Próspero Nograles

Prospero Rafael Castillo Nograles (October 30, 1947 – May 4, 2019, He was the first speaker from Mindanao in a hundred years of Philippine legislative history. From 1989 to 2010, he served as the representative for Davao City's 1st district.

Biography Early life and education Nograles was born on October 30, 1947 in Davao City. He finished his elementary and secondary education at the Ateneo de Davao University. He then studied at the Ateneo de Manila University, obtaining his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1967. He earned his Bachelor of Laws degree from the Ateneo de Manila Law School in 1971 He was involved in the litigation of human rights cases during that period, and he actively campaigned for Corazon Aquino in the 1986 snap presidential election.

In 1992, Nograles gave up his congressional seat to mount a bid for mayor of Davao City. He was defeated by then-reelectionist Mayor Rodrigo Duterte with a landslide margin of 98,000 votes. After his second unconsecutive term in Congress, Nograles launched another bid for mayor of Davao in 1998 but narrowly lost to Duterte-backed Vice Mayor Benjamin de Guzman by 23,000 votes. Nograles and de Guzman would later become political allies against Duterte.

Nograles returned to his congressional seat in 2001 and was re-elected unopposed for two more terms in 2004 and 2007. During his stay in Congress, Nograles chaired the Special Committee on Law Enforcement and its subcommittee on Gambling, Committee on Housing and Urban Development, and the Committee on Rules. He authored 17 bills and co-authored 85 bills. On February 5, 2008, majority of House members approved a motion to declare House speakership vacant. Shortly thereafter, de Venecia nominated Nograles as his replacement. No objections were posed to Nograles' unopposed election. this time to Vice Mayor Sara Duterte, daughter of his long-time political nemesis, then-mayor and future president Rodrigo Duterte who ran for vice mayor. Edgar Matobato, a self-confessed DDS member, claimed that the group had kidnapped and killed four supporters of Nograles in Samal, Davao del Norte upon the orders of then-Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. Nograles denied the claim.

On March 7, 2017, the Ombudsman filed graft and malversation charges against Nograles for alleged misuse of pork barrel funds for "ghost projects" when he was caretaker congressman for Misamis Oriental. The investigation showed that the Department of Budget and Management had released of Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) for "bogus" projects and foundations.

Death Nograles died of respiratory failure on May 4, 2019. He was 71. President Duterte attended his wake and expressed his condolences to the Nograles family. He was interred at the Forest Lake Memorial Park in Davao City.