Conrado Estrella III

Conrado Masonsong Estrella III (born September 12, 1960) is a Filipino politician serving as the 15th secretary of agrarian reform since 2022. He previously served as a representative for Abono Partylist from 2013 to 2022 and for Pangasinan's sixth district from 1987 to 1995 and from 2001 to 2010. He was previously one of the deputy speakers of the 18th Congress under the leadership of first of Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and then Speaker Lord Allan Velasco.

Early life and education Estrella was born on September 12, 1960, in Manila to former Congressman Robert B. Estrella Sr. and Ma. Teresita Masonsong-Estrella. From 1980 to 1985, he was a member of the Pangasinan Provincial Board.

House of Representatives of the Philippines

Estrella was elected to the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 1987 and 1992, representing Pangasinan's sixth district. In the 8th Congress, he ran under the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, was one of the youngest elected representative at age 26 It was reported that his first campaign was funded by Ferdinand Marcos. In the 9th Congress, he was the vice-chairman of the House Committees on Accounts and Tourism. Estrella ultimately withdrew from the race and was later appointed to the Manila Economic and Cultural Office where he served as one of its directors from 1995 to 1998. During the Estrada presidency, he became the administrator of the National Electrification Administration. In August 2015, the National Bureau of Investigation charged Estrella and his brother with malversation, direct bribery, and other graft and corrupt practices before the Ombudsman. That same year, he was served numerous notices of disallowances from the Commission on Audit with regards to the use of his Priority Development Assistance Fund to implement livelihood projects worth ₱64million in Pangasinan coursed through questionable non-governmental organizations. He was later excluded from liability by the commission in 2018 due to a court decision which declared his signatures in the documents facilitating the transactions to be forgeries.

On July 10, 2020, he was one of the 70 representatives who voted to reject the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN.

Secretary of agrarian reform (since 2022)

On June 8, 2022, Estrella accepted the offer of President Bongbong Marcos to head the Department of Agrarian Reform as its secretary. His grandfather, Conrado Estrella Sr., was also secretary from 1971 to 1986.

Personal life Estrella married Sandra S. Romero on June 7, 1985, at the age of 24. The couple produced four children: Maria Sergia Susana, Conrado Andrew IV, Albert and Gilbert.