Ryan L. Estevez
Undersecretary
Philippines Presidential Legislative Liaison Office
Young Leaders Program (’11)
Please tell us about your career path so far. What is your area of specialization and how did you come to work in this area?
Prior to joining the government service, I was an instructor in various private colleges teaching music, religious education and some other subjects in humanities. When I passed the bar exams (licensure exams for lawyers) in 2007, I entered government service through the then Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr as a lowly legislative staff.
At the end of Senator Pimentel’s term, I worked with the House of Representatives as a legislative Officer of Congresswoman Bernadette Herrera-Dy (Bagong Henerasyon Partylist). When Senator Aquilino “KOKO” Pimentel III won in his electoral protest in 2011, I joined him as legislative officer in charge of drafting bills for his consideration including research and policy briefs and papers.
Candid picture with Senate President KOKO Pimentel III
When Senator Pimentel ascended as Senate President in 2016, I became the Chief Political Officer handling the political services of his office – boasting to have served two generations of Senate Presidents in this country! In January 2017, I was appointed as Presidential Legislative Assistant for the House of Representatives with the rank of an Undersecretary (Deputy Minister) under the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office, Office of the President of the Republic of the Philippines.
I have been working in and exposed to the legislative branch of the government developing an expertise on drafting legislations for the consideration of my principal (Senator or Congresswoman) through the years and this is exactly what I have been continuously doing as Undersecretary for the House of Representatives in addition to my job as Presidential Legislative Assistant-Liaison between the Executive Department and the House of Representatives.
You are currently serving as Undersecretary at the Philippines Presidential Legislative Liaison Office. What are your main roles and responsibilities?
With the cabinet secretaries after reporting to the Filipino people of the programs of the Duterte Administration
As Undersecretary for the House of Representatives of the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO), Office of the President, I assist the Secretary of the PLLO in promoting Presidential initiatives and act as a conduit between the Office of the President and the individual members of Congress, Non-Government Organizations and other cooperative interest groups supportive of the President. I also assist the Secretary in crafting programs and activities to build support and rally behind the President’s programs. We also manage the day-to-day relations of the Executive Branch with the members of the House of Representatives, convey to the President the progress of administration bills, provide stewardship roles over the Legislative Liaison System (LLS) in addition to the work as an active secretariat of the LLS inter-agency network. We also coordinate with all government bodies, whenever necessary, to ensure consistency of the Administration’s legislative proposals with existing programs and serve as technical advisor and operational arm of the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) in the formulation of the shared policy reform priorities of the two branches of government under a Common Legislative Agenda. We also draft bills and resolutions, whenever needed, to see to it that policies and bills are in consonance with the legislative agenda of the President or the Administration.
In your current capacity, what do you see as the main opportunities and challenges for the Philippines over the course of the next five to ten years?
TV appearance on Legal Help Desk-SOLAR TV Philippines
One of the main challenges for me is to shepherd the advocacy of the President to shift from the present unitary presidential system of government towards a federal form of government.
Opportunities in the next years? Most certainly to prove myself true to the trust and confidence given to me by the President of the Republic of the Philippines in terms of doing the work that I am expected to do and to see to it that my work exceeds these expectations. In the future, not far-fetched, I might follow the footsteps of the great members of my clan in politics, maybe as a Congressman, Governor of my province or a Mayor of my town.
Relief operations for the victims of the Mt Mayon eruption in January 2018
The biggest and most difficult challenge I face everyday in my work is to see to it that the legislations approved in my post – in the House of Representatives, is consistent with the legislative agenda of the President/Administration considering the big number of the members of Congress we have and the more than tens of thousands proposed legislations filed in Congress. I have to ensure that bottlenecks are resolved for the smooth passage of the legislative agenda of the President in the august halls of the Congress.
So far, the most rewarding aspect of my job as Undersecretary is that none of the legislative measures passed in my post (Congress) has been vetoed by the President and to work hard so that none of the future legislations would be vetoed by the President.
What led you to GRIPS? What is the most important thing you got out of your studies here, and how has your experience at GRIPS prepared you for future endeavours?
I am thankful that one of our consultants then in the Office of Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. – Dean Alex B. Brillantes introduced me to GRIPS, having been active partner with him in the advocacy of empowerment of local governments.
On national TV on Bangsamoro Organic Law
As a student of GRIPS, I learned of the comparative advantages of first world countries, including Japan, in terms of fiscal reforms especially in the local governments that eventually led me to drafting for consideration of my principal – Senate President Pimentel III, bills that address and empower local governments in the Philippines. The discipline I also learned during the Great Tohuku earthquake (that occurred when I was a student in GRIPS), also gave me living testimonies of the discipline and the resilience of the Japanese people. These experiences have been my consistent and constant examples in giving lectures to local government officials relative to disaster and character-building as well as introducing reforms relative to the creation or establishment of a disaster resilience department for the Philippines.
Have you had any involvement, professional or otherwise, with Japan since your graduation?
After my graduation from GRIPS, I have been very active in the establishment of the GRIPS Alumni Association in the Philippines. I have also been in close coordination with the Japanese Embassy in Manila, Philippines in most of their programs and projects, and most specifically in their program towards peace and order in Mindanao (the recently signed Bangsamoro Organic Law for the Muslim Mindanao).
How do you maintain a balance between your work and the rest of your life? And what is your favorite thing to do when you are not working?
My work is my life and my life is my work. When I enjoy my work, I too enjoy my life. I see the work I am now doing as the work I have always wanted to do – traveling across the country and discussing advocacies and legislative agendas with all stakeholders, most especially the youth. When I am not working, which seldom happens, I travel across the country and visit beautiful places like our pristine beaches here in the country. In my free time, I go to the gym to exercise and go to karaoke as ordinary Filipinos who love music and singing would.
What are some of your fondest memories of your time spent at GRIPS? And what do you miss about Japan?
During a YLP Fieldtrip to Hiroshima and Miyajima
The fondest memories of Japan? What I miss about Japan? – The food, the beautiful and historic places we visited, and most especially the warm hospitality, courtesy and discipline of the Japanese people, whom I considered as my second family and Japan as my second home. There is not a single day that I do not miss Japan!
If you could give one piece of advice to anyone considering studying at GRIPS what would it be?
Make the best out of everything – the lectures, the trips, the activities, the friendship, the people, the food, everything. I assure everyone that it will be the best memories you will ever cherish in your life!
How would you like to maintain involved with the School? What do you expect from GRIPS as an alumnus and do you have any suggestions on how to further utilize the GRIPS alumni network?
As an alumnus of GRIPS I would like to continuously be involved in my school and in all its programs that would enhance not only my character but also my academic life. I wanted to be active in the establishment and finally in the activities of the GRIPS Alumni Association here in the Philippines and to serve as a living example of the training and experience that the Japanese government gave me unconditionally. I would like to offer my office as a strategic place for all Filipino alumni to gather, meet and do activities together and to see to it that the GRIPS fire in all of us never lose spark and be all the more burning till the end of time.
