Reynaldo “Rey” “Ru” Umali

Hon. Reynaldo V. Umali is a 3rd Termer Representative of the 2nd District of Oriental Mindoro. As a lawyer and former economist of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), he has capitalized on his profession and years of experience as public servant to effectively serve and set development goals for his constituency. He is a visionary leader who sees Oriental Mindoro in its full horizon and he looking forward to the day that Mindoreños are uplifted from poverty and are enjoying bustling agri-tourism industries in the first-class province. Advancement of the agriculture sector is one of his priorities because this is his constituents’ major source of income and the province’s key engine for growth. He strongly advocates the preservation of the environment while he vigorously promotes the ecotourism potentials of the province.

Cong. Rey has authored legislative measures for the development and improvement of Oriental Mindoro and the entire country as well. He co-authored the “Universal Access to Tertiary Education Act” and the Anti-Trust Law which created the Philippine Competition Commission. Notably, he has been dubbed as the Father of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA) which his team drafted while he was Bureau of Customs Deputy Commissioner in 2008. In BOC, he is well known as the one who spearheaded the Run After The Smugglers (RATS) Program which holds the record for filing the most number of cases against violators of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines (TCCP).

Cong. Rey has subscribed to the belief that “power preceeds development.” Because of this, he has championed and rallied investments on renewable energy which gained momentum when he assumed the Chairmanship of the House Committee on Energy and Co-Chairman of the Joint Congressional Power Commission during his 2nd term in office. Last 16th Congress, he led the JCPC-House Panel in crafting the House Resolution No. 21 which saved the government 6 to 12 billion pesos for the rental or purchase of 300MW gensets to address the looming 2015 summer power crisis and institutionalized the Interruptible Load Program.

Since his first term in Congress, he has been advocating good governance and reforms in the Philippine judiciary. He courageously stood to push for the Impeachment of then Chief Justice Renato Corona and former Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez. He delivered Privilege Speeches to defend the doctrine of separation of powers and the principles of our system of checks and balances, and assert the congressional independence and the position that impeachment is our sole and exclusive prerogative.

Now on his last term as Congressman, Cong. Rey has been given the herculean task to Chair the House Committee on Justice while he also plays significant roles in eight other committees especially the Committee on Energy-JCPC House Panel, Committee on Constitutional Amendments and the Committee on Good Government and Accountability, to name a few. His Committee on Justice is actively working to fastrack reforms in the five pillars of the criminal justice system in the country, namely: the judiciary, law enforcement, prosecution service, correctional institution and the community. Cong. Rey also shepherded the passage at the House of Representatives of the bill for the reimposition of Death Penalty for drug-related crimes as well as the legislative measure to update the backwardness of the fines applicable in the Revised Penal Code to be more in keeping with today’s realities. He also takes the lead in the crafting of a bill on the Proposed Code of Crimes.

By virtue of his Chairmanship of the Justice Committee, he serves as Ex-Officio member of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) representing the House of Representatives. As expected, Cong. Rey consistently excels in every area he is put in charge of, as he continues to make a difference to the institutions and the people he serves. All these did not go unnoticed as he became a recipient of the 2017 Distinguished Bedan Award for Government Service and the 2017 Ulirang Ama Award for Government and Public Service.

Cong. Rey is married to Dra. Ma. Linda Tantoco Umali and is blessed with six children namely Jean Paulo, Hans Christian, Jan Joseph, Ian Mikhael, John Christopher and Juan Reynaldo.