Magi Gunigundo Explained

Magtanggol T. Gunigundo I
Office:Member of the Philippine House of Representatives from Valenzuela
Term Start:June 30, 2007
Term End:June 30, 2016
Predecessor:Antonio Serapio
Successor:Eric Martinez
Constituency:2nd District
Term Start1:June 30, 2001
Term End1:June 30, 2004
Predecessor1:District created
Successor1:Antonio Serapio
Constituency1:2nd District
Term Start2:June 30, 1998
Term End2:June 30, 2001
Predecessor2:Antonio Serapio
Successor2:District abolished
Constituency2:Lone district
Office3:Deputy Majority Leader of the House of Representatives of the Philippines
1Namedata3:Feliciano Belmonte Jr.
1Blankname3:House Speaker
Term Start3:August 5, 2010
Term End3:June 30, 2016
Office4:Trial Lawyer at the Economic Intelligence and Investigation Bureau of Customs
1Namedata4:Guillermo L. Parayno Jr.
1Blankname4:Commissioner
Term Start4:July 26, 1990
Term End4:October 1, 1997
Office5:Special assistant for law enforcement at the Office of the Commissioner of Bureau of Customs
1Namedata5:Guillermo L. Parayno Jr.
1Blankname5:Commissioner
Term Start5:June 30, 1992
Term End5:October 1, 1997
Office6:Chief of Special Anti-Smuggling Unit of Bureau of Customs
1Namedata6:Guillermo L. Parayno Jr.
1Blankname6:Commissioner
Term Start6:June 30, 1992
Term End6:October 1, 1997
Office7:Chair of the Philippine House of Representatives Committee on Ethics
Term Start7:July 21, 2001
Term End7:June 30, 2004
Office8:Chair of the Philippine House of Representatives Committee on Labor and Employment
Term Start8:July 25, 2004
Term End8:June 30, 2007
Birth Date:11 December 1964
Birth Place:Quezon City, Philippines
Profession:Lawyer

Magtanggol Tanjuan Gunigundo (born December 11, 1964), also known as Magi Gunigundo, is a Filipino politician who last served as the representative of the second district of Valenzuela to the House of Representatives from 2001 to 2004 and from 2007 to 2016.[1] He also served as the representative of the now-defunct lone district of Valenzuela from 1998 to 2001.

He is an alumnus of the University of the Philippines Diliman.

Early life

Magtanggol Gunigundo, also known by his nickname Magi, was born to Filipino politician Magtanggol C. Gunigundo and Prof. Sylvia Tanjuan Gunigundo in Quezon City. His early education was at the University of the Philippines Integrated School. He finished his AB Political Science at the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1985 and Bachelor of Laws at Ateneo de Manila University in 1989. He was 13th Placer at the 1989 Bar Examination.

Career

He began practicing as an associate lawyer when he joined his father's firm in 1989. In 1990, he became a trial lawyer at the Economic Intelligence and Investigation Bureau of the Bureau of Customs until 1997. He became Special assistant for law enforcement at the Office of the Commissioner of Customs in 1992. In the same year, he became the chief of Special Anti-Smuggling Unit at the same office.

He was a senior partner at the Gunigundo-De Leon Law Office. In the 1998 general election, he became the representative of the lone district of the then-municipality of Valenzuela. He won re-election as representative of the new 2nd district of the newly chartered city of Valenzuela in 2001.

In 2004, he lost the mayoralty election to 1st district Representative Sherwin Gatchalian, amid reports of widespread cheating and election fraud. In 2007, he ran for a comeback to Congress for Valenzuela's 2nd district and won in a landslide victory as Congressman, winning in all precincts and barangays of such district. He was reelected in 2010.

Gunigundo is the principal author of several national laws like Republic Act No. 9048 (also known as Gunigundo Law)[2] that authorizes the correction of clerical errors in birth certificates and other civil registry documents without the need of judicial order. The Gunigundo Law shortens the procedure for correction to less than three weeks and does away with the need for the services of a lawyer which is costly and the long litigation procedure in courts that could take between 6 and 24 months before the correction is permitted. It is now easier, faster and inexpensive to get the correction made. He also wrote two books about clerical law and customs modernization.[3]

Gunigundo is also the principal author of Republic Act No. 10172 that amended several provisions of Republic Act No. 9048, expanding the power of local civil registrars to also correct errors in the date of birth (day and month) and gender in birth certificates. He is also the driving force in the adoption of the principles and framework of the Mother Tongue- Based Multilingual Education (MTBMLE) as a key component of Republic Act o. 10533 or the “Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013” (also known as " K to 12 Act). Gunigundo is also the author of Republic Act No. 10535,[4] better known as the "Philippine Standard Time Act that mandates synchronization of clocks with the time observed by PAG-ASA, the official timekeeper of the Philippines. Effective June 1, 2013, all government offices and media networks are now required to use Philippine Standard Time as a basis in set ting their timepieces.

In 2013, he narrowly defeated Councilor Shalani Soledad-Romulo for the congressional seat of the 2nd district of Valenzuela City.[5] Being barred to seek reelection as representative, he ran for Mayor of Valenzuela in 2016 but lost to incumbent mayor Rex Gatchalian.

Gunigundo attempted a comeback to the Congress in 2019 and in 2022 but was unsuccessful in both instances to his successor, Eric Martinez.

References

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Notes and References

  1. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20100804122719/http://www.congress.gov.ph/members/search.php?congress=14&id=gunigundo. Member Information – 14th Congress. 18 January 2020. 4 August 2010. House of Representatives of the Philippines.
  2. News: Clerical error bill signed into law . 19 January 2020 . philstar.com . 3 April 2001.
  3. News: Magi Gunigundo magbabalik-Kongreso Abante News Online . 19 January 2020 . Abante . 20 October 2018 . Filipino.
  4. Web site: Bundang . Rowena B . Solon urges Filipinos to be more time conscious with effectivity of Philippine Standard Time (PST) law . congress.gov.ph . 19 January 2020 . 08 June 2013.
  5. News: Shalani fails to win House seat . 19 January 2020 . ABS-CBN News . 15 May 2013 . en.