New Senate Secretary Jose Luis Montales and his ties with the Cayetanos

Jose Luis Montales, the new Senate secretary, is no stranger to the Cayetanos of Taguig City. 

Senators elected Montales as Senate secretary on Monday, May 18 — a week after a coup that installed Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate president — following the resignation of Mark Llandro “Dong” Mendoza as Senate secretary. 

Montales is the second Senate secretary who had also previously served as House of Representatives secretary-general. The first to achieve this feat is Mendoza.

Prior to his Senate post, Montales served as city administrator under Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano, Alan’s wife. In that role, he dealt with the contentious dispute between Taguig and Makati over the Enlisted Men’s Barrios (EMBO) barangays.

Montales had previously served as Taguig city administrator from 2010 to 2017.

On the Senate president’s rostrum, Montales took his oath before the Cayetano senator-siblings — Alan and Pia. 

After Cayetano lost the vice presidential race in 2016, and later appointed foreign affairs secretary by then-president Rodrigo Duterte, Montales joined him at the Department of Foreign Affairs. (DFA) Cayetano was Duterte’s running mate in the 2016 presidential elections.

From 2017 to 2018, Montales served as DFA undersecretary for civilian security and consular concerns.

When Cayetano left the DFA to run for Taguig-Pateros representative in 2019, Montales also exited the department.

Cayetano eventually became House speaker in 2019 through a power-sharing deal brokered during the Duterte administration. Montales served as House secretary general during Cayetano’s speakership.

Oriental Mindoro’s pride

Montales traces his roots in Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro. His wife, Dr. Cecilia Montales, is serves in the Taguig City government as executive assistant for health.

According to a July 2019 resolution passed by the Oriental Mindoro provincial government to commending Montales’ role as House secretary general, he graduated with highest honors from Calapan Central School and Oriental Mindoro National High School.

He obtained a philosophy degree at Ateneo de Manila University and earned his law degree from the University of the Philippines. He passed the Bar exam in 1994.

Senate presidents and Senate secretaries

Montales is not the lone Senate secretary who had ties with the incumbent top Senate leader. When Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III was Senate president, the Senate secretary was Lutgardo Barbo, who held the same post during the Senate presidency of Pimentel’s father, Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr.

Montales was elected Senate secretary on May 18, following the resignation of Mark Leandro Mendoza, amid tensions at the Senate sparked by the surprise leadership change that installed Cayetano, and developments related to Senator Bato dela Rosa’s International Criminal Court warrant of arrest.

Mendoza, who was elected in February, is a party mate of then-Senate president Tito Sotto. Mendoza replaced Renato Bantug Jr. — the Senate secretary from the opening of the 19th Congress in July 2022, until his retirement in the 20th Congress in January 2026, after 32 years of public service.

Bantug, who rose from the ranks in the Senate since he worked in the upper chamber in 1995, served as Senate secretary under three Senate presidents – Migz Zubiri, Chiz Escudero, and Sotto.

What exactly is the Senate secretary’s role?

The Senate secretary, who is elected by senators, heads the Senate Secretariat and assists the Senate president in overseeing legislative and administrative operations.

The office supervises the Senate’s legislation department, administrative and financial department, Office of External Affairs and Relations, and the Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms.

The Senate secretary is also responsible for supervising the Secretariat’s officers, employees, and service units, while crafting policies and programs aimed at strengthening and professionalizing the institution.

With the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte looming, the Senate secretary is also expected to serve as clerk of court when the Senate convenes as an impeachment court. – Rappler.com