Jamby Madrigal

Jamby Madrigal-Valade
Senator of the Philippines
Incumbent
Assumed office June 30, 2004
Presidential Adviser for Children’s Affairs
In office 1999–2001
Undersecretary of Social Welfare and Development
In office June 30, 1992 – June 30, 1998
Personal details
Born	(1958-04-26) April 26, 1958 Manila, Philippines
Political party	Independent (2009–present) Genuine Opposition (2007–2009) LDP (2001–2007)
Residence	Batanes
Occupation	Civil servant
Profession	Politician

Maria Ana Consuelo Madrigal-Valade (born Maria Ana Consuelo Abad Santos Madrigal April 26, 1958), better known as Jamby Madrigal, is a politician in the Philippines. She was elected during the 2004 general elections and is currently serving as a Senator .

Early life and career

Jamby Madrigal was born in Manila, Philippines on April 26, 1958 to Antonio Madrigal (1921–2007) and Amanda Abad Santos-Madrigal. She is the granddaughter of the former Supreme Court Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos of San Fernando, Pampanga. Her granduncle – pre-Commonwealth Assemblyman Pedro Abad Santos – founded the Socialist Party of the Philippines. The Abad Santos brothers were from a modest family.

Her paternal grandfather was Senator Vicente Madrigal of Ligao, Albay, one of the Philippine Republic’s elected senators in 1949.She, her father, and grandfather are members of the rich Spanish-Visayan Madrigal family. Her aunt, Senator Pacita Madrigal-Gonzalez was a senator during the Quezon and Magsaysay administrations and was the first administrator of the Social Welfare Administration, the predecessor of today’s Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Her late married uncle and aunt were former Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Manuel Collantes and heiress Consuelo “Chito” Madrigal.

Personal life

Madrigal is the head of several foundations that aim to heighten awareness of the plight of street children, and to raise funds for various centers that award school scholarships to the children of the poor. The Books-for-the-Barangay Foundation Inc. (BBFI) is the lead partner of U.S-based “Books for the Barrios” organization, which has shipped more than P2.5 billion worth of books for Philippine public elementary and high schools. The Abad Santos Madrigal Foundation (ASMF) Inc. works to empower women and children through relevant and accessible livelihood programs. Its flagship project, the Basic Reflexology Training Program (BRTP) has trained more than 10,000 reflexology therapists nationwide. Program graduates are accredited by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

She married Frenchman Eric Jean Claude Dudoignon Valade on December 7, 2002 at the Calatagan, Batangas farm estate of her aunt, the late Doña Consuelo "Chito" Madrigal-Collantes (1921–2008).

In May 2008 Jamby Madrigal formally filed court pleadings to contest the validity of the last will and testament of her late aunt Chito Madrigal-Collantes.

Government service

In October 1999, President Estrada created the Office of the Presidential Adviser for Children’s Affairs. He appointed her to head this office, which gives the children of the poor access to the President’s highest councils.

She organized the First National Summit for Children in Malacañang Palace on October 26, 2000 where government agencies, local government units, industry leaders and non-government organizations signed a declaration of commitment upholding Child 21 – a framework on which to anchor all action plans and strategies relating to children. This declaration was a first in Southeast Asia – a fitting prelude to the United Nations’ World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children, which was adopted during the World Summit for Children on September 30, 1990.

She travels nationwide while coordinating the agency’s feeding and educational programs, confirming her commitment to the cause of poor Filipino children. She became especially concerned over the fate of teachers and school children who were taken hostage by the Abu Sayyaf terrorists in 2001. After consultation with the victims themselves, she sought the help of clinical psychologists from Ateneo de Manila and Ateneo de Zamboanga, who soothed the trauma victims and trained their parents in stress management.

In addition to her work for her numerous foundations, in later 2003 she has become spokesperson for the youth-based Kontra Pulitika Movement (KPM) – which champions education, protection of the environment and economic empowerment through livelihood programs.

She has acted in a movie on the life of Luis Taruc, the Kapampangan founder of the Hukbo ng Bayan Laban sa mga Hapon (Hukbalahap). Ka Luis was the protégé of her grandfathers, the Abad Santos brothers. In the film, ‘Anak Pawis’, she portrays her grandmother, Amanda Teopaco.

Political career

She is currently the Chairperson of four Senate Committees: Committee on Environment, Committee on Youth, Women and Family Relations, Committee on Peace, Unification and Reconciliation, and the Committee on Cultural Communities.

She has filed bills in the areas of education, juvenile justice, gender equality, empowerment, anti-trafficking and anti-pornography. She has also authored bills on the protection of the indigenous peoples and their ancestral domain as well as the protection and conservation of the environment.

She likewise sponsored bills advancing national economic interests, such as the repeal of the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998, as well as measures seeking to place LPG under price control and for the recovery of PETRON and Malampaya.

She recently filed a bill repealing RA 7942, the "Mining Act of 1995" and a bill for the imposition of a total log ban. Both bills aim to protect the last remaining natural resources from wholesale plunder.

In an opposition protest, she was one of the political leaders who were subjected to the Manila Police water cannons while attending a religious procession on October 14, 2005.

Madrigal has declared her candidacy for President in the upcoming 2010 presidential elections.

During the presidential campaign, Madrigal launched many allegations of corruption against Sen. Manny Villar (NP). Over the course of the campaign, Madrigal brought out "700 pages of evidence" to prove that Villar had "realigned C-5 (a main Metro Manila thoroughfare) to pass by [Villar's] real estate developments so that [Villar] would be paid for right of way." These accusations, coupled with the legislative backing of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile (PMP), are said to have dealt the deathblow to Villar's presidential aspirations in 2010.

External links

• Jamby's Official Website
• Jamby's Senate Bio
• Jamby's I-Site Profile
• Will you vote for Jamby Madrigal for President? - 2010 Philippines Election Poll
• Presidential candidate runs amok in Tanay