ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Who are they? Meet the 'Young Guns' of the House

Who are they? Meet the 'Young Guns' of the House

Published Feb 13, 2024 05:20 am

At A Glance

  • Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, La Union 1st district Rep. Francisco Paolo Ortega, Zambales 1st district Rep. Jefferson Khonghun, and Isabela 6th district Rep. Faustino "Inno" Dy introduced themselves in a press conference Tuesday, Feb. 13 as the "Young Guns" of the House. 

20240213_113620.jpgThe "Young Guns", from left to right: Zambales 1st district Rep. Jefferson Khonghun, La Union 1st district Rep. Francisco Paolo Ortega, Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, and Isabela 6th district Rep. Faustino "Inno" Dy (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

Is this the new clique of congressman that will make waves in the House of Representatives?

Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, La Union 1st district Rep. Francisco Paolo Ortega, Zambales 1st district Rep. Jefferson Khonghun, and Isabela 6th district Rep. Faustino "Inno" Dy introduced themselves in a press conference Tuesday, Feb. 13 as the "Young Guns" of the House.

This was in reference to their being part of the aged 40 and below members, which comprise a significant portion of the legislative chamber in the 19th Congress. They also happen to be the scions of political families all over the country.

According to Ortega, the congressmen who took part in the orientation for neophyte members realized that close to half of the 300-plus strong House belonged to this "youth" age group.

"Parang may bloc na nga po kami, yung Young Guns (It's like we have a bloc already, the Young Guns). We wanted to learn...actually it's a big network of sharing ideas and sharing best practices.

Ortega says that he's personally fed up with the "drama" and "politicking" that comes with their job as legislators.

"Nakakapagod po yun. Ang gusto namin resulta. Yun ang main essence po ng Young Guns. Yung trabaho agad, resulta agad," he said.

(That is very tiring. What we want are results. That's the main essence of the Young Guns. We're about working quickly, and getting quick results.)

Khonghun and Adiong made clear the group's all-out support for the current House leadership under Speaker Martin Romualdez.

"We are solid behind the leadership of the House," declared Khonghun.

Adiong, who shared that he belongs to the "Eraserheads, Rivermaya, and K-Pop generation", said he was very glad to have entered Congress under the Romualdez Speakership.

"He is a type of leader who likes to listen to any--lahat ng opinyon (all opinions), regardless if you're a veteran or a younger member of the House. He embraces all opinions. Because he celebrates dynamism," he said.

"We’re a young country. It's speaks of the youth sector being active now. The youth now in the Philippines wants to engage actively in issues that affect the lives," added the sole Midnanaoan from the group.

Deputy Speaker Quezon 2nd district Rep. David "Jay-jay" Suarez---who was introduced tongue-in-cheek as the "talent manager" of the Young Guns--sounded mighty impressed by the group.

"I think what the Young Guns show is the diversity in the House of Representatives. It also shows the aggressiveness, the enthusiasm, and the fresh ideas that they bring to the table," he said.

Related Tags

House of Representative
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.