Rachel del Mar

A native of Cebu City, del Mar spent her elementary years at the Cebu International School, and went to high school at Saint Theresa's College of Cebu City in Cebu. She began collegiate studies at the University of the Philippines Cebu College, majoring in Hotel and Restaurant Management, and eventually earned her B.A. in Mass Communications, Cum Laude, at the University of San Jose-Recoletos. She is currently working toward a master's degree in Public Management at the Ateneo de Manila University.

In 2007, then President of the Philippines Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointed del Mar to the Board of Directors of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the country’s premier cultural institution. That same year, she was also named as one of the board members of the Philippine film and television ratings agency, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB). Her tenure with both institutions lasted until November 2009.

Del Mar started co-hosting the talk show She Said, She Said in August 2008 with Jackie Aquino-Gavino, a popular TV personality and first cousin to the current Philippine president, His Excellency Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III. Aside from this, she has also performed with the theater group Repertory Philippines, has done both runway and commercial modeling, and has played bit parts in both local and foreign films shot in the Philippines.[1]

Her most recent position prior to taking her Congressional seat was as Chief of Staff to her father, former Congressman and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Raul del Mar. She held this post from July 2008 to November 2009, when she officially resigned to begin her electoral campaign.

As Congressman Raul del Mar would be termed out of office with the close of the 14th Congress of the Philippines in 2010, his daughter Cutie del Mar was the popular choice to run in his place. She faced no substantive opposition from within the Liberal Party. During the election, she was opposed by Mary Ann de los Santos, a local community leader, who she defeated by close to 40,000 votes during election day.[2]

Del Mar is currently the Vice Chairperson of the Committee on Interparliamentary Relations and Diplomacy, as well of the Committee on Public Information. She is also a member of the committees on Appropriations, Games and Amusements, Legislative Franchises, and Tourism.[3]

During the 15th Congress, del Mar has sponsored a multitude of bills, reflective of the wide array of her advocacies. Among the legislation she has authored or sponsored include House Bill 00023, “An Act Providing for a Magna Carta of the Poor”, House Bill 00372, “An Act Requiring the Mandatory Pre-Audit of Government Disbursements and Uses of Funds”, HB00559, “An Act to Include Entrepreneurial and Financial Literacy Education for Secondary School Students”, among many others. Per the official website of the Philippine House of Representatives, her name is attached to well over 200 bills as a co-author or co-sponsor. She was also noted for her perfect record of attendance while Congress is in session.[4]