purposes, patterns of behavior, or ethnicity. A clique as a reference group can be either normative or comparative. Membership in a clique is typically exclusive, and qualifications for membership may be social or...
. This led to Estrada calling them the "Bright Boys", as he thought they had a bright future in congress. It was also an allusion to a similar clique in the opposition, the Spice Boys
Spice Boys (Congressmen)
The Spice Boys were six thirtysomething 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...
.
Composition
The group consisted of:- Rodolfo Albano III – Isabela
- Alan Peter CayetanoAlan Peter CayetanoAlan Peter Schramm Cayetano is a senator from the Philippines.He was the congressional representative from the district of Taguig-Pateros for 9 years. He had a seven-point program for his Taguig-Pateros constituency in Metro Manila. He ran for senator on the May 14, 2007 Philippine elections under...
– PaterosPateros, Metro ManilaThe Municipality of Pateros is a First-class municipality in Metro Manila, Philippines. This small town is famous for its duck-raising industry and especially for producing balut, a Filipino delicacy that is boiled duck egg...
-Taguig - Ace Durano – CebuCebuCebu is a province in the Philippines, consisting of Cebu Island and 167 surrounding islands. It is located to the east of Negros, to the west of Leyte and Bohol islands...
- Francis Joseph Escudero – SorsogonSorsogonSorsogon is a province of the Philippines located in the Bicol Region; it is the southernmost province in Luzon and is subdivided into fourteen municipalities and one city. Its capital is Sorsogon City and borders the province of Albay to the north...
- Edmundo Reyes, Jr. – MarinduqueMarinduqueIn 1945, combined American and Philippine Commonwealth troops attacked from the Japanese Troops liberated to the Battle of Marinduque in the Second World War.-Archaeology:...
- Jurdin Jesus Romualdo – CamiguinCamiguinCamiguin is an island province of the Philippines located in the Bohol Sea, about off the northern coast of Misamis Oriental in Mindanao. It is the second-smallest province both in population and land area after Batanes...
- Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. – TarlacTarlacTarlac is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the Luzon Island. Its capital is Tarlac City. Tarlac borders Pampanga to the south, Nueva Ecija to the east, Pangasinan to the north, and Zambales to the west...