Bellaflor "Bella" Javier Angara-Castillo (born September 14, 1939), simply known as Bella Angara, is a former member of the Philippine House of Representatives representing the lone district of Aurora. She previously served three consecutive terms as governor of Aurora province from 2004 to 2013. She was the third female governor of Aurora province. Prior to being governor, she served three consecutive terms as representative of the lone district of Aurora from 1995 to 2004. She was the first and so far the only woman in the history of the Philippine Congress to become House majority floor leader.
Personal life
Bella is the third youngest child among the 10 children of the district’s first elected governor, Dr. Juan C. Angara of Baler, Tayabas (now Aurora) and nurse Juana Javier of Marikina. She is also the younger sister of former Philippine Senator Edgardo J. Angara and former Baler Mayor Arturo "Arthur" J. Angara. She is the aunt of incumbent Philippine Senator Juan Edgardo "Sonny" M. Angara, incumbent Aurora Congressman Rommel Rico T. Angara, and former Baler Vice Mayor Karen G. Angara-Ularan. She married Atty. Gregorio R. Castillo, first placer in the 1957 Philippine Bar Examination and is one of the founding partners of Castillo, Laman, Tan, Panteleon and San Jose Law Firm. Out of their marriage were born four children, namely Joseph Gregson, married to Judith Liwag, Joy Arabelle, married to Fernandino Fontanilla, Jerome Patrick, and Jo Elinore, married to Steve Theodoropoulos. She also has 9 grandchildren, namely, Angelo, Antonio, Andrea Remedios, Sophia Isabel, Constantino, Augusto Miguel, Alexa Kathryn, Jose Gregorio, and Fernando Miguel.
Education
She finished her elementary education at the Baler Central School in 1952 and her secondary education at the Our Lady of Loreto College in Manila. She graduated as cum laude from the University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman, Quezon City with her Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) and Bachelor of Science in Jurisprudence degrees in 1962. She was also offered a scholarship for the Master of Laws (LL.M.) Program, at the Yale Law School in New Haven, Connecticut, United States in 1963. She was a participant in the Leaders in Development Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at the Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA in 2001.
Political career
She served as representative of the lone district of Aurora in the 10th to 12th Congress from 1995 to 2004. She was the first and only woman in the history of the Philippine Congress to become House majority floor leader. She enacted the greatest number of national bills into law among neophyte lawmakers and sectoral representatives during the 10th Congress. Among the national bills she authored that became landmark legislations were the Magna Carta for Women, the National Caves and Cave Resources Management and Protection Act (Republic Act No. 9072), the National Tourism Policy, the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (Republic Act No. 8293), the National Museum Act of 1998 (Republic Act No. 8492), the ECCD Act (Republic Act No. 8980), the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 (Republic Act No. 9208), the Citizenship Retention and Re-acquisition Act of 2003 (Republic Act No. 9225), and the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004 (Republic Act No. 9262).
As congresswoman, she acted as representative of the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD) in the special session on ICPD +5 of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City, USA (June 29-July 2, 1999); head of the congressional delegation to the People's Republic of China upon the invitation of the Chinese Association for International Understanding (CAFIU) (June 26-July 3, 2000); congressional delegate to the study tour on population and development in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam (September 10–16, 2000); chairperson of the sub-committee on Labor Relations of the Congressional Commission on Labor (LaborCom); member of the Congressional LaborCom; voting member of all standing and special committees; vice-chairperson of the committee on rules; senior deputy majority leader (July 1998- November 12, 2000); chairperson of the committee on rules (November 13, 2000 – January 24, 2001); majority leader (November 13, 2000 – January 24, 2001); senior deputy minority leader (January 25, 2005 – June 30, 2001); chairperson of the committee on tourism and economic affairs in the Commission on Appointments (CA) (August 1, 2001- December 31, 2002); co-chairperson of the Philippine Legislator's Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD); and deputy minority leader of the House of Representatives (2003-2004).