Teddy Baguilat aims to be the First Indigenous Senator 

Georgia Adriene Compio

PUBMAT | Anthony Beronque

A politician, activist, and advocate of indigenous peoples' rights and the rights of the minority group, that is Teodoro "Teddy" Brawner Baguilat Jr. 

He was born on July 30, 1966, in Manila which eventually, at the young age of 13 years old, influenced him to rediscover his ethnic roots. As a native of Ifugao, he decided to go home to his hometown in Kiangan, where he spent his secondary education and successfully graduated as a salutatorian in Ifugao at St. Joseph School. Later on, Teddy Baguilat took a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication Major in Journalism at the University of the Philippines-Diliman. Teddy actively participated in campus politics and protest actions that urged social and political reforms.

In 1987, Teddy Baguilat landed his first full-time job as an executive assistant to an Undersecretary at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Later on, he became the Philippine News Service, and he also successfully pursued his advocacy for the environment as an Executive Assistant for the Philippine Ecological Network. Teddy ran and won as Councilor of Kiangan in 1992, and during that time, he was the youngest council in the country at the age of 25. From 1995 to 2001, he was elected as the Mayor of Kiangan. With his determination to serve his fellow citizens, Teddy was awarded the Dangal ng Bayan Award as one of the Civil Service Commission's Ten Most Outstanding Civil Servants in the Philippines in 1996. He took his seat in the year 2001 to become a governor of Ifugao and, after a while, in 2007.

Teddy is known for his consistency as he continuously promoted education, secured scholarships for deserving Ifugao youth, and instituted employment assistance for fresh graduates and skilled workers; that is why in 2003, Ifugao was removed from being one of the poorest provinces in the Philippines. Teddy also accessed support for cooperatives to help them with enterprise development, expedited rural electrification programs and supported renewable energy projects, rehabilitated roads, and reduced maternal and infant deaths with a community-based maternal health program.

Even though he lost the elections in 2004, he eventually became the President of the Save the Ifugao Rice Terraces Movement (SITMo), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that promotes and is an organization who is determined to protect the cultural treasures of Ifugao. Furthermore, in 2007 he led the "Save the Ifugao Rice Terraces." Teddy and his never-ending love for his hometown eventually led him to become the Representative of the Lone District of Ifugao in 2010.

In his three terms in Congress, he filed over 150 bills (over 40 of which passed into law) and around 50 resolutions. Until 2021, he was the Executive Director of the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights. Since 2018 he has been President of the Global Consortium for Indigenous Peoples' and Community Conserved Areas and Territories.

In this upcoming election, Teddy Baguilat aims to be the "First indigenous person" in the Senate as he is running for the senator to make history. He decided that he is going to pursue the 4K prominent advocates, which stands for:

• Kultura

• Indigenous People's Rights, Culture, and Education

• National land use, Planning, and Management

• Kalikasan

• Environment and Climate Action

• Preservation of Ifugao Rice Terraces

• Supporting Renewable Energy Projects

• Kabuhayan

• Agri-Aqua Development

• Promotion of Organic Agriculture

• Reinforcement of Enterprise Development

• Karapatan

• Maternity Leave Rights

• Anti-Discrimination for LGBTQIA Community

• Equal Rights for PWDs, Senior Citizens, People living with AIDS, and Seafarers. 

He also added that the Senate is "supposed to be the representation of the national constituency instead of people who belong to the political dynasties, big business, and multi-millionaires". Teddy Baguilat stands for the Filipino people and their rights, "Sa akin ang mas important is to be the voice of the people who don't normally have representation in the Senate."