LEADERSHIP INFORMATION

15th Congress of the Philippines

The Majority Leader is elected in a party caucus of the majority ruling party. His primary function, aside from being the spokesman of the majority party, is to direct the deliberations on the floor.

In the present set-up of the House, the Majority Leader is concurrently the Chairman of the Committee on Rules. As such, all matters relevant to the Rules of the House, specifically the calendar of bills, preparation of Order of Business and Calendar of Business are within his responsibilities.

District: Lone District, Mandaluyong City
Member: 10th, 11th, 12th, 14th and 15th Congresses
Date of Birth: 29 August 1954
Profession: Lawyer
School/s Attended: Far Eastern University; Ateneo de Manila University Affiliation/s: Integrated Bar of the Philippines; Rotary Club of Mandaluyong
Spouse: Alexandria P. Gonzales

Majority Leader Neptali M. Gonzales was a practicing lawyer before he got elected in 1995 as representative of Mandaluyong's lone district. On his first term, he already served as Deputy Majority Leader and was one of the neophyte lawmakers that time to have the most number of bills enacted into law. He eventually became Majority Leader in the 11th and 12th Congresses. The people of Mandaluyong elected him City Mayor after his term in the House ended in 2004.

Among the measures he authored were: RA 8191, prescribing measures for the prevention and control of diabetes mellitus in the Philippines; RA 8249, defining the jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan; RA 8424, amending the National Internal Revenue Code; RA 8365, converting the Rizal Technological Colleges into a state university; RA 8497, establishing the Mandaluyong Science High School; and RA 9184 or the E-Procurement Law.

In the 14th Congress, he has proudly sponsored measures that created integrated schools in his district to serve its growing secondary education population. He also filed a Resolution that helped local governments curb the high cost of water utilities for non-revenue offices or agencies like hospitals, city/municipal jails, police stations, and public schools. This objective was made possible by encouraging the MWSS to reclassify rates for the said agencies, resulting to a 30 percent discount on their water bills.

Source: Secretary General's Office / Committee on Rules / Public Relations and Information Bureau