Gonzales was born on August 29, 1954, in Mandaluyong City to the late senate president Neptali Gonzales and Candida Medina-Gonzales. He is their youngest child and only son. He has three sisters, Myrna, Sorohayda, and Rhodora.
Personal life
Gonzales' first wife was Josephine Olivia Francisco, who died in May 2001. They had one daughter, Kristine Olivia. In December 2002, Gonzales married Alexandria Pahati, a television reporter, with whom he had twins, Neptali III and Isabel Candida.
Education
Gonzales attended the Mandaluyong Elementary School and received his secondary and college education at the Union High School of Manila of the Philippine Christian College. He finished his degree in political science at the Far Eastern University in 1975 and took up law at the Ateneo de Manila University, where he graduated in 1979. Before entering public service he was a lawyer from 1980 to 1995 as a senior partner of the law firm Gonzales, Batiller, Bilog, and Associates. He also served briefly as a bar reviewer and professor in criminal law and constitutional law at the FEU Institute of Law.
Political life
Gonzales was the first Congressman of Mandaluyong when it was converted into a city in 1995 and separated from what used to be the San Juan-Mandaluyong Congressional District. He was City Mayor of Mandaluyong from 2004 to 2007 and Congressman for the city during the 14th Congress of the Philippines. In the 10th Philippine Congress, he served on eight congressional committees, including the Committee on Rules. In the opening session of the 11th Congress, he was selected as one of the two vice–chairmen of the Committee on Rules, which was then chaired by majority leader Mar Roxas of Capiz City. Gonzales became majority leader toward the end of the 11th Congress and held the position into the 12th Congress. In his nine years as Congressman, he authored 33 bills and was co-author of 92 bills. In his first term, he was one of two newly elected members of Congress to have the greatest number of bills passed into law. During his first 9-year period in Congress, Gonzales passed a bill allowing the construction of the City of Mandaluyong Science High School and leading the conversion of the Rizal Technological Colleges into Rizal Technological University. In recognition, the RTU awarded him a PhD in Public Administration in October 2003. During his three-year term as Mayor of Mandaluyong, Gonzales supported the implementation of improved physical and social infrastructure in Mandaluyong. He also initiated innovations in computerization, social infrastructure and urban renewal. He pushed for improvement in health care in the city by strengthening its only public hospital and empowering all health centers for preventive health care. He instigated fresh initiatives in local fiscal reforms and tax collection. He urged private bodies to support the program of housing for the poor. His administration's partnership with the Gawad Kalinga and the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission provided adequate housing for more than a thousand families in the city. Gonzales was Senior Deputy Majority Leader of the 14th Philippine Congress. As such, he was an ex officio member of all House Committees. He was also Senior Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Rules, and headed the caucus of NCR Congressmen. In the 15th Congress, he is the current Majority Floor Leader of the House.
