Грегорио Онасан: Филиппин саяхаты және әскери өмірі

Filipino politician

Gregorio "Gringo" Ballesteros Honasan II (, born March 14, 1948), is a Filipino politician and a cashiered Philippine Army officer who led unsuccessful coups d'état against President Corazon Aquino. He played a key role in the 1986 EDSA Revolution that toppled President Ferdinand Marcos, and participated in the EDSA III rallies in 2001 that preceded the May 1 riots near Malacañang Palace. After 1986, he led a series of unsuccessful but violent coup attempts against the administration of Corazon Aquino. President Fidel Ramos granted him amnesty in 1992. He entered politics and became a senator from 1995 to 2004, and again from 2007 to 2019. He ran for vice president of the Philippines, being Jejomar Binay's running mate in 2016, but both were respectively defeated by Leni Robredo and Rodrigo Duterte. On November 22, 2018, President Duterte appointed then Senator Honasan as Secretary of Department of Information and Communications Technology, which took effect after the latter's senatorial term, with Eliseo Rio serving as acting secretary.

Gregorio Honasan was born in Baguio to Colonel Romeo Gillego Honasan and Alicia "Alice" Masip Ballesteros, both from Sorsogon province. He has six siblings.

In 1986, Honasan and a cabal of colonels, backed by Enrile, tried to use popular unrest to overthrow the dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos. When the plot was uncovered, the conspirators sought refuge in the military headquarters and called on civilians, the media, and the Catholic Church for protection. Hundreds of thousands of people served as human shields to protect Honasan and his men from Marcos' forces, sparking the 1986 People Power Revolution that led to Marcos' fall from power and the installation of Corazon Aquino as president.

Aquino awarded Honasan a Distinguished Conduct Star for the EDSA Revolution and the Presidential Government Medal in 1986. Under the new government, he was head of a special group in the defense ministry. Using his position, he was covertly involved in various coup attempts against Aquino. He left the Senate when his term expired in 2004. In the general election held in May 2007, he was again elected to the Senate. Running as an independent candidate, he polled some 11.6 million votes, finishing 10th out of 37 candidates for 12 Senate vacancies. He took up his post on June 30. He was reelected during the 2013 elections, placing 12th with 13,211,424 votes, his fourth term. In June 2015, Justice Undersecretary Jose Justiniano amended the complaint against Senator Honasan for his alleged part in the Pork Barrel Scam involving allegations of corrupt malversation of public funds. During the 2016 Philippine general elections, Honasan was Jejomar Binay's running mate under the United Nationalist Alliance party. Honasan placed 6th in the vice presidential race, garnering only 788,881 or 1.92% of votes.

On November 22, 2018, President Duterte appointed Honasan as secretary of Department of Information and Communications Technology. Acting Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr. held the position until the end of Honasan's Senate term. Honasan was sworn into the office on July 1, 2019 and confirmed by the Commission on Appointments on September 11, 2019. In January 2020, the Department was flagged by the Commission on Audit of the Philippines for worth of cash advances of confidential funds under Honasan. Undersecretary of Operations Eliseo Rio Jr. also questioned the cash advances as he resigned from his position. Secretary Honasan and Undersecretary Rio later issued a joint statement to state that the confidential expenses were "lawful and legitimate" and that "Undersecretary Rio’s resignation was due to personal reasons, and not due to any rift with the Secretary, nor to any anomaly in the Confidential Expense."

On October 8, 2021, Honasan filed his certificate of candidacy to run once again for senator in 2022, effectively ending his time as Secretary of Information and Communications Technology. His candidacy was endorsed by President Rodrigo Duterte, making him part of the PDP–Laban senatorial slate, although he was an independent. He was also named to the senatorial slate of tickets led by presidential aspirants Panfilo Lacson and Bongbong Marcos (under UniTeam Alliance), respectively. However, he lost his bid with 10,668,886 votes, ranking 18th out of the 12 seats up for election. He conceded from the race on May 11, 2022.

Parodied by veteran comedian Chiquito in the 1988 comedy film Gorio Punasan, Rebel Driver, the title being a pun on his name which literally translates as “Wipe Gorio”. Parodied in the 1987 comedy film Kumander Gringa starring Roderick Paulate. Portrayed by character actor Rez Cortez in the 1988 true to life drama TV film A Dangerous Life. Portrayed by action star Robin Padilla in the 1994 true to life action drama film Col. Billy Bibit, RAM. Portrayed by Moises Miclat in the 2007 comedy film Ang Cute ng Ina Mo!.