{{Distinguish|Precious Bryant}} {{short description|Filipino politician and newscaster}} {{Philippine name|unknown|Hipolito|Castelo|ph=married}} {{BLP sources|date=December 2022}} {{Use Philippine English|date=January 2023}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Precious Hipolito-Castelo | image = | image_size = 220px | alt = | caption = | office = Member of the <br>[[House of Representatives of the Philippines|Philippine House of Representatives]] from the [[Quezon City's 2nd congressional district]] | term_start = June 30, 2019 | term_end = June 30, 2022 | predecessor = Winston Castelo | successor = [[Ralph Tulfo|Ralph Wendel Tulfo]] | title2 = Member of the [[Quezon City]] [[Sangguniang Panlungsod|Council]] from the [[Legislative districts of Quezon City#2nd District|2nd District]] | term_start2 = June 30, 2010 | term_end2 = June 30, 2019 | birth_name = Mari Grace Preciosa Hipolito | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1978|7|1|mf=y}} | birth_place = [[Philippines]] | party = [[Lakas–CMD|Lakas]] (2021–present) | other_party = [[Nationalist People's Coalition|NPC]] (2018–2021)<br>[[Liberal Party (Philippines)|Liberal]] (2010–2017)<br>[[PDP–Laban]] (2017–2018)<br>[[Serbisyo sa Bayan Party|SBP]] (local party; 2018–2021) | spouse = Winston Castelo | children = 2 | relations = | occupation = {{hlist|[[Politician]]|[[Actress]]|[[Newscaster]]}} | education = [[University of Santo Tomas]] <small>([[Bachelor of Arts|AB]])</small> }} '''Mari Grace Preciosa Hipolito-Castelo''' (born July 1, 1978),<ref name=NCR>{{cite web|url=https://comelec.gov.ph/php-tpls-attachments/2022NLE/TentativeListsofCandidates/NCR/NCR.pdf|title=Certified List of Candidates (NCR)|website=Commission on Elections|access-date=May 12, 2022}}</ref> commonly known as '''Precious Hipolito-Castelo''', is a Filipina actress, newscaster, and politician who last served as Representative of the [[Legislative districts of Quezon City#2nd District|2nd district]] of [[Quezon City]] in the Philippines.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/05/15/1917968/comelec-proclaims-belmonte-sotto-qc |title=Comelec proclaims Belmonte, Sotto in QC |work=The Philippine Star|last=Cabrera|first=Romina |date=May 15, 2019 |access-date=July 25, 2019}}</ref> She also served as city councilor from the same district from 2010 to 2019. She is a former child star, film and television actress and newscaster. In 1987, she won the [[FAMAS Award]] as Best Child Actress for ''Ang Daigdig Ay Isang Butil Na Luha''.
==Acting career== In 1985, Precious Hipolito, then 6 years old, reached the finals n [[Eat Bulaga!]]'s ''Little Miss Philippines'' segment along with [[Donna Cruz]].<ref name="peph1"/>
Her first film was ''The Life Story of Julie Vega'' in 1985. Her next films were ''Mga Anghel ng Diyos'' (1986) and ''Ang Daigdig Ay Isang Butil Na Luha'' (1986), for which she received the [[35th FAMAS Awards|FAMAS]] Best Child Actress Award.<ref name="peph1">{{cite news |title=Precious Hipolito from child star to committed newscaster |url=https://www.pep.ph/lifestyle/14121/precious-hipolito-from-child-star-to-committed-newscaster |access-date=April 20, 2022 |work=Philippine Entertainment Forum |date=October 17, 2007 }}</ref> She starred in [[ABS-CBN]]'s drama anthology ''Stop: Child Abuse''. She joined ''[[That's Entertainment (TV series)|That's Entertainment]]'' Wednesday Group along with [[Sheryl Cruz]], [[Romnick Sarmenta]] and [[Chuckie Dreyfus]]. She was a newscaster for ''[[IBC Express Balita]]'' from 2001 to 2009.
==Personal life== She studied Communication Arts at the [[University of Santo Tomas]].<ref name="peph1"/> She is married to [[Winnie Castelo|Winston Castelo]], a former congressman and councilor of [[Quezon City]]. They have a daughter<ref>{{cite news|url=https://metromanila.politics.com.ph/2017/10/29/precious-castelo-looks-like-debutante-daughters-birthday-bash/|title=Precious Castelo looks like a debutante during daughter's birthday bash|date=October 29, 2017|accessdate=May 12, 2022|website=Politiko Metro Manila}}</ref> and a son.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://metromanila.politics.com.ph/2019/06/17/kanino-nagmana-winnie-castelos-son-ends-school-year-with-flying-colors/ |title=Kanino nagmana? Winnie Castelo's son ends school year with flying colors |website=Politiko |date=June 17, 2019 |access-date=December 25, 2022 }}</ref>
==Political career== In [[2010 Quezon City local elections|2010]], she was elected to the Quezon City Council, representing the 2nd district, following her husband's election as Congressman in the same district. She was re-elected in [[2013 Quezon City local elections|2013]] and [[2016 Quezon City local elections|2016]].{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}
In 2018, she joined the newly created [[Serbisyo sa Bayan Party]] and in [[2019 Quezon City local elections|the 2019 election]] won a congressional seat in the House of Representatives under the ticket of [[Joy Belmonte]], succeeding her husband. She was named Assistant Majority Floor Leader in August 2019.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://metromanila.politics.com.ph/2019/08/08/may-pwesto-agad-precious-hipolito-thanks-cayetano-romualdez-for-house-post/|title=May pwesto agad! Precious Hipolito thanks Cayetano, Romualdez for House post|date=August 8, 2019|accessdate=July 17, 2022|website=Politiko Metro Manila}}</ref> She was one of the 70 representatives who voted in 2020 to [[ABS-CBN franchise renewal controversy#House of Representatives votes on the franchise renewal|deny the franchise renewal]] of [[ABS-CBN]].<ref>{{cite news|title=List of lawmakers who voted for and against ABS-CBN franchise renewal |work=[[Philippine Star|Philstar.com]] |url=https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/07/10/2027049/list-lawmakers-who-voted-and-against-abs-cbn-franchise-renewal |date=July 10, 2020 |access-date=December 25, 2021 |last=Perez-Rubio |first=Bella}}</ref> She sought re-election in [[2022 Quezon City local elections|2022]], this time under [[Lakas-CMD]] and the Malayang QC ticket of mayoral bet [[Mike Defensor]],<ref name=NCR/> but lost to [[Ralph Tulfo]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://mb.com.ph/2022/05/10/some-not-so-lucky-celeb-politicians/|title=2022 not a lucky year for these celebrity politicians|first=Neil|last=Ramos|date=May 10, 2022|accessdate=May 12, 2022|work=Manila Bulletin}}</ref>
In 2024, Hipolito was charged with graft over the theft of financial aid for government workers in Quezon City during the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines|COVID-19 pandemic]] in 2020 and 2021.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.rappler.com/philippines/metro-manila/former-qc-congresswoman-precious-hipolito-castelo-others-charged-tupad-related-graft/ |title=Former QC congresswoman charged with TUPAD-related graft |date=August 30, 2024 |accessdate=August 30, 2024 |work=Rappler}}</ref> She was later cleared by the [[Sandiganbayan]] in 2025.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2100603/sandiganbayan-clears-precious-hipolito-11-others-of-graft|title=Sandiganbayan clears Precious Hipolito, 11 others of graft|date=August 26, 2025|website=Inquirer.net|first=Dempsey|last=Reyes}}</ref>
== Electoral history == {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;" |+ Electoral history of Precious Castelo ! rowspan="2" style="background:#eaecf0;" |Year ! rowspan="2" style="background:#eaecf0;" |Office ! colspan="4" style="background:#eaecf0;" |Party ! colspan="4" style="background:#eaecf0;" |Votes received ! rowspan="2" style="background:#eaecf0;" |Result |- ! colspan="2" style="background:#eaecf0;" |Local ! colspan="2" style="background:#eaecf0;" |National ! style="background:#eaecf0;" |Total ! style="background:#eaecf0;" | % ! style="background:#eaecf0;" |{{abbr|2=Position|P}}. ! style="background:#eaecf0;" |[[Swing (politics)|Swing]] |- ![[2010 Quezon City local elections|2010]] | rowspan="3"|[[Quezon City Council|Councilor]] ([[Quezon City's 2nd congressional district|Quezon City–2nd]]) | colspan="2" rowspan="3" {{n/a}} | rowspan="3" style="background:{{party color|Liberal Party (Philippines)}};" | | rowspan="3"|[[Liberal Party (Philippines)|Liberal]] |209,510 |11.42% |1st | {{n/a}} | {{Won}} |- ![[2013 Quezon City local elections|2013]] |89,019 |13.80% |1st | +2.38 | {{Won}} |- ![[2016 Quezon City local elections|2016]] |164,852 |16.19% |1st | +2.39 | {{Won}} |- ![[2019 Philippine House of Representatives elections|2019]] | rowspan="2"|[[House of Representatives of the Philippines|Representative]] ([[Quezon City's 2nd congressional district|Quezon City–2nd]]) | style="background:{{party color|Serbisyo sa Bayan Party}};" | | [[Serbisyo sa Bayan Party|SBP]] | style="background:{{party color|Nationalist People's Coalition}};" | |[[Nationalist People's Coalition|NPC]] |109,515 |54.30% |1st | {{n/a}} | {{Won}} |- ![[2022 Philippine House of Representatives elections|2022]] | colspan="2" {{n/a}} | style="background:{{party color|Lakas–CMD}};" | |[[Lakas–CMD|Lakas]] |96,565 |40.84% |2nd | -13.46 | {{Lost}} |}
==Filmography== ===Film=== *''The Life Story of Julie Vega'' (1985)<ref name="peph1"/> *''Mga Anghel ng Diyos'' (1986)<ref name="peph1"/> *''Ang Daigdig Ay Isang Butil Na Luha'' (1986) *''Cobrador'' (1986) *''Jockey T'yan'' (1988)<!-- Oct 10 --> *''Bala Ko ang Hahatol'' (1988)<ref name="MSposter">{{cite news|title=Grand Opening Today|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YpkVAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA26|accessdate=February 1, 2025|work=[[Manila Standard]]|publisher=Standard Publications, Inc.|date=October 27, 1988|page=26|quote=Gintong Bakal Productions presents...}}</ref><!-- Oct 27 --> *''Everlasting Love'' (1989)<!-- Jul 13 --> *''[[Babayaran Mo ng Dugo]]'' (1989) – Sid's sister <!-- Sep 7 --> *''[["Ako ang Batas" -Gen. Tomas Karingal]]'' (1989) <!-- Mar 27 --> *''Naughty Boys'' (1990)<!-- Sep 6 --> *''Anak ng Cabron: Ikalawang Ugat'' (1991) *''Lumayo Ka Man sa Akin'' (1992) *''Canary Brothers ng Tondo'' (1992)
===Television=== *''Stop: Child Abuse'' (TV show)<ref name="peph1"/> *''[[That's Entertainment (TV series)|That's Entertainment]]'' (TV show)<ref name="peph1"/> (1986–1996) *''[[IBC Express Balita]]'' (TV news) (2001–2009)
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|1760172}}
{{Quezon City representatives}} {{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hipolito, Precious}} [[Category:1978 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Actresses from Quezon City]] [[Category:Filipino actor-politicians]] [[Category:Filipino television news anchors]] [[Category:IBC News and Public Affairs people]] [[Category:Lakas–CMD politicians]] [[Category:Liberal Party (Philippines) politicians]] [[Category:Mass media people from Quezon City]] [[Category:Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Quezon City]] [[Category:Nationalist People's Coalition politicians]] [[Category:Partido Demokratiko Pilipino politicians]] [[Category:Serbisyo sa Bayan Party politicians]] [[Category:Politicians from Quezon City]] [[Category:Quezon City Council members]] [[Category:University of Santo Tomas alumni]] [[Category:Women members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines]] [[Category:Filipino child actresses]] [[Category:Filipino film actresses]]