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Eric Buhain
Member of the Philippine House of Representatives fromBatangas'1st district
Incumbent
Assumed office June 30, 2022
Preceded by	Eileen Ermita-Buhain
Executive Director of the Bureau of Immigration
In office March 15, 2010 – October 2010
President	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Benigno Aquino III
Chairman of the Games and Amusements Board
In office June 8, 2005 – March 15, 2010
President	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
Succeeded by	Juan Ramon Guanzon (OIC)
6th Chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission
In office January 23, 2002 – June 8, 2005
President	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
Preceded by	Carlos Tuazon
Succeeded by	Butch Ramirez
Personal details
Born	Joseph Eric Reyes Buhain (1970-04-12)April 12, 1970 (age 54) Manila, Philippines
Political party	Nacionalista
Spouse	Eileen Ermita ​ (m. 1995)​
Education	La Salle University (BS) De La Salle Zobel
Sports career
Country	Philippines
Sport	Aquatics
Medal record Men's aquatics Representing Philippines Southeast Asian Games Bangkok 1985 400 m individual medley Jakarta 1987 200 m freestyle Jakarta 1987 100 m butterfly Jakarta 1987 200 m butterfly Jakarta 1987 400 m individual medley Kuala Lumpur 1989 200 m individual medley Kuala Lumpur 1989 400 m individual medley Manila 1991 100 m breastroke Manila 1991 100 m butterfly Manila 1991 200 m butterfly Manila 1991 200 m individual medley Manila 1991 400 m individual medley Singapore 1993 100 m butterfly Kuala Lumpur 1989 100 m butterfly Singapore 1993 100 m breastroke Bangkok 1985 4×100 m medley relay Bangkok 1985 200 m backstroke Jakarta 1987 100 m freestyle Jakarta 1987 100 m backstroke Kuala Lumpur 1989 200 m freestyle

Eric Reyes Buhain^[1] (Tagalog:[buˈhaʔɪn];^[2] born April 12, 1970)^[3] is a Filipino politician and formercompetitive swimmer serving as theRepresentative forBatangas's 1st district since 2022.

He won several medals in theSoutheast Asian Games from1985 to1993, and participated in the1988 and1992 Summer Olympics. He later became asports administrator. During theArroyo administration, he served as chairman of thePhilippine Sports Commission, chairman of theGames and Amusements Board, and an executive director of theBureau of Immigration.

Eric ventured into swimming not because he dreamed of winning an Olympic gold medal, but because of his doctor's advice to improve his lungs. Eric was born with primary lung complex. He enrolled in a two-week swimming program at the age of seven. Yet his training was breached by another illness,hepatitis. However, this didn't stop him; a year later he was training again and taking the advance course in swimming, the competitive course, at age nine. It was at this age that he got into the varsity swimming team ofDe La Salle Santiago Zobel School and vowed to win a gold medal in the sport.

By 1981, he was a member of the Philippine Team and swam in the 400-meter individual medley at age eleven. But it was in his firstSoutheast Asian Games in1985, held inBangkok,Thailand, where he snatched the gold in the same category at the age of fifteen. He participated in the1988 Summer Olympics and was also chosen as the country's flag bearer for the opening ceremonies.

In the1989 Southeast Asian Games inKuala Lumpur,Malaysia, Buhain broke one of the existing SEA Games swimming records. In the1991 Southeast Asian Games, where thePhilippines was the host, he made a huge contribution to the gold medal record of the host country by winning most of the events in swimming. He was chosen to represent the Philippines in the1992 Summer Olympics. He didn't win any medals in that sporting event.

Even though he won several gold medals in the1993 Southeast Asian Games, Buhain decided to retire from his swimming career. He was disappointed by the poor government management that led to a mediocre performance of the Philippines team in that sporting event.

Buhain spent his early career in sport administration as the national training director of the Philippine Amateur Swimming Association (PASA) and president of the Professional Swimming Coaches Academy of the Philippines (ProSCAP).^[3]

On January 23, 2002,PresidentGloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointed Buhain as the chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission after learning of the Philippines poor international ranking in sports. He instituted reforms that led to protests by some commissioners and employees. In 2003, the Philippines increased its rank in the medal tally in theSoutheast Asian Games and the country won several medals in the2002 Asian Games after getting only a bronze medal in the1998 Asian Games.

Barely six months before the2005 Southeast Asian Games, he was appointed by President Arroyo as the chairman of theGames and Amusement Board (GAB), a public agency that handles professional sporting and gambling events.

On March 15, 2010, he left the GAB when President Arroyo appointed him as a director of theBureau of Immigration.^[4]

In the2022 elections, Buhain is a candidate forrepresentative ofBatangas' 1st district, the seat his wife is scheduled to vacate. He ran against his sister-in-law, Lisa Ermita, and won.^[5]

The oldest child of formerBacoor,Cavite municipal vice mayor Cecilia Reyes-Buhain, Eric finished his elementary and secondary education at theDe La Salle Santiago Zobel School inAyala Alabang. In 1991, he earned hisBachelor of Science degree in finance atLa Salle University inPhiladelphia, United States.^[6]

Buhain is the husband ofRepresentativeEileen Ermita-Buhain of the1st district of Batangas, and the son-in-law of formerExecutive SecretaryEduardo Ermita.

Buhain is the older sibling of Camille Buhain-Javier,^[7] one of the three women-lawyers behind the Filipino YouTube channel, The Soshal Network.^[8]

This list isincomplete; you can help byadding missing items.(April 2022)

• Philippine Sports Hall of Fame: 2021^[9]
• PSA Athlete of the Year: 1987, 1991

• Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen;Mallon, Bill; et al."Joseph Buhain".Olympics at Sports-Reference.com.Sports Reference LLC. Archived fromthe original on 2008-09-25.

• 1970 births
• Living people
• Olympic swimmers for the Philippines
• Filipino male swimmers
• Filipino sportsperson-politicians
• Swimmers at the 1988 Summer Olympics
• Swimmers at the 1992 Summer Olympics
• Swimmers at the 1990 Asian Games
• Chairpersons of the Philippine Sports Commission
• Arroyo administration personnel
• SEA Games medalists in swimming
• SEA Games gold medalists for the Philippines
• SEA Games silver medalists for the Philippines
• SEA Games bronze medalists for the Philippines
• Competitors at the 1985 SEA Games
• Competitors at the 1987 SEA Games
• Competitors at the 1989 SEA Games
• Competitors at the 1991 SEA Games
• Competitors at the 1993 SEA Games
• Asian Games competitors for the Philippines
• Philippine Sports Hall of Fame inductees
• La Salle University alumni
• 20th-century Filipino sportsmen

• CS1 Tagalog-language sources (tl)
• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• BLP articles lacking sources from July 2012
• All BLP articles lacking sources
• Pages using embedded infobox templates with the title parameter
• Pages with Tagalog IPA
• Incomplete lists from April 2022