Bienvenido "Benny" Mirando Abante Jr. is a Filipino politician and pastor serving as the House Minority Leader since 2019. He is concurrently serving as the Representative of Manila's 6th district since 2019, a position he previously held from 2004 to 2010. He is also the host pastor of the Metropolitan Bible Baptist Church and Ministries in Santa Ana, Manila.
Early life and education
Abante was born in the outskirts of Sampaloc, Manila on May 15, 1951, the eldest of four sons of the Rev. Ben O. Abante Sr. and Priscilla Mirando. He has two younger brothers, Jose Hernes and Reuben, who both grew up to be ministers. He grew up taking on odd jobs such as shining shoes, selling newspapers and corsages and working on a construction site at a young age to support himself. He also worked in an accounting firm as an auditor to support his college education. In 1975, he started the Metropolitan Bible Baptist Church and Ministries in Santa Ana, Manila. He graduated with a degree in theology, and also holds a master's degree in Government Management from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and a doctorate in Theology from Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
He ran and won a seat in Congress in May 2004. He was subsequently named chairman of the Committee on Public Information. His major undertakings in his district focused on health, education, social services and infrastructure development and/or improvement. Abante's committee also scrutinized the Right of Reply Bill that was criticized by the media organizations as a curtailment to the freedom of the press. He also proposed an Anti-Sex Video Bill that imposes stiffer penalties of the people involved in the manufacture of sex videos. He was one of the principal authors of the Freedom of Information Bill during the 14th Congress. The FOI bill was defeated in Congress after its opponents questioned if there was a quorum on the final session day. Abante unsuccessfully defended his seat in the 2010 election, losing to Rosenda Ann Ocampo. Abante was elected as Representative of Manila's 6th District in 2019 with the previous incumbent Ocampo ineligible for reelection. He ran against Councilor Cassy Sison and newcomer Yvette Ocampo, Rosenda's sister. He ran under the banner of Asenso Manileño with Isko Moreno running for Mayor.
