- Sergio Osmeña
Infobox President
name = Sergio Osmeña
order = 4thPresident of the Philippines
"2nd President of the Commonwealth"
term_start =August 1 ,1944
term_end =May 28 ,1946
vicepresident =
predecessor =Manuel L. Quezon
successor =Manuel Roxas
birth_date =September 9 ,1878
birth_place =Cebu City , Cebu
dead = dead
death_date = Death date and age|1961|10|19|1878|09|9
death_place =Quezon City
party = Nacionalista Party
occupation =Lawyer
spouse = Estefania Veloso (married 1901, died 1918)
Esperanza Limjap (married 1920)
religion = Roman Catholic
order2=2ndVice President of the Philippines
"1st Vice President of the Commonwealth"
term_start2=November 15 ,1935
term_end2=August 1 ,1944
predecessor2=None [1899 Constitution of the Philippines did not provide for a Vice President]
successor2=None [Congress did not appoint a Vice President after Osmeña assumed the Presidency from Quezon, as required by the 1935 Constitution]
president2=Manuel L. Quezon Sergio Osmeña (
September 9 1878 –October 19 1961 ) was the fourth President of theCommonwealth of the Philippines . He was Vice President underManuel L. Quezon , and rose to the presidency upon Quezon's death in 1944. He was a founder ofNacionalista Party .Osmeña is the patriarch of the prominent Osmeña family, which includes his son (former Senator
Sergio Osmeña, Jr. ) and his grandsons (SenatorsSergio Osmeña III andJohn Henry Osmeña ), ex-Governor (Lito Osmeña andCebu City MayorTomas Osmeña ), and his great great grandson Julian Osmena O'Rourke. His other great great grandson Christian Osmena is a current Senator at theUniversity of California, Berkeley .Early life and career
A Chinese-mestizo with some Spanish blood, Osmeña was born in Cebu to Juana Osmeña y Suico. Juana was only 14 years old when she gave birth to him. Owing to the circumstances of his birth, the identity of his father had been a closely guarded family secret. Though an illegitimate child — Juana never married his father — he didn't allow this aspect to affect his standing in society. The Osmeñas, a rich and prominent clan with vast business interests in Cebu, slowly warmed up to him as he established himself as a prominent figure in local society.
He took his elementary education in the
University of San Carlos and graduated in 1892. Osmeña continued his education inManila , studying inSan Juan de Letran College where he first metManuel L. Quezon , a classmate of his. He took up law at theUniversity of Santo Tomas and was second place in the bar examination in 1903.Osmeña served on the war staff of General
Emilio Aguinaldo as a courier and journalist. In 1900, he founded the Cebu newspaper, "El Nuevo Día" which lasted for three years.On
April 10 ,1901 , he married Estefania Chiong Veloso, with whom he had six children, namely, Vicente, Edilberto, Nicasio, Milagros, Emilio, Teodoro, Jose, and Sergio, Jr. In 1920, two years after the death of his first wife, Osmeña married Esperanza Limjap, and had three more children, namely, Ramon, Rosalina, and Victor.Political career
In 1904, the American colonial administration appointed him governor of Cebu. Two years later he was elected governor of Cebu. While governor, he ran for election to the first
Philippine Assembly of 1907 and was elected Speaker of that body. Osmeña was only 29 and already the highest-ranking Filipino official.He and another provincial politician,
Manuel L. Quezon of Tayabas, set up theNacionalista Party as a foil to the "Partido Federalista" of Manila-based politicians. The two would engage in a rivalry for political dominance ever since.Osmeña was elected an assemblyman, in 1907, and remained a member of the lower house until 1922. He was the country's vice president for two consecutive terms under the
Philippine Commonwealth .He went to the US, in 1933, to secure passage of the
Hare-Hawes-Cutting Independence Bill which was superseded by theTydings-McDuffie Act in March 1934.Osmeña was elected as vice-president of the Commonwealth in 1935, with Quezon as president. He was re-elected in 1941. When the Commonwealth government relocated in the US in exile, Osmeña went with Quezon.
Presidency
Osmeña became president of the Commonwealth on Quezon's death in 1944. He returned to the Philippines the same year with
General Douglas MacArthur and the liberation forces. After the war, Osmeña restored the Commonwealth government and the various executive departments. He continued the fight for Philippine independence.For the presidential election of 1946, Osmeña refused to campaign, saying that the Filipino people knew of his record of 40 years of honest and faithful service. Nevertheless, he was defeated by
Manuel Roxas , who won 54 percent of the vote and became the first president of the independent Republic of the Philippines.War Cabinet 1944-45
On August 8, 1944, President Osmeña issued Executive Order 15-W reorganizing and consolidating the Executive Departments of the Commonwealth government. The reorganization of the government after it was reestablished on Philippine soil was undertaken with Executive Order No. 27, February 27, 1945.
Cabinet and Judicial Appointments 1945-46
Executive Order No. 27, February 27, 1945 was issued upon the restoration of civilian authority to the government of the Commonwealth, and members of the new cabinet appointed on March 8, 1945. Subsequent renaming and mergers of departments have separate listings.
Post-presidency
After his defeat in the election, Osmeña retired to his home in Cebu. He died at the age of 83 on
October 19 ,1961 , at the Veteran's Memorial Hospital inQuezon City . He is buried in theManila North Cemetery inManila .Notes
External links
* [http://www.pangulo.ph The Philippine Presidency Project]
* [http://philippines-archipelago.com/people/presidents/sergio_osmena.html Philippines-Archipelago (Sergio Osmeña)]References
*cite book | author=Zaide, Gregorio F. | title=Philippine History and Government|publisher=National Bookstore Printing Press |year=1984
Persondata
NAME=Osmeña, Sergio
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=4thPresident of the Philippines
DATE OF BIRTH=September 9 1878
PLACE OF BIRTH=Cebu City , Cebu
DATE OF DEATH=October 19 1961
PLACE OF DEATH=Quezon City
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