4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino "Nonoy" Libanan (Contributed photo)

A seasoned public servant in both the legislature and the executive, and the great-grandson of a Katipunero.

That's who 4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino "Nonoy" Libanan is, the lawyer-congressman who has been designated to lead the 11-member prosecution team in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Libanan, 61, is the minority leader in the House of Representatives in the current 19th Congress. He was born in Quezon City, on Sept. 20, 1963.

He traces his lineage to Valentin Diaz, who alongside the great Andres Bonifacio co-founded the Kataastaasang Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK or simply Katipunan) that started tie Philippine revolution against Spain in 1896. Diaz was elected as treasurer of the Katipunan.

Libanan served as vice governor of Eastern Samar from June 30, 1992 to June 30, 1995.

He then served for three consecutive terms as Eastern Samar congressman from June 30, 1998 to April 18, 2007. During this time, he allied himself with political parties Laban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino (LAMMP), Lakas-CMD, and the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC). 

During his initial stint as a lawmaker, Libanan pursued a law giving special allowance to Public Attorney's Office (PAO) officials.

He also signed a bill to return the Balangiga bells to Eastern Samar. The bells eventually came back home to the country in 2018.

The church bells of Balangiga town were taken by the United States (US) Army in 1901. This was after the American troops massacred local residents as a form of retaliation for a bloody ambush led by Filipinos.

Libanan also authored the House version of a bill that became the Human Security Act. 

In April 2007, Libanan resigned at the tail end of his final term as congressman after he was appointed commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration (BI). He implemented a law which required tourist workers from the Philippines to sign a waiver removing them from any type of blame from their destination country.

Libanan made his return to the House of Representatives in June 2022, after 4Ps Party-list placed fourth in the party-list race in the national elections earlier that year. 

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https://mb.com.ph/2025/3/25/lead-prosecutor-in-vp-duterte-impeachment-trial-revealed

In 2024, Libanan was among the many congressmen who were vocal against Vice President Duterte's uncooperativeness during the budget hearings for the Office of the Vice President (OVP) that year.

On Feb. 5, 2025, Libanan was named part of the 11-member prosecution team in the Senate impeachment trial of Vice President Duterte.

On March 25, 2025, it was revealed that Libanan had been picked as the lead prosecutor in the impeachment trial.