Mel Senen Sarmiento

Mel Senen Sarmiento (born 11 August 1962, Manila, Philippines) was a member of the Philippine House of Representatives representing the 1st Legislative District of Samar from 2010 to 2016. He also served as Secretary General of the Liberal Party. He served as the Vice Mayor of Calbayog City from 1992-1995 and Mayor from 2001 to 2010. He was also the Secretary General of the League of Cities of the Philippines from 2004-2010. He also served briefly as Secretary of the Interior and Local Government under President Benigno Aquino III.

Sarmiento was born in Manila to Engr. Oscar Sarmiento of Calbayog City and Teresita Sevilla of Roxas City. He began in public service when he was vice mayor of Calbayog City City from 1992-1995. Unsuccessful in his bid for the mayoralty the following term, he took a break from politics for 6 years, during which time he ran his own construction firm.

In 2001-2010, he ran and won as Mayor of Calbayog City. He also represented League of Cities of the Philippines as Secretary General.

Sarmiento was elected as representative of the first district of Western Samar during the 15th Congress. While on his first term, he was Vice Chairman of the Committee on National Defense and Committee on Public Order and Safety. On his second term, he was appointed Vice Chairman of the Committee on Millennium Development Goals and Transportation.

While in Congress, he authored and co-authored several house bills and republic acts, namely:

• House Bill No. 00084 - The Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform Act
• House Bill No. 03527 - The Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010, an act amending section 21 of Republic Act of 10121
• Republic Act No. 10364 - An Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003
• Republic Act No. 10630, - Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 A consolidation of Senate Bill No. 3324 and House Bill No. 6052.An Act Strengthening the Juvenile Justice System in the Philippines, amending for the purpose known as the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006,

Commission on Appointments (2013-2016)

During his time as a member of Congress, Sarmiento was the Vice Chairman of the Commission on Appointments and headed the House Contingent. The commission on appointments (CA) is a body that reviews, confirms or disapproves appointments made by the President to ensure only those who are qualified are appointed.

Other appointments

• Chairman, Phil Army Multi-Sector Advisory Board
• Vice-Chairman, AFP Multi-Sector Governance Council
• Director, Institute for Solidarity in Asia
• Director, SOS Children’s Villages Philippines
• Member, Civil Service Multi-Sector Advisory Council

• ^ "HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - 16th Congress of the Philippines". Congress.gov.ph. Retrieved 2016-04-01. 
• "Reforms in real property valuation and assessment pushed". Arangkada Philippines. 
• "HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - 16th Congress of the Philippines". Congress.gov.ph. Retrieved 2016-04-01. 
• "Republic Act No. 10364". Gov.ph. Retrieved 2016-04-01. 
• "House panel OKs bill expanding anti-trafficking law". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2016-04-01. 
• "Republic Act No. 10630". Gov.ph. Retrieved 2016-04-01. 
• > "Lawmaker wants detention home for youth offenders". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2016-04-01. 
• "LP corners leadership of powerful Commission on Appointments - The Manila Times Online". The Manila Times Online. Retrieved 2016-04-01. 
• "THE PHILIPPINE ARMY MULTI-SECTOR ADVISORY BOARD: Strengthening Private-Public Partnership in Governance". Atr2028.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2016-04-01. 
• "Official Website of the Philippine Army". Army.mil.ph. Retrieved 2016-04-01. 
• "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 22, 2014. Retrieved August 6, 2015. 
• "New AFP chief named; term extension seen after Noy order". Tribune.net.ph. Retrieved 2016-04-01. 
• "Philippines - SOS Children's Villages International". Sos-childrensvillages.org. Retrieved 2016-04-01. 

In December 2007, Sarmiento received the Konrad Adenauer Medal of Excellence (KAME IV) and was conferred by the Ambassador of Germany, H. E. Axel Weishaupt at Manila Hotel.

Sarmiento is a member of the Advisory Group of Parliamentarians of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR). He represented the Philippine delegation for The Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction(WCDRR). The WCDRR serves as a venue to gather policymakers and parliamentarians to share knowledge and best practices on disaster risk reduction and resilience.