

	GREGORIO “GRINGO” BALLESTEROS HONASAN Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan has not only made his mark in this country; he is also an inspiration to people in other parts of the world. For those who remembered the 1986 EDSA Revolution, he was that battle-hardened hero who helped restore democracy in the country. For his comrades in the Armed Forces of the Philippines, he was that defiant colonel who fought for reforms within the Armed Forces of the Philippines. For his junior officers, he is their father figure and their mentor. For his family and friends, he is the eloquent, gentle-mannered soldier who has the heart to love. For his opponents, Gringo Honasan is a formidable advocate of healthy diversity in a democracy. For the younger generation who did not witness the Gringo Honasan of 1986, he is the dashing, medal-bearing soldier and senator who has lent his face to a new brand of politics--- one that is pro- people and pro- change. Gringo Honasan is indeed a man of many colors. Yet, friends and foes must equally agree: the man behind the legend is one who knows how to stand his ground when right, and to fight against what is wrong. Gringo Honasan is a staunch advocate for reforms, a gallant opponent of corruption, and a fighter for freedom. His Early Years Born on March 14, 1948 in Baguio City to Colonel Romeo Honasan and Alice Ballesteros, Gringo Honasan spent his elementary years in the Dominican School in Taipei, Taiwan. He graduated with an honors at Don Bosco High School in Mandaluyong. At first, he wanted to become a doctor. After learning, however, that his expensive dream of a medical education would mean no college education for his other siblings, he instead chose to take up Bachelor of Science with a degree of Economics at the University of the Philippines. After two years in U.P., he went to the Philippine Military Academy, where he attained the title of a “Class Baron,” the institution’s highest leadership award. Subsequently, he took up a Masters Degree in Business Management at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) and finished the course with distinction. His Family Life Gringo married Jane Cabale Umali, and became a loving father to children Kim, Martin, Karel, Kookie and Kai. He is a devoted husband to his wife and is – as his children attest – “a good man, and a great father!” Away from the Senate halls, he quietly tends to the home’s backyard garden where he takes care of numerous bonsai plants and dwarf fruit-bearing trees. He also dabbles in designing and crafting wooden furniture and sculptures. His Military and Corporate Life In 1971, right after his graduation from the PMA, he joined the 1^st Home Defense Group (Airborne) of the Philippine Army and went into combat duty. From 1972 until 1974, he was with the 1st Composite Infantry Battalion of the AFP in Mindanao. For his gallantry in the battles of Lebak, Jolo and Zamboanga, he was awarded by then President Corazon Aquino three (3) Gold Cross Medals. In the Lebak encounter, he was seriously wounded in battle after he refused to leave his men on the field. He spent days in and out of consciousness and, as he came to, the first thing he uttered was a roll-call of his men, wanting to know how each were doing. He served as aide- de- camp to then Secretary of National Defense Juan Ponce Enrile in 1974 until he became the Ministry of National Defense's Chief of Security in 1981. His bravery and heroism in the military service bagged him the award as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) of the Philippines in 1985. As a young officer, he became one of the earliest anti- drug fighters in the country; intercepting a major shipment of heroin worth US$6.7 million destined for the United States. His campaign against economic saboteurs led to the busting of a major dollar- salting syndicate. He was also a Board Member of the Northern Mindanao Development Bank and a President of the Beatriz Marketing Company from 1983- 1986. In 1986 until 1987, he was the Commandant of the Special Operations School of the Philippine Army Command in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija. His Role During the 1986 People Power Revolution It was in 1986 that Gringo Honasan became a household name. As the Chief of Security of the Ministry of National Defense, he led a pivotal role in the downfall of then President Ferdinand Marcos and in installing Corazon Aquino to the seat of presidency. His Life After the EDSA Revolution After the EDSA Revolution, he was awarded by President Aquino a Distinguished Conduct Star for the EDSA Revolution and the Presidential Government Medal. Under the Aquino government, he was head of the defense ministry’s security contingent. Not contented with the way the new government is being run and disgusted with corruption and the government's failure to address the problems on poverty and education, he was involved in two coup d' etat attempts against the Aquino government. To appease him, he was offered by then Chief of Staff of the AFP Fidel V. Ramos a chance to head the Scout Rangers Regiment of the AFP. The offer would have had made him one of the youngest generals of the AFP, but Gringo refused to budge. Even then President Aquino wanted to offer him a share in the barter trade after the coup, a chance for Honasan to lead a comfortable lifestyle. Again, he refused to give up his struggle for reforms and be bought out. He was subsequently captured and imprisoned. His Life as a Senator In 1995 when Fidel Ramos gained the Presidency in 1992, Gringo Honasan was granted amnesty and became the first independent candidate in Philippine history to win a seat in the Senate. He was re- elected in 2001 and his term expired in 2004. As a senator, he was an unswerving advocate for the social reforms, environment and was an iron-like opponent of graft & corruption. He is the Principal Author of the Clean Air Act which was passed into law in 2000. It was just first among a series of environmental bills he had filed and would have wanted to have passed. He co-authored the Solid Waste Management Act which eventually was also passed into law. His Water Management Bill remains to be discussed in the Senate Halls. Aside from his environmental bills, his priority legislation include, among others, the National Land Use Code which would serve as a blueprint for the prioritization and utilization of the country’s lands – in this way, agricultural lands will be protected from industrial activities as well as residential conversions, environmentally protected lands and indigenous peoples’ ancestral lands will be clearly delineated and protected. The National Security Code seeks to bring to date various aspects of National Security protection as our present code dates back to the late years of the 1900s and can be deemed ineffective in the light of present-day global circumstances. The Man Behind the Legend Beyond the medals and beneath the soldier that he was and the soldier that he still is, Gringo Honasan has proven his mettle as a person who genuinely cares for his country and for his people. To the unenlightened, he is a military adventurist who resists civilian authority. He is not. Gringo Honasan is simply a man who refuses to give up his struggle for reforms, sacrificing life and even liberty for it. He is an unflinching warrior feared by the corrupt government leaders, exploitative businesses and defenders of the status quo. For the people whose lives he has touched and for all of those who truly love this country in the same way he does, Gringo Honasan is a modern-day hero---- a man whose lone voice in the silence of the wilderness can speak in behalf of them. He is not just a myth. He is a Living Legend.
Senator Gregorio "GRINGO" Ballesteros Honasan II All throughout his life, Senator Gregorio “Gringo” Ballesteros Honasan II had been a consistent achiever. Born on March 14, 1948 in Baguio City to Colonel Romeo Honasan and Alice Ballesteros, both of Sorsogon Province, Senator Honasan already exhibited above average intellectual and leadership abilities even in his younger years. During his elementary and secondary education both here and abroad, Honasan was an outstanding student who was accelerated into the higher grades at the San Beda College and Dominican School in Taipei, Taiwan and the Don Bosco High School in Mandaluyong. At the Philippine Military Academy where he took his Bachelor of Science in 1971, he received the academy’s highest leadership award and became the Class Baron. After joining the Philippine Army in the same year, he went into combat duty in Luzon and Mindanao. It was in Mindanao where he was wounded in action at the battles of Lebak, Mindanao and Jolo, Sulu. Honasan’s distinguished performance in the military earned him three (3) Distinguished Stars for Counter Insurgency Operations Against Economic Saboteurs and Drug Traffickers. Aside from the three (3) Gold Cross Medals for Gallantry in Action in the Battles of Lebak, Jolo and Zamboanga in 1973 to 1974, he also received awards such as Military Merit Medals, Military Commendation Medals, Anti-Insurgency Medals, Anti-Secessionist Medals and Wounded Personnel Medals for wounds sustained in actual combat, among others. Then Lt. Honasan served as Aide-de-Camp to the Secretary of National Defense in 1974 and later became the department’s Chief of Security. After leading three (3) successful operations against Insurgents, economic saboteurs and drug traffickers, Honasan became one of the youngest full colonels in Philippine history. Because of his consistent excellence in the military, he was also named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men for Military Service by the Jaycees. In 1986, he was awarded by then President Corazon Aquino with a Distinguished Conduct Star for the EDSA Revolution and the Presidential Government Medal in 1986. He then became the Commandant of Special Operations School at the Philippine Army Training Command in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija in 1986 to 1987. When Honasan finally entered politics in 1995, he became the first independent candidate in Philippine history to win a Senate seat. As a lawmaker, Honasan has filed 144 bills and 44 resolutions in the 10th Congress; 68 bills and 68 resolutions in the 11th Congress and 113 bills and 19 resolutions in the 12th Congress.
Among his noteworthy bills signed into law were: Republic Act Number 8368 – a law that decriminalized squatting. Republic Act Number 8437 – which extends the period of effectivity of the Rent Control Law, from January 1, 1998 until December 31, 2001 Republic Act Number 8501 - Condones penalties imposed by government agencies that are involved in the National Housing Program, all of which have detrimental effect on intended socialized housing program beneficiaries; Republic Act Number 8532 - increases the Agrarian Reform Fund to Fifty Billion Pesos that will be used to finance production, credits, infrastructure and other support services and is intended to speed up the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program and will benefit 4,000,000 tillers of land and the agricultural sector; Concurrent Resolution Number 5 – concurring with the Proclamation number 21 of the President of the Republic of the Philippines, entitled: “Further Amending Proclamation Number 347 Granting Amnesty to Rebels, Insurgents And All Other Persons Who Have Or May Have Committed Crimes In Furtherance Of Political Ends, And Violations Of The Articles Of War, And Creating A National Amnesty Commission, As Amended”; and Republic Act Number 8749, -otherwise known as the Clean Air Act (An Act Providing for a Comprehensive Air Pollution Policy and For Other Purposes). This landmark legislation ensures the people’s right to breath clean air via clean fuels, emission regulation, and a ban on incinerators, among others. About 20 Million residents are its projected beneficiaries. The legislative agenda of Senator Honasan revolves around Good Government and Efficient Bureaucracy; Reforms in AFP and PNP; Industrialization and Genuine Economic Development; Natural Resources and Environmental Protection and Management; Good Education for all and Opportunities for the Marginalized Sectors.
His legislative priorities include: Senate Bill 1926 – an Act providing for National Security Policy and planning framework and creating an institutional mechanisms for implementation and for other purpose. Senate Bill 1429 – an Act providing for the modernization of the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA). Senate Bill 1435 – an Act providing for Magna Carta for Philippine National Police (PNP). Senate Bill 1451 – an Act declaring a National Peace Policy thereby creating a Commission on Peace. Senate Bill 1455 – an Act providing for the National Land Use Policy and planning framework and creating an institutional mechanisms for implementation and for other purposes. OTHER NOTABLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Main proponent and author of the National Recovery Program (NRP). Author of the Mini-Marshall Plan for Mindanao, otherwise known as the Mindanao Aid Plan. The plan was a comprehensive blueprint for Mindanao’s socio-economic development following the region’s devastation due to the full-scale military offensive against the Abu Sayyaf and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. To date, he has sponsored over 300 Medical-Dental-Surgical Missions in depressed areas of the country, serving at least 30,000 indigent patients. Prime mover of the National Security Strategy Framework which seeks to define the country’s national security and strategy in the light of internal and external security threats and the consequent National Peace Policy. Sponsored the computer education scholarship of 3,000 students thru the Sulong Dunong sa Kaunlaran program Sponsored the college scholarship of 106 out-of-school youths. Regularly distributes relief assistance to calamity-hit areas in the country through his Gregorio B. Honasan Peace and Development Foundation founded in 1995 Served thousands of constituents requesting for claims for PVAO, SSS and AFP/PNP claims and refund of teachers’ loans through his Public Service Program aired over RMN-DZXL and DZRH-Radyo Natin and Gringo Honasan Reports aired over RPN-9 and PTV-4. Fellow, National Defense College of the Philippines.
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