Pia Cayetano

Pia S. Cayetano
Senator of the Philippines
Incumbent
Assumed office June 30, 2004
Personal details
Born	(1966-03-22) March 22, 1966 Michigan, USA
Political party	Nacionalista Party
Residence	Taguig City
Alma mater	University of the Philippines
Occupation	Lawyer; Politician
Profession	Lawyer; Politician

Pilar Juliana "Pia" Cayetano, popularly known as Compañera Pia or Pia (born Pilar Juliana Schramm Cayetano on March 22, 1966), is a Filipino lawyer, politician, and incumbent Senator of the Republic of the Philippines.

Family

She is the only daughter of the late Senator Renato "Compañero" Cayetano and German-American former school teacher Sandra Schramm. She has three brothers. Alan Peter is a current senator (until 2013) and a popular critic of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Rene Carl is an ex-councilor of Muntinlupa City and the owner of the collectible figurine store "Maxicollector", while Lino Edgardo is a popular television and movie director and former beau of Bianca Gonzales and KC Concepcion.

As a lawyer and Economist

From 1992 until 1995, she was an associate lawyer of the Castillo, Laman Tan, and Pantaleon Law Offices who specializes in corporate law and intellectual property laws. From 1996 to 1999 she was an officer for the legal and corporate affairs of the Belle Corporation and its affiliates including the gaming conglomerate BW Resources. In 2000, she was a general counsel of the Philweb Corporation. In 2001 she was appointed as chairman of the Maxi Group of Companies, a retailer and distributor of educational toys, infant apparel and accessories.

Father's death

When her father died of stomach cancer on June 24, 2003, several legislators including the senators encouraged Cayetano to continue her father's unfinished work and advocacies with the help of her education as a lawyer and Economist.

Political life

She ran for a Senate seat in the 2004 elections. Initially she was a virtual unknown to the electorate but with the liberalization of political advertisements, she gained popularity with her TV advertisement as a runner, cyclist, and as a tri-athlete, and as a new host of her father's TV program Compañero y Compañera for a short stint. She won the election landing in the sixth position.

During 112th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly in Manila, Cayetano was elected President of the 10th Meeting of Women Parliamentarians during the sidelines of the annual meeting. On April 17, 2008, Pia was elected for a 2 year term, president of the Committee of Women Parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) during its 118th General Assembly in Cape Town, South Africa. As the first Filipino and Asian to head it, she ran unopposed and takes over from Uruguay's Monica Xavier.

Four years into her term, Pia has been responsible for crafting and co-authoring a number of landmark laws as chairperson of the Senate committees on health and demography and on environment and natural resources.

These include the "Universally Accessible Cheaper and Quality Medicines Law of 2008" (Republic Act 9502), "Oil Spill Liability Law" (RA 9483), "Biofuels Law" (RA 9367), "Hospital Detention Law" (RA 9349), "National Anti-Rabies Law" (RA 9482), and the “Environmental Awareness and Education Act of 2008” (RA 9512).

Pia recently relinquished her committees following the Senate leadership change late last year, but his has not stopped her from pursuing the passage of other measures to improve public health and promote the welfare of women and children.

These measures include: (1) The "Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act" (Senate Bill No.1698) which seeks to promote breastfeeding among working mothers by mandating lactation stations in public places and the workplace; (2) The bill strengthening the regulatory capacity of the Bureau of Food and Drugs (SBN 2645); and (3) The "Picture-Based Health Warning Law" (SBN 2377), which will require all cigarette and tobacco product packages to bear highly visible picture warnings showing the health hazards of smoking

Apart from being a senator, Cayetano is a mother of two (Maxine and Nadine). She is an advocate of sports as part of a holistic youth development program, the prevention of diseases and the need of a healthy and fit lifestyle. She is the founder of Gabriel Symphony Foundation which she established after the death of her son Gabriel who was diagnosed with multiple congenital anomalies. The foundation helps children with disabilities and life threatening ailments. She is also the founder of the Compañero Rene Cayetano Foundation in memory of her father, which helps the underprivileged in the areas of health, education, and environment. She is a member of Young Entrepreneurs' Organization and a spokesperson of the Philippine Cancer Society and the Universal Birth Registration Project.

Sports enthusiast

A sports enthusiast, Cayetano has participated in the following international events: 2009 Tokyo Marathon, 2007 4th Ironman Western Australia and Aviva Ironman 70.3 Singapore, 2006 New York Marathon and Venice Marathon, 2005 World Duathlon Championship Newcastle, Australia, 2004 Clark Air Base Duathlon and 2002 Chronicle Marathon San Francisco, California.

External links

• www.senatorpiacayetano.com
• Senate of the Philippines - Pia Cayetano
• www.cayetanofoundation.com
• www.gabrielsymphony.com
• I-Site.ph Pia Cayetano
• Pia Cayetano's personal blog
• [1]