Full Name: Richard J. Gordon
Born: August 05, 1945
Parents: James Leonard Tagle Gordon and Amelia Juico Gordon
Religion: Roman Catholic
Current Position: Senator of the Republic of the Philippines
Political Party: Bagumbayan
Running Mate: Bayani Fernando
Brief History
In 1954, he completed his elementary education at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran in Manila and on 1962, he completed his secondary education at the Ateneo de Manila University. He stayed in Ateneo and completed his tertiary education, earning a degree of Bachelor of Arts, major in History and Government in 1966. He was a student leader having been consistently elected president of his class. On 1975, he graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Laws at the University of the Philippines College of Law after taking a break in 1971 to run for the Constitutional Convention. Prior to that he topped the 1969 UP Student Council elections leading to the First Quarter Storm and joined the Upsilon Sigma Phi in 1968. From 1966 to 1967 he became a Brand Manager for Procter and Gamble Philippines. Towards the end of the 1960s, he helped his mother Amelia run the government of Olongapo after his father James Leonard Gordon was assassinated. With the declaration of Martial Law after finishing his law degree and passing the bar, he became an Associate of ACCRA Law Offices.
Life in Politics
In 1971, while still a law student at UP, he was elected as a delegate of the constitutional convention that drafted the 1973 Constitution representing the first district of Zambales. He was the youngest delegate of the convention and swore former President Diosdado Macapagal into office as Chairman of the Convention. In 1980, he ran as mayor of Olongapo City. In 1983, Olongapo became a highly urbanized City. In 1986, Gordon and Joseph Estrada became two of the local executives who refused to vacate their positions after the government reorganization by President Corazon Aquino. Gordon gave way for the Aquino appointed Officer-In-Charge after a formal written directive from the Executive Secretary representing Aquino was issued.
On September 1991, Gordon led a nationwide rally for the retention of the U.S. Bases in the Philippines. The U.S. naval base in Subic Bay was a major income generating client of Olongapo City.
They succeeded in their first unusual act of self-empowerment and volunteerism when the special provisions for the establishment of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone under the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) were included in R.A. 7227 in March 1992. On November 24, 1992, the U.S. Navy completed its withdrawal from the facility and its conversion for civilian and commercial use began. Volunteerism and the high civic spirit of the host community marked the pioneering efforts at conversion.
In the 1992 local elections, Gordon won a landslide victory and was reelected as mayor of Olongapo City. 1993, a citizen questioned Gordon’s dual duty as mayor of Olongapo City and as chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. The Supreme Court decided that Gordon must hold one position. Gordon decided to vacate his position as Mayor and assumed the position of SBMA chairman in full capacity.
During the late 1990s, Gordon became one of Joseph Estrada’s vocal critics over differences on the US Naval Base. After winning by a large margin during the 1998 presidential elections, President Estrada issued Administrative Order No. 1 removing Gordon as Chairman of SBMA.
Since 1986, Gordon was elected as governor of the Philippine National Red Cross, taking active roles in rescue, relief and rehabilitation in various disasters from shipwrecks, typhoons, 1990 earthquake in Cabanatuan, 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, 2004 landslides in Aurora, Quezon and 2006 Ginsaugun, Southern Leyte mudslide and the PhilSports Arena stampede. Currently he is the chairman as well as a Member of the Governing Board of the International Federation of the Red Cross. On January 2001, Gordon actively participated in the second EDSA Revolution that led to the removal of Joseph Estrada from the presidency. Newly installed President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo appointed Gordon as secretary of the Department of Tourism. With his experience as a former brand manager of Procter and Gamble Philippines and chairman of SBMA, Gordon placed the Philippines in the international tourism map by actively marketing the Philippines in several tourism expositions and road shows with the Wow Philippines campaign strategy winning awards at ITB and WTM. From 2002, after four years of negative growth and in spite of threats of terror post 9-11, Abu Sayyaf kidnappings, SARS, Oakwood Mutiny, tourism arrival increased heavily.
In the 2004 national elections, Gordon ran as senator of the Philippines. In the initial public opinion survey, Filipinos were lukewarm on electing Gordon as senator. But with his very positive personality and achievements aired in TV and radio advertisements, public opinion changed and Gordon won and received the fifth highest number of votes from the electorate.
During the 13th Congress (2004–2007), as Chairman of the Senate Committee of Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Laws, he upheld the supremacy of the Constitution at all times.
On April 9, 2008, Araw ng Kagitingan or Day of Valor in Bataan, President Arroyo signed into law Republic Act No. 9499- Gordon’s Veterans Bill.
Politics
Dick Gordon is a proven transformational leader, the real action-man; making possible the seemingly impossible, and simply best known for overcoming great odds.
Platform
First, that we must be RESPONSIBLE for ourselves, for our fellow Filipinos, and for our country. We must change our attitudes, and transform ourselves to become horizon-chasers with duty, dignity, and determination;
Second, … REINVENT GOVERNMENT…;
Third, … fortify LAW AND ORDER …;
Fourth, … build a STRONG AND GROWING ECONOMY …;
Fifth, … prioritize EDUCATION as the key to national development to compete and lead in the new global economy;
Sixth, … provide adequate access to HEALTH CARE for all our people, especially the needy;
Seventh, … create JOBS for our people …;
Eight, … that we must assist our people in securing decent HOMES to live in and LAND to work and build on, so they can be dignified and productive citizens;
Ninth, … we must strengthen and reinforce the FAMILY as the foundation of our nation…;
Tenth, … that we must protect and preserve the ENVIRONMENT for our posterity…;
My2cents on Dick
Don’t blam me if can find something not right in his name…
Before I made this post, I didn’t really know anything about this guy. But after reading everything, I can say that this guy is actually qualified and has done his for the past few years he is in the government.
He has not really been in the news, too. It can either mean he has done nothing wrong, or he has just no been caught.
But given his performance in the surveys, he doesn’t seem to have a very good chance in this race. However, as I said with JC de los reyes, he still has the chance to win with the right campaign strategy and a lot of campaigning.
Sources: Wikipedia, PoliticalArena, DickGordon2010
Pandora's Box 