Former Senator Francis Pancratius “Kiko” Nepomuceno Pangilinan has served in the Senate for two decades and is known for his environmental and agricultural policies. After a failed bid for the vice presidency in 2022, running alongside former Vice President Leni Robredo, he is now running for another senate seat in the 2025 elections.
In recent senatorial preference surveys, Pangilinan is one of the few to make it to the top 15 without the current Marcos administration’s backing. Can he make it to the top 12 in the upcoming elections?
Current position: Lawyer, Liberal Party Chairman (since 2022), Sweet Spring Country Farm CEO (since 2012)
Education: Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University (1998), Bachelor of Laws from University of the Philippines College of Law (1993), BA in English from UP Diliman (1986)
Previous positions: Senator (2001-2013, 2016-2022), Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization (2014-2015), Quezon City Councilor (1988-1992)
Affiliated parties: Independent, Liberal Party (since 2001)
Political Stances
Governance
When he ran for vice president in 2022, Pangilinan said that he was fit to fight corruption, citing a clean, corruption-free track record from his three terms as senator. In the vice presidential debate in February 2022, he emphasized the importance of a strong judicial system in combating corruption. “Dinagdagan natin ang sahod ng mga huwes, binaba natin ang vacancy rate sa huwes noong tayo ay miyembro ng [Judicial and Bar Council], nadagdagan din ang benepisyo ng ating mga prosecutor,” he said.
He has advocated for transparent law enforcement practices. In December 2020, he urged fellow lawmakers to pass a bill requiring police officers to use body cameras, stating, “We need to protect the public against the possibility of police abuse of power or use of violence such as planting of evidence, illegal arrest, and even killings.” He co-authored the Free Legal Assistance Act of 2010, which guarantees free legal assistance to poor people who need it. In 2006, he also co-sponsored legislation abolishing the death penalty.
Pangilinan co-authored a bill prohibiting political dynasties in 2018. In July 2020, he urged former President Rodrigo Duterte to declare the bill as urgent. He said the existence of political dynasties “has undermined the checks and [balances] in government, weakened the competition in the political system, resulting in less access for alternative leaders to be part of the political arena, and perpetuated personality-based politics by prompting politicians to invest in their relatives.”
In February 2020, he released a statement on Philippine offshore gaming operators, calling for their closure and an end to all illegal activities involving their operations. “Yung billions in tax evasion, operating without business license, violation of tax laws, labor laws, immigration laws, criminal laws, local ordinances — walang pinalampas,” he said. “Bastusan na ito.”
Economy
Pangilinan is the principal author of the Sagip Saka Act, which provides for direct procurement of the agricultural and fishery products from accredited farmers and fisherfolk organizations without going through public bidding or middlemen. It also gives farmers and fisherfolk financial, technical, and marketing support.
In February 2022, he urged the Department of Agriculture (DA) to use its budget to fuel economic activity and generate jobs in the agricultural sector. During his campaign, he also vowed to double the DA’s budget.
Other laws he authored are the Cash Assistance for Filipino Farmers Act and the Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act.
Human Rights and Social Justice
Pangilinan is the principal author of acts amending the Magna Carta for Disabled Persons, granting persons with disability (PWDs) additional privileges and incentives like the 20 percent discount. It also expanded prohibitions on verbal and non-verbal ridicule and vilification against PWDs.
He is also the principal author of the act Strengthening the Workers’ Constitutional Right to Self-Organization in 2006, allowing supervisory employees to join federations or the national union as other rank-and-file employees. He also backed the Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act of 2012, which prohibits authorities from abducting people suspected of anti-government activity.
In 2018, Pangilinan became one of the many lawmakers over the years to file and re-file the SOGIE Equality Bill in the legislature. He also co-authored the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004.
Information regarding Pangilinan’s stance on divorce is limited. In 2011, he said on social media, “If divorce is to be allowed it should be under the strictest of terms so as not to undermine the sanctity of marriage.”
Healthcare
Pangilinan backed the passage of laws like the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003 and the National Integrated Cancer Control Act. He has also proposed legislation to strengthen healthcare workers and medical supply manufacturers in the country. In 2019, he proposed to raise the minimum wage for nurses to P30,500 to entice them to stay and work in the Philippines instead of going abroad.
In 2020, he proposed the Pandemic Protection Act, which would grant tax exemptions to Filipino medical supplies manufacturers and ensure a steady supply of personal protective equipment (PPE), medicines, and testing kits amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He also co-authored the COVID-19 Vaccination Program Act of 2021, expediting the procurement and administration of COVID-19 vaccines to Filipinos.
Criticizing the human rights violations associated with the war on drugs during Duterte’s administration in 2016, Pangilinan said that rehabilitation was crucial to solving the country’s illegal drug issues. “The illegal drugs problem is a health problem,” he said. “When we look at addicts as needing medical help and not merely criminals that ought to be killed, then we will be addressing the problem more effectively.”
National Security and Foreign Policy
After Duterte announced that he was cutting ties with the United States in October 2016, Pangilinan and former Senators Franklin Drilon, Bam Aquino, and Leila de Lima called for a hearing in aid of legislation to determine whether the Philippines should end diplomatic ties with the U.S. in favor of a partnership with China. “We are in agreement that the Philippines needs an independent foreign policy, one that protects and champions the interests of the Filipino people, one that is not pro-American and not pro-China but pro-Filipino, ensuring that the conventions and agreements we sign will benefit Filipino citizens,” their statement said.
He also opposed the passage of the Anti-Terror Law of 2020 and called to have it junked. “Hindi tinutugunan ng anti-terror law ang problema ng sakit at gutom dulot ng pandemya ngunit sapilitang itong isinusubo sa taumbayan,” he said. “Dapat ibasura ang walang kwentang batas na ito at handa tayong kwestyunin ang Constitutionality ng batas na ito sa Korte Suprema.”
Environment and Disaster Preparedness
At the beginning of 2020, Pangilinan said that the government should prioritize reducing the country’s carbon footprint and reduce pollution. In 2019, he filed a bill seeking to ban single-use plastics. He also called for stricter policies regarding rainwater management, solid waste importation, food waste reduction, and national mangrove forest protection.
In 2012, he called on the Department of Education to include a disaster preparedness subject in its curriculum.
Disinformation
As chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes, Pangilinan drafted a report in 2022 recommending that social media platforms be held accountable for disinformation. Among his proposed solutions to disinformation issues was SIM registration and monitoring the digital activity of personnel who run government social media accounts.
Infrastructure Development
Pangilinan backed the Agricultural and Fisheries Mechanization Law, which aimed to develop and adopt modern, appropriate and cost-effective and environmentally-safe agricultural and fisheries machinery and equipment.
While campaigning for the vice presidency in 2022, he said that renewable energy is key to cushioning the impacts of oil price issues. “Para maiwasan ang paulit-ulit na dagok ng aftershock tuwing tumataas ang presyo ng langis at krudo sa international market, uunahin natin ang implementasyon ng isang transition process upang ang Pilipinas ay magkaroon ng pangmatagalang green and renewable energy program,” he said.
Youth and Culture
Pangilinan co-authored various youth-oriented and educational policies, such as the act prohibiting child marriage, the Alternative Learning System Act, and the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.
He backed the Philippine Creative Industries Development Act, which establishes the Philippine Creative Industries Development Council tasked with creating programs to generate “opportunities and employment, nurturing human resources, ensuring financial-enabling mechanisms, and providing incentives to encourage and sustain Filipino excellence in the creative industries.”
Sara Duterte Impeachment
In March 2025, Pangilinan said that if he were to be elected in May, he would remain fair and impartial as a senator-judge in Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial. “We will just have to look at the evidence. I’m a lawyer. We will have to look at both sides, and whether [there is] fairness and there is justice in the process,” he said in a press conference.
Ahead of the midterm elections, Rolling Stone Philippines is taking a closer look at the Top 15 senatorial candidates based on the January 2025 surveys by polling firms Social Weather Stations and Pulse Asia.
