Personal Information

Name: Gilberto Eduardo Gerardo “Gilbert”/”Gibô” Cojuangco Teodoro Jr.
Age: 45
Birthdate: June 14, 1964
Father: Gilberto Teodoro, Sr
Mother: Mercedes Cojuangco-Teodoro

Family Background

• Gilbert Teodoro is an only child, the cousin of Noynoy Aquino and the nephew of Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr., chairman of San Miguel Corporation.
• His mother Mercedes Cojuangco is the first cousin former President Corazon Aquino, both families have always been on different sides of the political fence since the 1960′s.
• During the time of then strongman Ferdinand Marcos, Teodoro’s father served as Social Security System administrator while Noynoy’s father, the late senator Benigno Aquino Jr. was a leading opposition leader.

Educational Background

• Gilbert Teodoro completed his grade school and high school education at Xavier School.
• Then he attained a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce from De La Salle University in 1984.
• In 1989, he completed his law studies at the University of the Philippines, where he was awarded the Dean’s Medal for Academic Excellence.
• Also in the same year, he topped the Philippine Bar exams.
• For seven years, he honed his skills as a lawyer in the EP Mendoza Law firm. He went to the Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts for his Master of Laws and completed it in 1997.
• He was also admitted to the State Bar of New York during the same year.

Political Career

• Gilbert Teodoro entered politics in 1998 a year after finishing his Masters of Law in the US.
• He served three terms as representative of the first district of Tarlac and was assistant minority leader in the 11th Congress.
• He is best remembered not for the bills he authored, but for the political moves that he either initiated or supported in the House of Representatives.
• As a congressman, Teodoro has consistently supported efforts to amend the Constitution and voted against all moves to impeach President Arroyo.
• In 2007, at the age of 43, his loyalty paid off with GMA appointed him as a national defense secretary, the youngest ever to hold the national defense portfolio.
• As Department of National Defense chief, Teodoro pushed for reforms and called for more funds for the military’s modernization program.
• In 2009, he declared his intention to run for president and sought Mrs. Arroyo’s endorsement.
• His wife has said that there is nothing but the presidency for Teodoro.
• And though he continues to perform dismally in presidential surveys, Teodoro enjoys the support of a number of administration members, including governors and party leaders.
• With the administration machinery behind him, Teodoro is hoping to become the third national defense secretary to become president after Ramon Magsaysay in 1953 and Fidel V. Ramos in 1992