In recent news about the development of the state of the Reproductive Health Bill in the country, twenty Philippine senators signed an approval of the said bill. This signing of an approval means a great development for the RH Bill for it means that the bill is actually going somewhere and not neglected totally. In a previous blog entry, I listed down the name of the Senators who signed the said approval. In the next few blog entries, I will be discussing the profiles of these Senators and probably state why they signed the approval. For today, we will be looking at Senator Joker Arroyo.
Joker Paz Arroyo, a Filipino lawyer, politician, and current senator of the Philippines was born on January 05, 1927 in Naga, Camarines Sur. Joker, as many would think, is not his nickname. He was named as such because his father was very fond of playing card games. This also led to his brother being named Jack.
Joker Arroyo finished his elementary education at the Naga Elementary School, and his high school education at the Camarines Sur High School, both in Naga. He went on to study at the University of the Philippines under a scholarship and earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree. In 1952, he earned his Bachelor of Law from the University of the Philippines’ College of Law. He continued studying at the Ateneo de Manila University, where he earned his AAPL. He officially started his law career in 1953.
Joker Arroyo was very prominent during the Martial Law for he was one of the many who questioned then President Ferdinand Marcos’ authority. He fought alongside Corazon Aquino in this cause and so when she won the presidential elections, he was appointed as the Executive Secretary.
In 1992, he ran independently for Congressman in Makati. He continued serving in this position until he won again for the same position in 1998. In 2001, Joker Arroyo ran and won a senate seat. Ever since he won a seat in the senate, he has chaired such committees as the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, the Senate Justice and Human Rights Committee, and the Senate Public Services Committee.
Joker Arroyo has been married twice his entire life. Odelia Gregorio was his first wife, and they have two daughters together: Ma. Antonia Odelia “Maoi” Greogorio Arroyo, an established entrepreneur; and Ma. Zef Francisca “Baba” Arroyo, also an entrepreneur. His second wife is lawyer Felicitas S. Aquino, and their daughter, also named Joker, is a champion equestrienne, and a law student herself.
Joker Arroyo has been in the Philippine politics for a really long time now which means he has seen the ups and downs our country had. He has seen all of these which makes me think that he knows how much the Reproductive Health Bill can help alleviate our country’s problem of overpopulation. I just hope he says something about this, how the Philippines can be back to normal, the way it was before, if only we give the RH Bill a chance to live up to its goal and change our country’s situation.
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