Paquito Ochoa, Jr.
| Paquito Ochoa Jr. | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 37th Executive Secretary of the Philippines | |
|
In office June 30, 2010 – June 30, 2016 |
|
| President | Benigno Aquino III |
| Preceded by | Leandro Mendoza |
| Succeeded by | Salvador Medialdea |
|
Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government Acting |
|
|
In office August 21, 2012 – August 31, 2012 |
|
| President | Benigno Aquino III |
| Preceded by | Jesse Robredo |
| Succeeded by | Mar Roxas |
| City Administrator of Quezon City | |
|
In office 2003–2010 |
|
| Succeeded by | Dr. Victor B. Endriga |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. November 11, 1960 Quezon City |
| Spouse(s) | Pinky Ochoa |
| Alma mater |
Ateneo Law School University of Santo Tomas |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Paquito "Jojo" Navarro Ochoa Jr. (born November 11, 1960) is a Filipino lawyer. He served as the Executive Secretary of the Philippines under the Administration of President Benigno Aquino III. He had been the city administrator of Quezon City from 2001 to 2010.
Ochoa took his A.B. in economics at the University of Santo Tomas and law at the Ateneo de Manila University. He joined the Bar in 1986, and his pro-bono work in his province led to his election as Director and then Vice President of the Bulacan Chapter of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines. He also engaged in private practice and served as partner of the De Mesa and Ochoa Law Offices and later partner (on leave) in the Marcos Ochoa Serapio Tan Law Firm.
The closeness of the Aquino and Ochoa families had its roots from the late Sen. Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. being a close friend of Ochoa Sr., who was then mayor of Pulilan, Bulacan. It would lead to Atty. Ochoa being tapped by President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III to handle the latter’s legal requirements when he first ran for Congress in 1998; Atty. Ochoa has handled his legal affairs ever since.
In 2001, when then Rep. Feliciano "Sonny" Belmonte Jr. ran for mayor, Atty. Ochoa headed his legal team. Mayor Belmonte then made Atty. Ochoa his right-hand man and later formally appointed him city administrator in 2003.
As city administrator, he helped oversee the management of a city grappling with budget shortfalls and the increasing demands of a fast-growing city. Atty. Ochoa headed the Finance Committee, among others, and implemented systems that would drastically cut down unnecessary spending by the city government.
Prudent spending practices that included a thorough review of the infrastructure requirements of the city and the rationalization of its utilities expenditures—together with improved revenue collection—allowed Quezon City to successfully balance its budget and pay all the obligations of past administrations, including the P33 million in arrears in premium payments to the GSIS dating back to 1997. It also enabled Quezon City to become one of the local government units least dependent on internal revenue allotments (IRA), with the IRA accounting for only 24% of its total income—11% less than it was in 2001.
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Wikipedia