Joseph Emilio Abaya
Encyclopedia
Joseph Emilio "Jun" Aguinaldo Abaya (born May 28, 1966) is a Filipino
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...

 politician. A member of the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (Philippines)
The Liberal Party of the Philippines is a liberal party in the Philippines, founded by then senators Senate President Manuel Roxas, Senate President Pro-Tempore Elpidio Quirino, and former 9th Senatorial District Senator Jose Avelino, on November 24, 1945 by a breakaway Liberal group from the...

, he has been elected to two terms as a Member of the House of Representatives of the Philippines
House of Representatives of the Philippines
The House of Representatives of the Philippines is the lower chamber of the...

, representing the 1st District of Cavite. He first won election to Congress in 2004, and was re-elected in 2007.

Early life

Jun, as he is commonly called, is the great grandson of the first Philippine president, Emilio Aguinaldo
Emilio Aguinaldo
Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy was a Filipino general, politician, and independence leader. He played an instrumental role during the Philippines' revolution against Spain, and the subsequent Philippine-American War or War of Philippine Independence that resisted American occupation...

, and the descendant of Isabelo Abaya, the revolutionary hero and founding father of Candon, Ilocos Sur
Candon City
Candon City is a 4th class city in the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the latest census, it has a population of 56,270 people in 10,257 households. Dubbed as the "Tobacco Capital of the Philippines" the city is the country's largest producer of Virginia-type tobacco...

. He is also the second son of the three-term Congressman Plaridel M. Abaya.

Education

Jun finished his elementary education from the De La Salle University in 1979. During his secondary schoolyears, he was a consistent honor student at the Philippine Science High School that he became a University and College scholar of the University of the Philippines where he took his engineering studies. While in UP, Jun took and topped the entrance examination for the Philippine Military Academy that he was sent by the government to the US Naval Academy (USNA) in Annapolis, Maryland, USA where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics (1988) with distinction of being a consistent Dean's Lister in all the semesters he was there. Jun then proceeded to Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, USA and completed Master's degree in Electrical Engineering (1989 - he was also a fellowship awardee).

He thought it fit to prepare himself further as a lawmaker that he studied law. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the Ateneo de Manila University, School of Law in April 2005. He was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 2007.

Career history

Prior to representing the 1st district, Cavite to the House of Representatives in 2004, he first served in the Armed Forces of the Philippines
Armed Forces of the Philippines
The Armed Forces of the Philippines is composed of the Philippine Army, Philippine Navy and Philippine Air Force...

 as a Cadet (1984–1988) and as a Naval officer of the Philippine Navy
Philippine Navy
The Philippine Navy is the naval arm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines . Its official name in Filipino is Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas, literally, "Sea Force of the Philippines"....

 (1988–2004).

He ran for congressman in 2004 and represented the 1st District of Cavite to the 13th Congress of the Philippines
13th Congress of the Philippines
The Thirteenth Congress of the Philippines was the meeting of the national legislature of the Republic of the Philippines, composed of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives...

. He was re-elected in the 2007 elections. During the 14th Congress, He was Chairman of the House Committee on Science and Technology. He was also Co-Chairman, with Senator Eduardo Angara, of the Joint Congressional Committee on Science and Technology and Engineering.

During the 15th Congress (2010) and on his last term, he serves as the Chairman of House Committee on Appropriations.

In 2009, he among with fellow representatives of Cavite -- Elpidio Barzaga, Jr.
Elpidio Barzaga, Jr.
Elpido "Pidi" F. Barzaga, Jr. is a Filipino politician from the province of Cavite representing the City of Dasmariñas...

 and Jesus Crispin Remulla
Jesus Crispin Remulla
Jesus Crispin "Boying" C. Remulla is a Filipino politician from the province of Cavite. A member of the Nacionalista Party, he has been elected to three terms as a Member of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, representing the Third District of Cavite...

 -- authored the biggest congressional reapportionment in the history of the Philippines by passing Republic Act No. 9727, unofficially titled The Cavite Congressional Reapportionment Act of 2009, bringing the representatives of Cavite from three to seven.

Personal life

Jun is happily married to his batchmate at the Philippine Science High School, Dr. Rowena Abesamis, M.D., a pediatrician at the St. Luke's Medical Center
St. Luke's medical center
St. Luke's Medical Center is a Tertiary referral hospital located in Quezon City and Taguig City, Philippines. It has a bed capacity of 660. It is the first in the Philippines and second in Asia to be accredited by the USA-based Joint Commission International , one of the leading international...

with whom he is blessed with three children: Emilio Francisco (Miong), Iñigo Jose (Ingo), and Felicia Maria Antonella (Ichay). Unfortunately, their fourth child, Veanna, died shortly after she was born.

Affiliations

He was the Vice president of PMA Maringal Class of 1988 and is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and Friends of Aguinaldo Shrine.
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