1. 18th Congress of the
Philippines
Cong. Fredenil Castro

2. Fredenil Castro
• Fredenil Hernaez Castro[1] (born April 27, 1951) is a Filipino
politician serving as the Governor of Capiz since 2022. He was
the Representative of Capiz's 2nd district from 2001 to 2010 and
from 2013 to 2022. He had served as a House Deputy Speaker and
as the House Majority Leader.

3. Political career
• Castro was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2001,
representing the 2nd district of Capiz. He was re-elected
in 2004 and 2007, thus reaching the limit of three consecutive
terms in 2010.[2] During his first two terms in the House, Castro was
a member of the Liberal Party and an ally of fellow Capiznon Mar
Roxas (who at that time was trade secretary and later a
senator).[3] In the 2007 elections, he ran under Lakas–CMD, the
party supporting then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.[4][5] He
also served as the chairman of the party's Capiz chapter.

4. • In 2009, Castro also chaired the Capiz-based local party Ugyon
Kita Capiz (UKC). With UKC, his wife Jane Tan-Castro was elected
to the position he vacated.[6] Jane served as the 2nd district's
representative from 2010 to 2013.[3] The Castros also allied
themselves with former agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante,
who was facing allegations of plunder. Bolante was UKC's vice-
chairman who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2010.

5. • Castro successfully returned to the House in 2013. Running under
the National Unity Party (NUP; formed by disgruntled Lakas
members[9]), he defeated Maria Andaya of the Liberal Party.[3] He
then became chair of the House Committee on Suffrage and
Electoral Reforms in the 16th Congress.

6. • In November 2013, Castro's committee unanimously approved
House Bill 3587 or the Anti-Political Dynasty Act of 2013, which
aims to prohibit relatives up to the second degree of consanguinity
to hold or run for public offices in successive, simultaneous, or
overlapping terms. It was the first time since 1988 that an anti-
political dynasty bill passed the committee level. Castro then
delivered the bill's sponsorship speech in May 2014, calling on his
colleagues to "place the interest of the country ahead of personal
interest".

7. • Castro was unopposed in the 2016 elections.[13] In the 17th
Congress, he was elected by the House as one of the deputy
speakers under Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.
• Before they were elected to their leadership posts, Castro and
Alvarez co-authored House Bill No. 1 which aimed to restore capital
punishment. The bill proposed lethal injection for crimes such as
human trafficking, plunder, treason, parricide, infanticide, rape,
piracy, bribery, kidnapping, illegal detention, robbery, car theft,
destructive arson, terrorism, and drug-related cases.

8. • Castro voted for the abolition of capital punishment back in 2006,
but has changed his mind, explaining that he "could not accept the
way crimes are being committed" in the country.[16] The bill was
approved by the House on its third and final reading on March 7,
2017. However, numerous amendments transformed it into House
Bill No. 4727 with only drug-related crimes as capital offenses, in
support of President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs.

9. • Castro and Alvarez also co-authored House Bill No. 2 which aims
to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 9 years old. Their joint
statement reasoned that youth offenders "commit crimes knowing
they can get away with it" and that adult criminals "knowingly and
purposely make use of youth below 15 years old to commit
crimes… aware that they cannot be held criminally liable."[18] The
bill was criticized by child rights advocates, the Commission on
Human Rights (CHR), the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the
Philippines (CBCP), and opposition legislators.[19][20] On January
28, 2019 the House approved on the third and final reading House
Bill No. 8858, which aimed to set the age of criminal responsibility
at 12 years old instead.[21] He also served as Majority Floor Leader
of the House during the 17th Congress.

10. Personal life
• He took up a Bachelor of Arts at Colegio de la Purisima
Concepcion, graduating in 1971, and he attained a Bachelor of
Laws in San Beda College in 1975.[citation needed] He is a member of
the Legal Management Council of the Philippines and the
Association of Bank Lawyers of the Philippines.[citation needed]
• He is married to Jane Tan. The couple reportedly became parents
to twins through a Russian surrogate mother