Lord Allan Jay Velasco

Lord Allan Jay Quinto Velasco (born November 9, 1977) is a Filipino politician and lawyer who served as the Speaker of the House of Representatives from October 12, 2020 to June 2022. He previously served as the Marinduque chapter president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, and Marinduque provincial administrator under Governor Jose Antonio Carrion.

Personal life Early life and family Velasco was born on November 9, 1977. His father is lawyer Presbitero Velasco Jr., who would later serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 2006 to 2018 and governor of their home province Marinduque since 2019. His mother, Lorna Quinto Velasco, originally a nurse, ventured into politics: first as the Representative of Ang Mata'y Aalagaan (AMA or MATA) party-list from 2013 to 2016, and from 2016 onwards as mayor of Torrijos, Marinduque. His sister, Tricia Nicole Velasco-Catera, is also a lawyer. Velasco-Catera was their father's judicial staff head in the Supreme Court, and their mother's chief of staff in the House. She was AMA/MATA party-list's representative from 2016 to 2019.

Velasco was educated in Manila, earning his Bachelor of Science in business management from De La Salle University, and his Bachelor of Laws from the University of Santo Tomas.

Velasco married Rowena "Wen" Amara on September 21, 2012. They have five children: Sophia, Bella, Ramon, Sara, and Lord Jose Maria. Several high-profile personalities attended the baptism of their daughter Sara in September 2019: President Bongbong Marcos, former President Rodrigo Duterte, businessman Ramon Ang, senators Bong Go, Mark Villar and Sonny Angara, and Quezon City mayor Joy Belmonte. On Christmas of 2016, the Velascos celebrated at the Duterte family's house in Davao City. The Velasco couple also organized celebrations for the President's birthday in 2017 and 2018. The President and his daughter, Davao City mayor Sara Duterte, were also guests at Velasco's 2018 birthday party. In January 2008, he was appointed as the provincial administrator of Marinduque by Governor Jose Antonio Carrion. He also headed the Provincial Tourism Council where he focused on "sports adventure and community-based tourism".

House of Representatives (2010–2013, 2016-2025) In the 2010 elections, running under Lakas–Kampi, Velasco defeated Edmundo Reyes, the son of then-incumbent representative Carmencita Reyes. Velasco became the first elected government official in his family. and abruptly suspending the House's session on October 6, 2020, Velasco called on Cayetano to resume the House's session before November 16, 2020. He and his allies also affirmed their intent to conduct a session on October 14, 2020 to formalize his assumption as Speaker of the House of Representatives.

During a gathering of 186 representatives at Celebrity Sports Complex in Quezon City, Velasco was elected as House Speaker on October 12, 2020, two days before the term-sharing agreement that he and Alan Peter Cayetano agreed upon in July 2019 went into effect. However, Cayetano disputed Velasco's election and called the gathering a "fake session."

On October 13, 2020, Cayetano tendered his "irrevocable resignation" as Speaker through a Facebook live stream, as 186 representatives formally ratified Velasco's election as the new Speaker in the Batasang Pambansa during the start of their special session.

On November 18, Velasco was appointed by the House as legislative caretaker of Cebu City's 1st district after the death of representative Raul del Mar two days earlier.

Gubernatorial run (2025) Upon being term-limited, Velasco ran for Governor of Marinduque in 2025. However, he lost to Melecio Go by almost 400 votes. He filed an election protest before the COMELEC through his legal counsel, Atty. Rowell Ilagan, seeking the manual recount of the votes.

Electoral history