Arnan Panaligan

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Capulong and the surname or paternal family name is Panaligan.

Arnan Capulong Panaligan (born January 21, 1962) is a Filipino lawyer and politician. He has served as the representative for Oriental Mindoro's 1st congressional district since 2022 as part of the local Mindoro Bago Sarili party. He had previously served as the mayor of Calapan from 2013 to 2022, having previously been mayor from 1995 to 2004. He was also the Governor of Oriental Mindoro from 2004 to 2010.

Arnan Panaligan
Member of the Philippine House of Representatives from Oriental Mindoro's 1st District
Incumbent
Assumed office June 30, 2022
Preceded by	Paulino Salvador Leachon
Governor of Oriental Mindoro
In office December 1, 2004 – June 30, 2010
Preceded by	Bartolome Marasigan
Succeeded by	Alfonso Umali Jr.
Vice Governor of Oriental Mindoro
In office June 30, 2004 – December 1, 2004
Governor	Bartolome Marasigan
Preceded by	Thaddeus Venturanza
Succeeded by	Maria Estela Felipa Aceron
Mayor of Calapan
In office June 30, 2013 – June 30, 2022
Preceded by	Paulino Salvador Leachon
Succeeded by	Marilou Morillo
In office June 30, 1995 – June 30, 2004
Preceded by	Rosalia Umali
Succeeded by	Carlos Brucal
Personal details
Born	(1962-01-21) January 21, 1962 (age 63) Calapan, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines
Citizenship	Filipino
Political party	Lakas–CMD (1995-2012; 2022-present) MBS (2021-present)
Other political affiliations	PDP-Laban (2018-2022) UNA (2012-2018)
Alma mater	Divine Word College of Calapan Ateneo de Manila University
Occupation	Politician

Early career

Arnan Panaligan was born on January 21, 1962, in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro, to Leandro and Araceli Panaligan.^[1][2] He completed his elementary and high school education at Holy Infant Academy, then pursued his undergraduate studies at the Divine Word College of Calapan. He later earned his law degree from Ateneo de Manila University.^[2]

After passing the bar examination in 1987, Panaligan began his legal career as a legal researcher at the Supreme Court of the Philippines. He also served as a technical assistant at the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET).^[1]

Political career

Local Politics

Panaligan's political career began when he was elected Mayor of Calapan in 1995.^[1][2]

Under his tenure, Calapan underwent major transformations. Panaligan oversaw various infrastructure enhancements, including the development of concrete roads and schools in rural areas.^[1] He also issued health insurance programmes to low-income houses.^[1] He also successfully attracted external investors to the city.^[1]

In 2004, Panaligan ran for vice governor of Oriental Mindoro as the running mate of the then-incumbent governor Bartolome Marasigan.^[1] The ticket would win the election, with Panaligan being sworn in on June 30, 2004.^[1]

Following the death of Marasigan on December 1, 2004, Panaligan succeeded Marasigan as governor.^[1] Panaligan would be re-elected in 2007 and would be ultimately be succeeded by Alfonso Umali Jr. in 2010.

In 2013, Panaligan ran for the Calapan mayoralty under the banner of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).^[3] He defeated the Liberal candidate Antonio "Jojo" S. Perez Jr., marking his return to the mayoralty.^[3] He ran and won unopposed under PDP–Laban in 2019.^[2][4]

Congressional Career

In 2022, Panaligan ran for representative in Oriental Mindoro's 1st congressional district to replace outgoing representative Paulino Salvador Leachon, who was term-limited and was running for governor.^[5] Running under the Mindoro Bago Sarili banner, Panaligan would defeat PDP–Laban's Mark Marcos and independent Eduardo Alvaro.^[6][7]