José Avelino | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 3rd President of the Senate of the Philippines | |
| In office May 28, 1946 – February 21, 1949 | |
| Preceded by | Manuel Roxas |
| Succeeded by | Mariano Jesús Cuenco |
| Presidentpro tempore of the Senate of the Philippines | |
| In office June 2, 1935 – November 15, 1935 | |
| Preceded by | José Clarín |
| Succeeded by | Senate abolished (Next held byElpidio Quirino) |
| Senator of the Philippines | |
| In office May 25, 1946 – December 30, 1951 | |
| In office June 5, 1928 – November 15, 1935 | |
| Preceded by | Pastor Salazar |
| Succeeded by | District abolished |
| Constituency | 9th senatorial district |
| Secretary of Public Works and Communications | |
| In office 1939–1941 | |
| President | Manuel L. Quezon |
| Preceded by | Mariano Jesús Cuenco |
| Succeeded by | Sotero Baluyut[1] |
| Secretary of Labor | |
| In office 1937[2]–1939[2] | |
| President | Manuel L. Quezon |
| Preceded by | Ramon Torres |
| Succeeded by | Leon Guinto[1] |
| Member of theHouse of Representatives fromSamar's1st district | |
| In office June 6, 1922 – June 5, 1928 | |
| Preceded by | Pedro Mendiola |
| Succeeded by | Tiburcio Tancinco |
| 2nd President of theLiberal Party | |
| In office April 19, 1948 – May 8, 1949 | |
| Preceded by | Manuel Roxas |
| Succeeded by | Elpidio Quirino |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1890-08-05)August 5, 1890 |
| Died | July 21, 1986(1986-07-21) (aged 95) Manila, Philippines |
| Party | Liberal (1946–1986) |
| Other political affiliations | Nacionalista (1928–1946) Democrata (1922–1928) |
| Spouse | Enriqueta Casal |
| Children | 5 |
| Relatives | Paulo Avelino (great-grandson) Coritha (grand daughter) |
| Alma mater | Ateneo de Manila (AB) University of Santo Tomas (LL.B) |
José Dira Avelino Sr. (August 5, 1890 – July 21, 1986) was the firstpresident of the Senate of theThird Republic of the Philippines and the second president of theLiberal Party. Born inCalbayog, Avelino started as a municipal councilor of the city and served as a representative ofSamar from 1922 to 1928. He earned a law degree and was admitted to thePhilippine Bar in 1934. He served asSecretary of Labor and later asSecretary of Public Works and Communications in the late 1930s under PresidentManuel L. Quezon. He served asSenate Presidentpro tempore to President Quezon prior to the establishment of theCommonwealth and was eventually elected as the president of the Senate in 1946. He unsuccessfully ran in the1949 Philippine presidential election. Avelino died on July 21, 1986, at the age of 95.
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Avelino was born in Calbayog, Samar to Alfonsa Dira and Baltazar Avelino. Avelino was educated at theAteneo de Manila, where he received hisBachelor of Arts degree, and theUniversity of Santo Tomas, where he graduated with hisBachelor of Laws. He was admitted to thePhilippine Bar in 1934[3] and was a municipal councilor for Calbayog for one term during 1917 to 1919. He served as a representative ofSamar's 1st congressional district from 1922 until 1928.[3]
In 1935, Avelino went into private practice of his profession and became a senior member of Avelino & Yatco.[4] In 1937, he returned to government service.[2] He served as Secretary of Labor and later as Secretary of Public Works and Communications in the late 1930s under President Manuel L. Quezon.[5][6] When he was the Secretary of Labor, Avelino unified the labor unions by organizing them into two commissions: the National Commission of Labor (NCL) and the National Commission of Peasants (NCP); he was designated chairman of these two commissions in 1938.[7]
He participated in the8th Philippine Legislature from 1928 to 1931 representing thePhilippines's 9th senatorial district ofLeyte andSamar. He then participated in the9th Philippine Legislature from 1931 to 1934.[8] Avelino is known as the "father of the Philippine Workmen’s Compensation Law" which he authored during his term in Senate. The bill focused on creating a contingency insurance fund for workers as a way to protect them from economic problems.[9] Avelino also founded the first labor union in Eastern Visayas,Gremio Obrero de Stevedores.[10]
He was a part of the passage of the Social Security System and pushed for the establishment of publichigh schools in every province in the Philippines.[10] From 1934 to 1935, he was thePresidentpro tempore of the Senate of the Philippines in the10th Philippine Legislature after the death ofJosé Clarín.[8] From 1946 to 1949 in the NationalSenate of the Philippines, he was elected as the president.[8] Due to this, he became a popular politician in the Liberal Party next to PresidentManuel Roxas, contributing a large part in Roxas' 1946 campaign; he was "frustrated" withElpidio Quirino's leadership. He became the president of the Liberal Party but was ousted shortly after due to a Senate investigation regarding alleged fraud.[11]
Avelino ran for thePhilippine presidency in the1949 election, where he became third in a race between incumbent presidentElpidio Quirino and former presidentJosé P. Laurel. In the Senate, Avelino was evenly divided with Quirino,[12] but the latter still won with 50.93% of the votes. Avelino garnered 11.85% of the votes, and his vice-presidential mate,Vicente Francisco, garnered 13.19%.[13]
Avelino was quoted as saying "What are we in power for?" during a party caucus inMalacañang. The whole statement was:
"Why did you have to order an investigation Honorable Mr. President? If you cannot permit abuses, you must at least tolerate them. What are we in power for? We are not hypocrites. Why should we pretend to be saints when in reality we are not? We are not angels. When we die, we will all go to hell. It is better to be in hell because in that place there are no investigations, no secretary of justice, no secretary of the interior to go after us."[14]
The above account is disputed by historian Quintin Doroquez.[15][12] Doroquez claims that Avelino was misquoted as "corrupt" by Celso Cabrera, a news reporter who did not speak Spanish.[12] Doroquez also states that CongressmanFaustino Tobia ofIlocos Norte confessed to the Avelino family later that the entire quote was fabricated and that the original context of Avelino's comment at the said party caucus on January 15, 1949, was about the Quirino administration dealing with the problems of the country.[12] According to Doroquez, Congressman Tobia offered the following paraphrase as closer to what Avelino actually said in Spanish at the meeting, with the translation being: "Mr. President, is it not the truth that not addressing vigorously these problems is to betray and negate fundamentally our duties as public servants? What for is our mandate from the people?"[12]
Avelino was married to Enriqueta Casal and had four sons.[12] He is the great-grandfather of actorPaulo Avelino.[16] Calbayog, his birthplace, became a city due to Avelino (as president of the Senate) when he merged three contiguous municipalities (Oquendo, Calbayog and Tinambacan) into the 19thcity of the Philippines on July 15, 1948—the date President Elpidio Quirino signedRepublic Act No. 328.[17]
After his loss in the 1949 elections, he held a post as an ambassador to PresidentElpidio Quirino, and subsequently returned to practicing law. He died on July 21, 1986, at the age of 95. Honoring his 129th birthday, the Presidential Palace declared August 5, 2019 as a special non-working day inSamar. On social media, the city information office wrote: "The people of Calbayog acknowledge him as The Father of Calbayog City. Together with Congressman Agripino Escareal, he pushed for the creation of the City of Calbayog".[9]
Raquiza, Antoinette R. (2013).State Structure, Policy Formation, and Economic Development in Southeast Asia.Taylor & Francis.ISBN 9781136505010.
Media related toJosé Avelino at Wikimedia Commons| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | President of the Senate of the Philippines 1946–1949 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | President of theLiberal Party 1948–1949 | Succeeded by |
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