Agnes Bailen

Agnes Joyce Garlit Bailen is a lawyer, teacher, and former government official. She served the Department of Budget and Management as Undersecretary of Internal Management from 2016 to 2017, and Undersecretary of Internal Audit from 2017 to 2020.

Agnes Bailen was the chief of staff the late Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago from 2004 to 2006. She served as the Chief Political Affairs Officer in the offices of two members of the House of Representatives: Tarlac 2nd District Representative Jose V. Yap from 2007 to 2010 and Cavite 2nd District Representative Lani Mercado-Revilla from 2010 to 2016.

Agnes Bailen served the Supreme Court as part of the Public Information Office from January until September 2000, and in different capacities under then-Associate Justice Artemio Panganiban until 2004.

She was named one of 100 Influential Filipinas for the Year 2015 by the Foundation for Filipina Women’s Network.

“Simple lang ang aking hangarin sa pagtakbo: Ibalik ang kakayahan at prinsipyo sa Senado. Sistema ang problema, hindi ang mamamayan. Hindi bobo ang botante. Hindi lang sila nabibigyan ng matinong pagpipilian.”

AGNES BAILEN PROFILE

Full Name: Agnes Joyce Garlit Bailen
Birthdate: Sept. 26, 1971 (Age 53)
Birthplace: Quezon City
Residence: Quezon City
Religion: Christian
Parents:
– Dr. Jerome Bailen, father, forensic anthropologist at UP Diliman
– Josefina “Josie” Garlit-Bailen, mother, opera singer and professor of music at UP-Diliman
Siblings:
– Igor Garlit Bailen, Chief of Mission Class II, Ambassador to Russian Federation, Republic of Belarus, and Republic of Kazakhstan, Department of Foreign Affairs
Profession/Occupation: Lawyer

EDUCATION:

• Diploma in Bioethics, UP College of Medicine
• Bachelor of Laws, UP-Diliman College of Law
• Master of Arts in Political Science, UP-Diliman
• Bachelor of Arts in Political Science UP-Diliman

WORK EXPERIENCE:

Litigation:

• Managing Partner, Bailen & Nachura Law Office, May 2004-2010
• Attorney 5, UP Legal Services at UP-Diliman, June 2006-2007
• Head, Legal Team for Ramon A. Ilagan, winning mayoral candidate for Municipality of Cainta, 2004
• Associate, Antonio R. Bautista & Partners, 2004

Public Service – Judiciary:

• Office of Associate Justice Artemio V. Panganiban, Supreme Court of the Philippines, 2000-2004
  • Judicial Staff Head, August 18, 2001 – March 1, 2004
  • Court Attorney VI, June – August 2001
  • Assistant Committee Secretary, Oct. 2000 – May 2001
  • Committee Secretary, June-August 2001
• Public Information Office, Supreme Court of the Philippines, January-September 2000
  • Executive Assistant IV, January-May 2000
  • SC Supervising Judicial Staff Officer, June-September 17, 2007

Public Service – Legislative:

• Senate: Chief of Staff for Office of Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, July 1, 2004 – March 1, 2006
• House of Representatives: 2007-2016
  • Chief Political Affairs Officer, Office of Rep. Lani Mercado-Revilla, 2nd District of Cavite, July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2016
  • Chief Political Affairs Officer, Office of Rep. Jose V. Yap, 2nd District of Tarlac, July 1, 2007 – June 30, 2010

Public Service – Executive:

• Department of Budget and Management, 2016-2020
  • Undersecretary of Internal Audit, September 3, 2017 – August 23, 2020
  • Undersecretary of Internal Management, October 3, 2016 – September 3, 2017
  • Chief of Staff, Office of Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management, July 1 – October 2, 2016

Academic Lecturer, 1993-2006:

• Senior Lecturer 3, College of Medicine, UP-Manila, June-April 2006
• Assistant Professor 3, International Studies Department, De La Salle University Manila, May-September 2005
• Senior Lecturer 3, College of Dentistry, UP-Manila, 2001-April 2004
• Assistant Professor 2, Department of Political Science, De La Salle University Manila, September-December 2001
• Department of Political Science, CSSP, UP Diliman, Senior Lecturer (June 1996-May 1998), Instructor (June 1994-May 1996), Lecturer (June 1993-May 1994)
• Part-time Faculty, St. Scholastica’s College, Manila, November 1993-April 1994
• Lecturer, UP-San Fernando Extension Program, Pampanga,1993

Research, 1992- 2006

• Research Fellow (January-August 1998) and University Researcher (March 1997-December 1998), Center for Leadership, Citizenship and Democracy, College of Public Administration, UP-Diliman,
• Research Associate (May 1996-March 1997) and Research Assistant (October 1995-January 1996), Institute for Strategic and Development Studies
• Research Associate for “A Special Project on the Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development,,Center for Integrative and Development Studies, UP-Diliman, August 1996-February 1997
• Research Assistant, Women Health Philippines, November 1993-January 1994
• Research Assistant, Philippine Center for Policy Studies, September-October 1993
• Research Assistant on “Philippine Human Development Report: People’s Participation in Governance”, sponsored by the United Nations’ Development Programme, January-June 1993.
• Research Assistant on “Post-Aquino Philippines: In Search of Political Stability,” module on people empowerment, January-June 1992

PLATFORM AND POLICY:

GOOD GOVERNANCE ACCOUNTABILITY

1. Ensure that each agency’s budget proposals:
   a. Dedicate no less than 5% of their budget proposals to Gender and Development activities (as required by the Magna Carta for Women)
   b. No less than 5% of casual positions or contractuals of the DSWD, health, culture or sports and agencies tasked with social development to persons with disabilities (per the Magna Carta for PWDs)
   c. Complies with ideal ratio of barangay health workers to every barangay (per the Barangay Health Workers’ Benefits and Incentives Act of 1995)
2. Support allocating in the national budget not less than 5% of the GDP for health and not less than 5% of the GDP for infrastructure
3. Strengthen the Local Government Code and ensure implementation of the Mandanas ruling, by:
   a. Establish by law that the five-year Philippine Development Plan comes from the bottom-up;
   b. Development Budget Coordination Committee will ensure that barangays, local, and regional government units’ needs are taken into account
   c.Support implementation of the Barangay Assembly (per the Local Government code, there should be a Barangay Assembly twice a year for all residents)

ECONOMY

1. First bill she files will seek to abolish the documentary stamp tax, one of many taxation burdens on Filipinos
2. Strengthen financial inclusion, digital transactions, and financial literacy for the general public
3. Increase support for Micro, Small, and Medium Industries

HEALTH / COVID-19 PANDEMIC

1. Ensure that health care workers receive the benefits and support they need, whether or not there is an ongoing pandemic
2. Ensure that all barangays are meeting their ideal ratios of barangay health workers
3. Increase oversight on budget allocation and utilization of DOH, FDA, DA, PhilHealth, PITAHC, and DOST

EDUCATION

1. Bring back general education, practical arts, and lifelong learning into the curriculum
2. Increase school curriculum focus on culture, arts, and sports
3. Include business and firms when considering education budgets in order to ensure an improved employment field for graduates

JUSTICE / PEACE AND ORDER

1. Ensure that human rights prevail, including minority rights
2. Strengthen connection with communities to ensure prosecution and punishment of human rights violations
3. Ensure people’s security, catch law violators and eliminate crime
4. . Promote restorative justice, with focus on rehabilitation of people found guilty so they may eventually return to their families and become productive members of their communities
5. Assess if President Ramon Magsaysay’s approach to rebellion is fit for the current situation

Agnes Bailen, is a first-time senatorial candidate with experience in all three branches of government. A lawyer by training, Bailen entered government through the Public Information Office of the Supreme Court and moved on to work as judicial staff head under then-Associate Justice Artemio V. Panganiban.

In Congress, she served as chief of staff to the late Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago and as chief political affairs officer for Representatives Lani Mercado-Revilla and Jose V. Yap. Most recently, she served as an undersecretary at the Department of Budget and Management.

During her tenure at the DBM, she pushed for stronger governance and mobilized the country’s resources in much-needed areas by increasing the number of Drug Abuse and Treatment Centers, increasing financial support to Indigenous Peoples and those in the agriculture industry as well as pushing for equal rights.

If elected, Bailen vows to push legislation that will prioritize a scientific and humane response to the pandemic by ensuring students’ safe return to school, cultivating the arts, culture, and the sciences and ensuring that all sectors and every Filipino will get an opportunity for a better future and help achieve national development.

She also promises to work for fair governance by pushing various accountability measures, strengthening the economy and education, upholding justice for all Filipinos, and a genuinely independent foreign policy that serves the country’s best interests.

Bailen is opposed to charter change and the extrajudicial killings linked to the administration’s flagship campaign against illegal drugs. When asked about the feared Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 and the harmful activity of red-tagging, she said she believes in the principle of “innocent until proven guilty.”

She has expressed support for same-sex civil unions but not same-sex marriage. She also backs the passing of an anti-political dynasty law which she says will address the need for more competent and principled servants in Congress.