Martin Diño | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chairman and Administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority | |
| In office 2016–2017 | |
| President | Rodrigo Duterte |
| Preceded by | Roberto Garcia |
| Succeeded by | Wilma Eisma |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Martin Badulis Diño (1957-07-25)July 25, 1957 Quezon City, Philippines |
| Died | August 8, 2023(2023-08-08) (aged 66) |
| Political party | PDP–Laban |
| Other political affiliations | Lakas (2004) |
| Children | includingLiza |
Martin "Bobot"[1]Badulis Diño (July 25, 1957 – August 8, 2023)[1] was a Filipino activist, politician, government official and presidential candidate whose withdrawal from the2016 Philippine presidential election paved the way for his substitution byRodrigo Duterte, who went on to win thePhilippine presidency.
Diño first rose to prominence as thebarangay captain of San Antonio,Quezon City for 13 years, during which he became a vocal advocate for the stepdaughter ofLeo Echegaray, who was executed for raping her, in 1999. He subsequently became president of the anti-crime groupVolunteers Against Crime and Corruption.[2] In 1982, he joined the political partyPDP–Laban.[3]
On the final day of the filing of candidacies for the2016 Philippine presidential election on 26 October 2015,PDP–Laban nominated Diño, its deputy secretary-general, as its candidate for president.[4] His candidacy was seen as a last-ditch effort to push for the candidacy of then-Davao City mayorRodrigo Duterte, who had hitherto refused to run for president, citing rules set by theCommission on Elections (COMELEC) that allowed for substitutions until December 10. Diño denied the accusations, saying that he had planned to run for president for a long time.
However, serious discrepancies were discovered on Diño's certificate of candidacy, wherein it was found that he had filed a candidacy to run for mayor ofPasay rather than President, even though he was a resident of Quezon City.[5] Before the Comelec could rule on petitions to have him disqualified as anuisance candidate on those grounds, Diño withdrew his candidacy on 29 October, saying he felt insulted by the Comelec legal department's assertion that he did not have enough funds to run a nationwide campaign,[6] and named Duterte as his substitute.[7] He later called the errors on his certificate an "honest mistake".[8]
As a result of Diño's withdrawal, PDP-Laban subsequently nominated Duterte as its substitute presidential candidate, which was finalized after Duterte withdrew his bid forMayor of Davao City and filed his certificate of candidacy for president.[9] Duterte went on to win in the elections held in May 2016 and was sworn in the following month.
After Duterte won the presidency, he appointed Diño to become Chair of theSubic Bay Metropolitan Authority on 23 September 2016. After two years, he was then transferred to theDepartment of the Interior and Local Government as its Undersecretary for Barangay Affairs.[2] He served until Duterte left office in 2022.
Diño was the father of actress and beauty queenLiza Diño, who was also appointed by Duterte as chair of theFilm Development Council of the Philippines. He was also the father-in-law of singer and former child starIce Seguerra, whom Liza married in the United States in 2014 and was also appointed by Duterte as chair of theNational Youth Commission.[10][11][12][2]
In July 2023, Liza disclosed that her father had been suffering from stage IV lung cancer for more than a year. On 8 August, he died from acute respiratory failure caused by his illness. He was 66.[2]
Media related toMartin Diño at Wikimedia Commons