One of the respected and outstanding legal minds of the House of Representatives, past and present, SEC. RAUL M. GONZALEZ (RMG), started his political career in 1995 when he handily won the lone congressional seat of Iloilo City in 1995. The 4th child of the late Delfin O. Gonzalez, the last sitting Mayor of Jaro, Iloilo, and Estrella Jover Maravilla, a school teacher, RMG was educated in private and public schools and was always at the top of his class. He finished a Bachelor of Arts (AB) degree at the Colegio de San Agustin, now University of San Agustin, as a Rector's scholar, and graduated LlB-Bachelor of Laws, from the University of Sto. Tomas in 1955, graduating at the top 10 of his class.

RMG took the Bar Examination in 1955 and in the same year, passed with a grade of 99% in Remedial Law and 95% in International Law. In the same year, he also topped the Judge advocate General's Office (JAGO) examinations.

He was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the Reserve Force of the AFP in April 1953, and given the Serial #0-86095 INF after completing 4 years ROTC as an Honor Star Medalist. He now holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the AFP Reserve Force

Upon passing the Bar, RMG became professor of law in the University of Sto. Tomas, the Far Eastern University, the Philippine College of Commerce (now Polytechnic University of the Philippines). He was also a professorial lecturer at the Philippine Normal University Graduate School, Assumption College and the College of Holy Spirit, and lectured at the UP Law Center, Division of Continuing Legal Education.

Sec. Gonzalez completed seminars on Public Administration at the Institute of Public Administration, University of the Philippines, sponsored by the City of Manila, 1960-61; completed various seminars on Constitutional and Labor Laws at the Law Center, University of the Philippines, Division of Continuing Legal Education; and finished courses on Credit and Collection Management at the De La Salle University Graduate School of Business.

He held various positions in government, starting as a legal assistant to the Governor of Iloilo in 1960; Senior Legal Assistant to the Mayor of Manila in 1961; Executive Member of the Board of Censors for Motion Pictures, Office of the President, 1963-1969; Senior Committee Counsel to the Committees on labor and Immigration, Philippine Senate; and was Consultant and Counsel to the Committee on Education, House of Representatives from 1970-1972; and, represented the Committee Chair in all Board of Trustees and Regents in all State Colleges and Universities (except the University of the Philippines).

Affiliation with Local Organizations

• President, Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), Manila IV, 1979-1981;
• Governor and Ex-officio Vice-President - Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) for Greater Manila, 1979-1981;
• President, National Bar Association of the Philippines since 1981 to the present;
• Chairman, Citizens Legal Aid Society of the Philippines;
• President, All Asia Bar Association-Philippine Branch, with HQ in Kochi City, Japan;
• Chairman, Philippine Committee of NETWORK- the Lawyers Committee on Human Rights based in New York;
• Past President - Manila Maharnilad Lions Club;
• Comptroller, Catholic Lawyers Guild of the Philippines;
• Chairman, Chapter Presidents' Congress, IBP;
• Past Vice President, UST Law Alumni Foundation, Inc.;
• Past president Valle Verde VI Homeowners Association.

A Lawyer of International Stature

• Vice President, Liberty International, HQ in Dacca, Bangladesh;
• Vice President, Afro-Asian Bar Association, HQ in New Delhi, India;
• Governor, Asian Legal Research Institute, HQ in Kochi City, Japan;
• Governor, World Movement for Independence of Justice, HQ in Montreal, Canada;
• Fellow Asian Center for Research & International Center for Asian Studies, HQ in Hong Kong;
• Fellow Scandinavian Institute for Asian Studies, University of Copenhagen, Denmark 1984;
• Member, Centre for Independence of Judges & Lawyers - Geneva, Switzerland.

International Recognition

• Invited by the USIS and the US State Department as special guest of the American Bar Association in July 1985, and was guest speaker in the ABA Human Rights Committee regarding human rights problems during Martial Law in the Philippines - Shoreham Hotel.
• Lectured at the (1) Heritage Foundation; (2) Ethics & Public Policy Center; (3) Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, (4) US Congressional Research Service; (5) briefed the Philippine Desk, US State Department; (6) briefed the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, US State Department; (7) briefed, Bureau of Human Rights, US State Department; (8) delivered lecture at the Georgetown University Law Center;
• Was guest of the British Government, August - September 1987 and was special guest of the Law Society of Scotland in Edinburg, Scotland;
• Addressed the Canadian Human Rights Foundation at a Symposium on Human Rights, University of Prince Edward Island in Charlotte - Town, Canada in 1986.
• Conducted lectures at the University of Copenhagen, University of Oslo, University of Turku, Finland, University of Helsinki, University of Stockholm, and University of Lund;
• Delivered a lecture at the Tampere, Peace Research Center in Tampere, Finland Sept 20, 1984;
• In November 1981, presented a paper during the 1st Asian Lawyers' Conference in Kochi City, Japan;
• Presented papers on Legal Aid at an International Symposium held in Tokyo, sponsored by the Federation of Japan Bar Associations, the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Court, the Japan Social Welfare Council and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in November 1984;
• Presented a paper during the 14th International Symposium on Asian Studies at the International Center for Asian Studies and Asian Research Service, July 27-30, 1993 - Hong Kong;
• Plenary Speaker, 22nd Biennial Conference of the International Bar Association, New York, September 1986. Hilton Ballroom;
• Presented a paper during the First Joint Philippine-Korea International Relations Conference, December 7 - 11, 1982, entitled "Asian & East Asia Disarmament & Survival".
• Chair of Philippine Delegation, "3rd International Dialogue on Transition to Global Society"at Landegg Academy, Winacht, Switzerland, September 7 -11, 1992;
• presented a paper entitled "The Meaning of Justice," sponsored by the Council of Europe, UN Commission on Human Rights, UNESCO, the University of Maryland and the International Council of Women;
• Chaired the International Delegation on behalf of Liberty International during the 2nd World Human Rights Conference, Vienna, June 14 - 24, 1993, and sponsored a resolution for UN funding for Legal Aid to 3rd World Countries;
• Co-Chaired the plenary session of the 1st International Workshop on Human Rights on June 28, 1994, sponsored by the International Bar Association at the Philippine Village Hotel;
• Chair of Philippine Congressional Delegation during the Bilateral meeting with the President/Speaker of the Parliament of Thailand on December 14, 1995 in Bangkok;
• Member, Philippine Delegation to the 5th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok, Thailand, December 13 - 17, 1995;
• Member, Philippine Delegation during the State visit of President Fidel V. Ramos to the kingdom of Cambodia, December 17 - 18, 1995;
• Delegate 87 & 88th ILO conferences, Geneva Switzerland, June 1999 & June 2000;
• Delegate and plenary speaker, Inter-Parliamentary Union Conference, Berlin, October 1999;
• Represented the Philippines in a dialogue with the Director General of the WTO in Geneva, Switzerland on June 15, 2000 on the future of WTO in the Philippine;
• Guest of Honor & Speaker - Philippine-American United Senior Citizens Foundation, Inc. of New Jersey, USA, June 20, 2000.
• Member, Philippine delegation ( representing the House of Representatives), the 8th APEC Summit from November 22 - 26, 1996;
• Alternate Delegate to the ILO Conference in Geneva, June 20-24, 1996;
• Designated by the Speaker of the HOR to represent the House in a reciprocal visit to the German Parliament in Bonn, June 26, 1996;
• Accredited observer during the negotiations between the National Democratic Front (NDF) and the Philippine Panel on the peace process, held at Hotel Mercure, the Hague, June 27, 1996;
• Special guest of the Parliament in The Netherlands on June 27, 1996;
• Observer in the Bosnia War Crimes Trial in The Hague, Netherlands, June 27, 1996;
• Speaker at the International Policy Dialogue in Berlin, Germany, on Nov. 26-27, 2001, sponsored by UNDP and the German Govt. on the subject of Globalization;
• Chaired, Phil. Delegation to the 4th. Association of Asian Parliamentarians for Peace on Aug. 30, -Sept. 3, 2003.

Other Important Positions in the Philippine Government

• Tanodbayan (OMBUDSMAN) and concurrently Special Prosecutor from April 4, 1986 until December 30, 1988;
• Prosecuted the infamous Aquino-Galman double murder cases;
• Chaired the Escalante Massacre Fact Finding Commission and prosecuted the case against the accused;
• Member of the Presidential Party during President Corazon Aquino's 1st State Visit to the USA in September 1986;
• Member of the 1st Philippine Panel which negotiated with Westinghouse on the Bataan Nuclear Plant in September 1986;
• Adviser to the Philippine Delegation to the ASEAN Ministers Conference at the Waldorf Hotel in New York, October 1986;
• Senior Member of the Philippine Presidential Blue Ribbon Commission which initiated the investigation on the so called "Behest Loans" of the Marcos cronies;
• Consultant and Adviser to the Philippine Centennial Commission;
• Chairman, Graciano Lopez-Jaena National Centennial Committee;
• Co-Chaired the Ombudsman-Senate panel which investigated charges against the Presidential Commission on Good Government on charges filed by the Solicitor General;
• Lead Prosecutor - Impeachment Article No. III, Impeachment of Former President Joseph Estrada;
• Chairman, House Panel, Joint Committee to Canvass Presidential and Vice Presidential Election Results, 2004 elections.

As Leader of the Bar

Chaired several lawyers' delegations to various international legal conferences: Belgrade in 1980; Berlin in 1980; Paris in 1980 and 1981; Kuala Lumpur in 1982; New Delhi in 1982; Karachi in 1984; New York in 1986; Montreal in 1982 and in 1983; Kochi City, Japan in 1981 and 1982; Tokyo, Japan in 1984; Washington D.C. in 1985.

Other Awards and Citations

Various awards of merits and plaques of commendation from not less than 50 civic groups and organizations, among others:

• "Most Outstanding Thomasian Award in the field of Human Rights" "Distinguished Leadership Alumnus Award"
• "College Editors' Guild"
• "Special Leadership Award"
• "Philippine Trial Lawyers Association"
• "Distinguished Leadership Award"
• "Most Outstanding Human Rights Trial Lawyer Award"
• "Outstanding Legal and Political Personality Award"
• "Certificate of Merit" from various media groups
• "Certificate of Merit and Recognition" from Armed Forces of the Philippines
• "One of the 22 Most Outstanding Alumnus of the University of San Agustin" "Outstanding Alumnus of the College of Law, UST"
• Guest of Honor during the closing observance of Philippine Independence Day celebrations, Brussels, Belgium, June 30, 1996.
• Delegate, World Scouts Parliamentary Union, Manila Hotel, Aug. 17-21, 1997.
• Delegate, The Asian Regional Forum on Economic Revitalization, May 30-31, 1997
• sponsored by the World Parliamentarians for Global Action - Manila Hotel.
• The Congressman with 100% attendance throughout the 10th & 11th Congress
• Outstanding Congressman - Legislator of the Year and Public Servant of the New Millennium.
• Outstanding Congressman - League of Press Association of the Philippines.

Family

Married to Dr. Pacita Trinidad of Zambales - a Doctor of Medicine and former Congressman of the 2nd District of Zambales.

Children:

• Raul, Jr. - a lawyer, City Councilor of Iloilo City, 2001 - 2004, and representative Lone Congressional District of Iloilo City 13th. Congress;
• Jose Mari - AB graduate- connected with the Dept. of Welfare and Development (DSWD), Welfare of the Disabled;
• Dennis - Doctor of Philosophy, Summa Cum Laude, University of Louvain, Belgium, and Chairman of National Book Development Board (NBDB);
• Marigold - a practicing Doctor of Medicine; and,
• Charmaine - topnotcher in the medical licensure examinations and also a practicing doctor.

(Addendum : Master of Laws, based on new curriculum that law graduates who completed four (4) years bachelor's degree and four (4) years college of law proper are considered Master of Laws.)