1. Francisca "France" Lustina Castro was born on May 24,1966 and is a Filipino educator, trade union activist, and politician who serves as a member of the Philippine House of Representatives for the 19th Congress for the Alliance of Concerned Teachers, and has been the House deputy minority leader since 2022.
France Castro was a member of the 18th Congress and 17th Congress.
In December 2024, Castro was among the more than 70 complainants in the second impeachment case filed against Vice President Sara Duterte.
France Castro's father was a driver and her mother was a housewife.
France Castro had intended to become an accountant but her family could not afford to send her to a private school.
France Castro was a contractual teacher at a school in Manila for four years.
France Castro applied to teach at Quirino High School in Quezon City where she was appointed to a permanent position to teach Math.
France Castro was first elected to the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 2016, as a party-list representative for the Alliance of Concerned Teachers.
In 2019, France Castro co-authored an anti-endo bill that sought to give workers security of tenure by the ending the practice of labor contractualization.
France Castro filed in the 18th Congress bills increasing the salary of public school teachers and other government employees; lowering the optional retirement age of government employees; making Filipino subjects mandatory in college; exempting from taxation the compensation for people who render election service; shorter probationary period of teachers and non-teaching personnel in private schools; assigning guidance counselors in public schools; and the expanded paternity leave.
France Castro filed the Freedom of Information Act, the Teacher Protection Act of 2019, the Public School Class Size Law, the Act Mandating Free Health Services for the People, the Revised GSIS Act of 2019, the National Education Support Personnel Day, and the COMELEC Reorganization Act, as well as a House resolution to conduct an inquiry into the status of implementation of the K to 12 Program.
In 2020, France Castro joined fellow lawmakers in protesting the passage of House Bill number 6875, which eventually became the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.
In 2022, France Castro was appointed as a deputy minority leader.
France Castro said that the law would increase productivity and farmers' income in the short term and proposed a moratorium on agricultural land conversion.
France Castro is co-author of Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act, signed in June 2024, raising the allowance of public school teachers from PHP5,000 to PHP10,000 starting in 2025.
In November 2024, France Castro took part in the House committee on good government and public accountability investigation on the alleged misuse of confidential funds of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education under Sara Duterte.
France Castro was part of the House quad committee that investigated the killings committed during the Philippine drug war.
France Castro filed the second impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, citing betrayal of public trust for her office's alleged misuse of confidential funds.
On June 26,2024, during commemorations for the 42nd anniversary of the ACT, France Castro declared her candidacy for the 2025 Philippine Senate election.
France Castro supported the franchise renewal for broadcast company ABS-CBN in 2020.
France Castro campaigned to increase teachers' salaries while she was secretary general of ACT.
In Congress, France Castro is pushing to raise the national minimum wage to PHP33,000 and teachers' basic salaries to PHP50,000 in both public and private schools.
In 2022, France Castro called on President Bongbong Marcos to end endo contractualization and regularize casual workers who have been working in government for years.
France Castro has criticized the government's jeepney phaseout plan, stating that the government lacks a coherent plan to prevent a transport crisis.
France Castro warned of possible transport fare hikes and urged the government to support local manufacturers, and protect the livelihood of jeepney operators and drivers.
France Castro stated in 2023 that the planned jeepney phaseout will have a "profound impact on transportation and economy, directly affecting approximately 28.5 million commuters".
In November 2020, France Castro was among the only 5 members of the House of Representatives to release their SALN to the public.
In December 2024, the Talaingod Ata-Manobo Tribal Council filed an ethics case with Philippine House Committee on Ethics and Privileges against France Castro, based on her court conviction.
In 2019, France Castro was awarded the Arthur Svensson International Prize for Trade Union Rights for her work organizing teachers and the Febe Velasquez Trade Union Rights Award for her work in defense of trade unions and human rights.
France Castro was recognized as the Eminent Alumnus of the Philippine Normal University in 2018.