Veteran lawmaker Senator Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri has taken the highest seat of the Senate of the Philippines of the 19th Congress.
Zubiri assumed the Senate presidency on Monday, July 25, as senators convened for their first regular session.
Zubiri is one of the most senior lawmakers among his colleagues. In 1998, he started his stint in Congress after becoming congressman of the third District of Bukidnon until 2007.
He then became a Senator from 2007 to 2011, and again, from 2016 until the present.
In his first term in the Senate, Zubiri, then 39, became the youngest elected Senate Majority Floor Leader, serving the 14th Congress. In the 17th Congress, he was elected again to the same post.
The lawmaker authored and sponsored various laws in both houses of Congress. But as a Mindanaoan, he took pride in paving the way for the Bangsamoro Organic Law or the Republic Act No. 11054, which aimed at promoting peace and development in his home region.
The new Senate President holds a Master's Degree in Environment and Natural Resources Management degree from the University of the Philippines Open University, and a Bachelor of Science in Agri-Business Management degree from the University of the Philippines-Los Baños.
He is married to Audrey Tan-Zubiri and is father to Ma. Adriana, Juanmi, and Santi.
His father is Bukidon Governor Jose Ma. Zubiri, Jr. and his mother is Victoria Fernandez-Zubiri of Libon, Albay.