Migz Zubiri is an incumbent senator who has served in both chambers of Congress since 1998. He is also the current Senate majority floor leader.
He began his career as a legislator in 1998 when he was elected to represent the 3rd District of Bukidnon, a seat previously held for three consecutive terms by his father Jose Maria Zubiri who is the current governor of the same province.
The seat has stayed in the family ever since, passed on to the governor’s eldest son Jose Zubiri III who held it from 2007 to 2016, and then to his second child Manuel Antonio Zubiri who is the incumbent. Due to term limits, Governor Zubiri is now looking to swap posts with his son in the lower house.
Despite hailing from a formidable political clan in Mindanao, Senator Zubiri has expressed support for passing an anti-dynasty law in 2022. However, proposed anti-dynasty bills did not move in the Senate throughout his tenure as majority leader.
Zubiri first sought a Senate seat in 2007 but served only until 2011, resigning amid allegations of electoral fraud and the pendency of another electoral protest against him before the Senate Electoral Tribunal. Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III was shortly after declared the 12th duly elected senator during the May 2007 elections.
He made an unsuccessful bid for senator in 2013 but won his third attempt in 2016. He was elected majority floor leader two years later.
As a legislator, he has principally authored at least 16 laws, including several laws on strengthening cooperatives. He also voted to extend martial law in Mindanao until 2019.
Initially figuring on almost every senatorial slate, Zubiri claimed to be neutral and refrained from endorsing anyone for president. However, at a UniTeam campaign rally in his home province on March 31, 2022, he referred to Marcos Jr. as “our president” and the supposed clear winner of the upcoming race.
Senator Panfilo Lacson and Vice President Leni Robredo have since dropped Zubiri from their respective Senate slates. He remains a guest candidate on the UniTeam slate and Senator Manny Pacquiao’s senatorial lineup.
If re-elected, Zubiri plans to prioritize the passage of a third Bayanihan law that will offer economic assistance to farmers, tourism workers, and micro, small and medium enterprises that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. He also wants to build more specialty hospitals nationwide.
“Nagampanan ko ang aking tungkulin nang mahusay at natupad (ang aking mga pangako), at ang ating mga pangako na gagawin ko nung tumakbo ako nung 2016 ay ating nagawa. Marami tayong mga batas na ipinasa.”
JUAN MIGUEL “MIGZ” FERNANDEZ ZUBIRI
Full Name: Juan Miguel Fernandez Zubiri
Nickname: “Migz”
Birthday: April 13, 1969, (Age 55)
Birthplace: Makati City, Metro Manila
Residence: Makati City, Metro Manila
Languages Spoken: Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Filipino, English
Parents:
– Jose Ma. R. Zubiri, Jr.; father; former Bukidnon 3rd District representative and Bukidnon vice governor, incumbent Bukidnon governor
– Victoria Fernandez-Zubiri; mother
Siblings:
– Jose Ma. F. Zubiri III, brother; former Bukidnon 3rd District Representative
– Manuel Antonio Zubiri, brother, incumbent Bukidnon 3rd District Representative 2 other children
Spouse: Audrey Tan Zubiri, 2005-present
Children:
– Maria Adriana Zubiri
– Juan Miguel Zubiri Jr.
– Santiago Gabriel Zubiri
EDUCATION
- Master of Environment and Natural Resources Management, University of the Philippines Open University, 2011
- Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management, University of the Philippines Los Banos, 1990
- Honorary Fellowship, Royal Institution of Singapore
- Honorary Doctor Fellow, Royal Institution of Public Administrators
WORK EXPERIENCE
- Vice Chairman, Philippine Red Cross, 2018-2020
- Senate Majority Leader, 17th and 18th Congress, 2018-present
- Senate Majority Leader, 14th Congress, 2008-2010
- Senator, Senate of the Philippines, 2007-2011 (resigned), 2016-present
- Representative of the 3rd District of Bukidnon, House of Representatives, 1998-2007
- Chief-of-staff of his father then-Gov. Jose Maria Zubiri, Jr., 1995-1998
- General Manager, Zubros Agri Inc., 1990-1995
MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Zubiri started as his father’s chief-of-staff before running to represent the 3rd District of Bukidnon in a seat that has been held alternately by him, his two brothers and his father since 1987.
As a lawmaker in the House of Representatives, he principally authored the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. He belonged to the opposition bloc during the administration of President Joseph Estrada, supporting the impeachment of the incumbent chief executive and backing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s new administration.
Zubiri ran for the Senate in 2007 and was proclaimed as the winner by a margin of 18,372 votes. Sen. Pimentel contested the votes tally, including the finding that President Arroyo’s Team Unity senatorial slate won a 12-0 sweep in Maguindanao. Zubiri filed his own counter-protest that claimed that he himself was cheated in Metro Manila. He served for about four years before Andal Ampatuan Sr., then-governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in 2007, and Lintang Bedol, an ex-Maguindanao election supervisor, claimed that opposition candidates were cheated to help Zubiri clinch his win. Ampatuan at the time was embroiled in the Maguindanao massacre case while Bedol was involved in an electoral sabotage case against President Arroyo.
Zubiri resigned on Aug. 3, 2011, days before the Senate Electoral Tribunal ruled in favor of Sen. Pimentel, while still denying allegations of fraud. Zubiri also withdrew the counter-protest head filed with the SET. Eight days later, Sen. Pimentel was proclaimed the 12th duly elected senator during the May 14, 2007 election, finding that “dagdag-bawas” was evident in the results of the contested precincts, and ruled that Pimentel led Zubiri by 258,166 votes. Pimentel then served the remainder of the term.
Zubiri unsuccessfully ran for senator in 2013 but won in 2016. As a lawmaker in both chambers of Congress, he principally authored at least 16 laws, including several laws on cooperatives, regulation of rent and increase of hospital beds and other health facilities. He was also a co-author and sponsor of the COVID-19 Vaccination Program Act of 2021 which allowed for the speedy procurement of vaccines, and the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act or Bayanihan 2, a stimulus package intended to mitigate the pandemic’s effects on the country’s economy.
Throughout his career, Zubiri has authored and sponsored legislation focused on Mindanao. Chief among these is the landmark Bangsamoro Organic Law which created the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Zubiri also authored the Cooperative Development Authority Charter of 2019, the Philippine Cooperative Code of 2008, the Ease of Doing Business and the Efficient Delivery of Government Services Act of 2018.
He also ushered the passage of the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 into law in his early days as a senator following the enactment of the Biofuels Law of 2006 which Zubiri authored while he was still in the lower house.
BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS
AS SENATOR:
Author
- RA 9500: The University of the Philippines Charter
- RA 9502: Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Act
- RA 9505: Personal Equity and Retirement Account Act
- RA 9507: Socialized and Low-Cost Housing Loan Restructuring and Condonation Act
- RA 9513: Renewable Energy Act
- RA 9653: Rent Control Act
- RA 9710: The Magna Carta of Women
- RA 9828: Act creating the Military Service Board
- RA 9849: Act declaring the 10th Day of Zhul Hijja as a national holiday
- RA 9850: Declaring arnis as National Martial Art and Sport of the Philippines
- RA 9851: Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity
- RA 9904: Magna Carta for Homeowners and Homeowners Associations
- RA 9997: National Commission on Muslim Filipinos Act
- RA 10068: Organic Agriculture Act
- RA 10072: Philippine Red Cross Act
- RA 10073: Girl Scouts of the Philippines Charter
- RA 10121: Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act
- RA 10606: National Health Insurance Act
- RA 10923: Postponing the October 2016 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections
- RA 10962: Gift Check Act
- RA 10969: Free Irrigation Service Act
- RA 11032: Amending the Anti-Red Tape Act
- RA 11037: Masustansyang Pagkain Para sa Batang Pilipino Act
- RA 11053: Anti-Hazing Act
- RA 11199: Social Security Act
- RA 11232: Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines
- RA 11262: Amendments to Tourism Act
- RA 11289: Converting the San Lorenzo Ruiz Women’s Hospital into a general hospital
- RA 11315: Community-Based Monitoring System Act
- RA 11364: Cooperative Development Authority Charter
- RA 11455: Act creating two additional branches of Regional Trial Court in Sultan Kudarat
- RA 11456: Act creating an additional branch of Regional Trial Court in the 3rd District of Zamboanga del Norte
- RA 11457: Charter of the Davao International Airport Authority
- RA 11466: Salary Standardization Act
- RA 11476: GMRC and Values Education Act
- RA 11494: Bayanihan to Recover As One Act
- RA 11517: Act authorizing the President to expedite the processing and issuance of national and local permits, licenses and certifications in times of national emergency
- RA 11525: COVID-19 Vaccination Program Act
- RA 11535: Act making the position of a cooperatives development officer mandatory in municipal, city and provincial levels
Co-author
- RA 9501: Magna Carta for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
- RA 9512: Environmental Awareness and Education Act
- RA 9521: National Book Development Trust Fund Act
- RA 9576: Amendments to the PDIC Charter
- RA 9640: Amendments to the Local Government Code
- RA 9646: Real Estate Service Act of the Philippines
- RA 9647: Philippine Normal University Modernization Act
- RA 9708: Act amending the education qualification for appointment of the PNP
- RA 9729: Climate Change Act
- RA 9775: Anti-Child Pornography Act
- RA 9803: Food Donation Act
- RA 9847: Mts. Banahaw-San Cristobal Protected Landscape Act
- RA 9946: Judiciary Retirement Benefits
- RA 9994: Expanded Senior Citizens Act
- RA 9999: Free Legal Assistance Act
- RA 10028: Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act
- RA 10055: Philippine Technology Transfer Act
- RA 10066: National Cultural Heritage Act
- RA 10067: Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park Act
- RA 10070: Amendments to Magna Carta for Disabled Persons
- RA 10158: Decriminalizing Vagrancy
- RA 10931: Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act
- RA 11035: Balik Scientist Act
- RA 11038: Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act
- RA 11040: Lapu-Lapu Day
- RA 11106: Filipino Sign Language Act
- RA 11148: Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act
- RA 11201: Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Act
- RA 11215: National Integrated Cancer Control Act
- RA 11223: Universal Health Care Act
- RA 11229: Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act
- RA 11234: Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop Act
- RA 11261: First Time Jobseekers Assistance Act
- RA 11291: Magna Carta of the Poor
- RA 11293: Philippine Innovation Act
- RA 11312: Act strengthening the Magna Carta for scientists, engineers, researchers and other science and technology personnel in the government
- RA 11333: National Museum of the Philippines Act
- RA 11314: Student Fare Discount Act
- RA 11360: Act providing service charges collected by hotels, restaurants and similar establishments to be distributed in full to all covered employees
- RA 11459: Judges-at-Large Act
- RA 11463: Malasakit Centers Act
- RA 11470: The National Academy of Sports
- RA 11480: Amending the act to lengthen school calendar from 200 days to not more than 220 days
- RA 11509: Doktor Para sa Bayan Act
- RA 11510: Alternative Learning System Act
- RA 11511: AmendingAmening the Organic Agriculture Act
- RA 11524: Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act
- RA 11551: Labor Education Act
- RA 11552: Act extending and enhancing the implementation of the lifeline rate
- RA 11569: Act extending the estate tax amnesty
- RA 11576: Act expanding the jurisdiction of the metropolitan trial courts, municipal trial courts in cities, municipal trial courts, and municipal circuit trial courts
- RA 11593: Act resetting the first regular elections in BARMM
- RA 11594: Act increasing the penalties for perjury
AS CONGRESSMAN
Author
- RA 8915: Act establishing a national high school in Brgy. Kuya, Maramag, Bukidnon
- RA 8978: Kitanglad Range Protected Area Act
- RA 9003: Ecological Solid Waste Management Act
- RA 9044: Act granting the Central Mindanao University a franchise for radio and television broadcasting stations
- RA 9062: Act granting the Media One Broadcasting Corporation a franchise for radio and television broadcasting stations
- RA 9147: Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act
- RA 9161: Rental Reform Act
- RA 9163: National Service Training Program Act
- RA 9165: Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act
- RA 9166: Act increasing rate of base pay and other benefits of AFP officers and enlisted personnel
- RA 9211: Tobacco Regulation Act
- RA 9237: Mount Apo Protected Act
- RA 9275: Philippine Clean Water Act
- RA 9341: Rent Control Act
- RA 9344: Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act
- RA 9367: Biofuel Act
Co-author
- RA 9160: Anti-Money Laundering Act
- RA 9169: Granting Seagull Marine Communication Network franchise for public radiotelephone coastal stations
- RA 9170: Amending the act granting Aboitiz Air Transport Corporation franchise for transport services
- RA 9171: Granting Muslim Development Multipurposes Cooperative franchise for radio broadcasting stations
- RA 9172: Act amending franchise to Eastern Telecommunications Philippines
- RA 9180: Act granting Digitel Mobile Phils. franchise for telecommunications systems
- RA 9181: Act granting Provincial Airways Corporation franchise to domestic and international air transport services
- RA 9183: Act granting Asian Spirit Franchise for domestic and international air transport services
- RA 9184: Government Procurement Reform Act
- RA 9186: Act granting Supreme Broadcasting System franchise for radio and television broadcasting stations
- RA 9189: Overseas Absentee Voting Act
- RA 9192: Act granting ACWS-United Broadcasting Network franchise for radio and television broadcasting stations
- RA 9207: National Government Center Housing and Land Utilization Act
- RA 9208: Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act
- RA 9209: Act granting Manila Electric Company franchise for distribution system for the conveyance of electric power
- RA 9214: Act granting Newsounds Broadcasting System franchise for radio and television broadcasting stations
- RA 9216: Act granting Panay Telephone Corporation II franchise for local exchange network
- RA 9233: Act granting Asian Multimedia and Production Company franchise for radio and television broadcasting stations
- RA 9235: Act granting Digitel Crossing franchise for telecommunications system
- RA 9236: The National Metrology Act
- RA 9250: Act granting Radio Philippines Network franchise for radio and television broadcasting stations-
- RA 9256: Act declaring Ninoy Aquino Day as national non-working holiday
- RA 9257: Expanded Senior Citizens Act
- RA 9262: Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act
- RA 9270: Act naming Maria Clara L. Lobregat Highway
- RA 9277: Magna Carta for Disabled Persons
- RA 9278: Act granting Ivatan Foundation for Development Communications franchise for radio broadcasting stations
- RA 9279: Act granting special allowances for members of National Prosecution Services and state counsels of the Department of Justice
- RA 9281: Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act
- RA 9283: Act expanding area of operation of franchise of Edison Espinosa
- RA 9284: Act extending franchise to Cagayan Electric Power and Light Co.
- RA 9295: Domestic Shipping Development Act
- RA 9317: Act granting Datelcom Corporation franchise for local exchange network
- RA 9318: Act granting Radio Corporation of the Philippines franchise for radio and television broadcasting stations
- RA 9319: Act granting Claveria Agri-Based Multipurpose Cooperative franchise for local exchange network
- RA 9320: Act amending franchise of Trento Telephone System for local exchange network
- RA 9339: Act amending franchise of Visayan Electric Company
- RA 9340: Act resetting the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections
- RA 9342: Act granting End Time Mission Broadcasting Service franchise for radio and television broadcasting stations
- RA 9354: Act granting Radio Foundation a franchise for religious radio broadcasting station
- RA 9369: Amending act authorizing Comelec to use an automated election system
- RA 9370: Act granting Muslim Mindanao Radio and Television Network Corporation franchise for radio and television broadcasting stations
- RA 9381: Act amending franchise of Angeles Electric Corporation
- RA 9382: Act granting Cable Link a franchise for cable/community antennae television systems
- RA 9383: Act granting Universidad de Zamboanga franchise for radio broadcasting stations
- RA 9384: Act granting Puerto Princesa Broadcasting Corporation franchise for radio and television broadcasting stations
- RA 9385: Act amending the franchise of La Union Electric Company
- RA 9386: Act granting Itransmission Franchise for radio and television broadcasting stations
- RA 9397: Urban Development and Housing Act
- RA 9406: Act reorganizing and strengthening the Public Attorney’s Office
- RA 9417: Act to strengthen the Office of the Solicitor General
- RA 9418: Volunteer Act
- RA 9470: National Archives of the Philippines Act
- RA 9478: Act granting Free Air Broadcasting Network Franchise for radio and television broadcasting stations
- RA 9483: Oil Pollution Compensation Act
- RA 9479: Act amending franchise of Ormoc City Telephone Company
- RA 9487: Act amending PAGCOR Chapter
