1928—2000
Political collection · Philippines
1987–present · Twelve leaders · Restored HousePhilippine House Speakers, 1987–Present
Twelve biographies cover every person elected to lead the House since bicameral Congress returned—from Ramon Mitra Jr. after People Power to Faustino Dy III in the Twentieth Congress.
A national office decided inside the chamber
Article VI of the 1987 Constitution requires the House to elect its speaker by a majority of all members. The office controls procedure and helps organise committees, but it lasts only while that majority holds. The biographies below explain long tenures, mid-Congress removals, a presidentially brokered term-sharing pact and the 2025 transition during scrutiny of flood-control spending.
- 01
The office was rebuilt after dictatorship
Mitra led the first House elected under the 1987 Constitution, restoring committees, bicameral lawmaking and legislative oversight after the Marcos era.
- 02
Majority support matters more than a fixed term
Villar, de Venecia, Alvarez and Cayetano all left before their Congress ended because another leader assembled sufficient votes.
- 03
2000–2001 compressed a national crisis into ten weeks
Villar transmitted impeachment articles, Fuentebella led through EDSA II and Belmonte took the chair after presidential power changed hands.
- 04
Regional representation broadened
Nograles became the first speaker from Mindanao, while later leaders drew their House bases from Davao del Norte, Marinduque, Leyte and Isabela.
- 05
Political pacts cannot replace a chamber vote
The 2019 Cayetano–Velasco agreement became effective only after a majority elected Velasco and the House ratified that choice in plenary.
- 06
The latest transfer followed a public-trust crisis
Romualdez resigned on 17 September 2025 during an infrastructure inquiry, and 253 representatives elected Dy to replace him.
Twelve biographies · 1928–present
Meet every speaker of the restored House
1936—2026
Jose de Venecia Jr.
Five-term House speaker and presidential candidateA journalist, diplomat and legislator who served five terms as Speaker of the House, built broad governing coalitions and finished second in the 1998 presidential election.Read biography
1949—
Manuel Villar Jr.
Housing entrepreneur and former leader of both houses of CongressA Tondo-born accountant and property entrepreneur whose business career preceded leadership in both chambers of Congress and a third-place presidential result in 2010.Read biography
1945—2020
Arnulfo Fuentebella
Lawyer, Batasang member and House speaker during the Estrada crisisA long-serving Camarines Sur legislator who held the speakership for ten weeks between Manny Villar and Feliciano Belmonte Jr.Read biography
1936—
Feliciano Belmonte Jr.
Two-time House speaker and former Quezon City mayorA lawyer, national administrator and Quezon City mayor who served as speaker in 2001 and again from 2010 to 2016.Read biography
1947—2019
Prospero Nograles
Lawyer and first House speaker from MindanaoA Davao City lawyer and five-term representative who replaced Jose de Venecia Jr. and became the first speaker from Mindanao.Read biography
1958—
Pantaleon Alvarez
Lawyer, transport secretary and former House speakerA former Davao del Norte representative and transport secretary who led the House in 2016–2018 and later contested the provincial vice-governorship.Read biography
1947—
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
President of the Philippines, 2001–2010The economist, senator and vice president who led the Philippines from 2001 to 2010 and later returned to Congress as a Pampanga representative.Read biography
1970—
Alan Peter Cayetano
Lawyer, senator, former foreign secretary and House speakerA Taguig lawyer and legislator who served as foreign secretary, House speaker and briefly Senate president during the 2026 leadership dispute.Read biography
1977—
Lord Allan Velasco
Lawyer and former House speaker from MarinduqueThe Marinduque lawyer who became House speaker during the COVID-19 pandemic after a prolonged leadership contest with Alan Peter Cayetano.Read biography
1963—
Martin Romualdez
Leyte representative and former House speakerA lawyer, business executive and Leyte representative who served as majority leader before becoming speaker in 2022.Read biography
1961—
Faustino “Bojie” Dy III
Speaker of the House and former governor of IsabelaAn Isabela politician who rose from youth and barangay posts to mayor, representative, governor, vice-governor and speaker of the Twentieth Congress.Read biographyContinue the story
Follow the office through constitutions, crises and transfers
Connect these twelve lives to the complete 1907 timeline, the charter that restored Congress and the events that repeatedly reorganised House leadership.
Quick answers
Philippine House speakers: quick answers
- Who was the first speaker after Congress returned in 1987?
- Ramon Mitra Jr. became speaker on 27 July 1987 when the first House elected under the new Constitution organised.
- Who is the current House speaker of the Philippines?
- Faustino “Bojie” Dy III was elected on 17 September 2025 and remained speaker when this collection was reviewed on 9 September 2026.
- Who was the first woman speaker?
- Former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo became the first woman elected speaker on 23 July 2018.
- How is the Philippine House speaker chosen?
- The Constitution requires election by a majority of all House members. Voters choose representatives but do not cast a separate ballot for speaker.
- Why can a speaker change between general elections?
- The office depends on current support inside the House. Members can declare the position vacant or accept a resignation and elect a replacement.
Primary and institutional sources
How the collection was checked
The collection’s claims are checked against the records linked below. Individual biographies contain person-level citations.
- House of Representatives of the PhilippinesCurrent House leaders and speaker
- The LawPhil Project1987 Constitution — Article VI on the legislature
- House of Representatives of the PhilippinesRoster of Philippine legislators, 1907–2019
- House of Representatives of the PhilippinesVelasco elected after the 2020 leadership contest
- House of Representatives of the PhilippinesRomualdez resignation and Dy election addresses
- House of Representatives of the PhilippinesFaustino Dy III elected speaker on 17 September 2025
- House of Representatives of the PhilippinesCurrent record identifying Dy as speaker, September 2026