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Sarah Elago
Filipino politician (born 1989) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Sarah Jane Ibañez Elago (born October 18, 1989) is a Filipino activist and politician who served as the representative for Kabataan Party-list from 2016 to 2022. During her tenure, she was the youngest female member of the House of Representatives.
A graduate of the University of the Philippines Diliman, Elago served as the national president of the National Union of Students in the Philippines and was active in student activism. During her congressional tenure, she sat as a member of the House minority bloc and supported the franchise renewal for broadcast network ABS-CBN.
After leaving Congress, Elago remained active in the Makabayan Coalition and was among those who filed the second impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte. In 2025, she unsuccessfully sought a return to the House of Representatives as the first nominee of the Gabriela Women's Party, which lost its sole seat in the lower chamber. After the registration of Duterte Youth was revoked in June 2025, media outlets observed that Gabriela could regain its Congress.
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Early life and education
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Elago was born on October 18, 1989, in Las Piñas. As a child, she stuttered and found it difficult to speak to others.[1] She learned to manage the disability by joining drama clubs, singing, and reading out loud. She would eventually study at the University of the Philippines Diliman, graduating cum laude with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Hotel, Restaurant, and Institution Management.[2]
While in UP, she was a member of The UP Repertory Company (UP Rep), UP Kontemporaryong Gamelan Pilipino (lit. 'UP Filipino Contemporary Gamelan'), a theater arts performing group, and a student councilor for two years.[2] Elago was also involved in youth sectoral politics and activism, becoming a coordinator for Youth Vote Philippines and Rock the Vote Philippines, an officer in the International Youth Council, and a member of the Asia Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights - National Youth Committee in 2013. She was also the national president of the National Union of Students of the Philippines, and a national convenor for the Rise for Education Alliance and Youth for Accountability and Truth Now.[citation needed]
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House of Representatives (2016–2022)
Elections
In her campaign for Kabataan Party-list in 2016, Elago campaigned for the advancement of a "youth agenda", as well as for free education, free internet access, and gender equality.[3] She was re-elected in 2019.
Tenure
![[icon]](#/media/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion with: coverage of major legislative initiatives and other notable actions. You can help by adding to it. (June 2025) |
During her tenure, Elago served as a member of the minority for 12 House committees, including Youth and Sports Development, Women and Gender Equality, and Higher and Technical Education.[4]
During the School Strike for Climate in May 2019, Elago joined youth protesters calling for a rejection of government proposals that could have detrimental effects on the environment.[5]
Elago supported the franchise renewal for broadcast network ABS-CBN.[6][7] She was also among the representatives who opposed a bill allowing full foreign ownership in power, transport, and communications sectors in the Philippines.[8]
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Post-congressional career
On December 4, 2024, Elago and 74 others filed the second impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, submitting one article of impeachment: betrayal of public trust.[9][10]
2025 Philippine House of Representatives campaign
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On October 4, 2024, the Gabriela Women's Party filed its certification of nomination and acceptance for the 2025 election, which listed Elago as its first nominee, followed by Cathy Estabillo and Jean Lindo.[11][12] The party pursued a progressive platform of enshrining gender equality and rights for the LGBTQ+ community, expressing support for the SOGIE Equality Bill and divorce legislation.[13] During the campaign, Elago spoke in favor of decriminalizing abortion in the Philippines and including transgender women in Women's History Month celebrations.[14][15]
On March 26, 2025, her party filed a complaint against the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) before the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), citing incidents of red-tagging and gender-based sexual harassment from the task force.[16] Jonathan Malaya, the head of the National Security Council, derided the complaint, defending the NTF-ELCAC and insisting that "former rebels" are responsible for the incidents.[17]
In the May 12 election, Gabriela won no seats, leaving the organization without representation for the first time since its founding as a party-list in 2003. They received 0.61% of the vote, placing 55th and nearly halving their vote share from 2022.[18] Following the election, the party urged the COMELEC to conduct a manual recount, citing discrepancies in vote counting.[19][20]
Despite their loss, media outlets observed that with Gabriela's vote share, it was still possible for Gabriela to obtain a seat the disqualification of a winning party-list. Following the election, the proclamation of two winning party-lists—Duterte Youth and Bagong Henerasyon (BH)—was suspended due to ongoing cases against them.[21][22] The latter's case was dismissed on June 1,[23] while the registration of the former was cancelled on June 18.[24][25] In response to the initial ruling on Duterte Youth, Gabriela urged the COMELEC to expedite their case and proclaim them as a winning party as soon as possible.[26]
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Public profile
Elago was the youngest female member of the House of Representatives during her tenure, having served from the ages of 26 to 33.[27][28] Besides being the youngest lawmaker, she is also the poorest lawmaker with a net worth of ₱85,400 based on her 2018 Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).[29][30] She was also the poorest in 2017 with a net worth of ₱75,800.
Personal life
Elago is the founding president of the Philippine Stuttering Association, an advocacy group that supports people who stutter.[1] She has also shown support to breast cancer warriors and survivors by donating her hair.[31]
Electoral history
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References
External links
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