Eugenio Pérez

{{Short description|Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from 1946 to 1953}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = The Honorable

| honorific_suffix =

| name = Eugenio Pérez

| image = Rep. Eugenio P. Perez (2nd Congress).jpg

| caption = Pérez official portrait during the 2nd Congress.

| office = Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines

| term_start = May 25, 1946

| term_end = December 30, 1953

| predecessor = Jose Zulueta

| successor = Jose Laurel Jr.

| office1 = House Minority Leader

| term_start1 = January 25, 1954

| term_end1 = August 4, 1957

| predecessor1 = Jose Laurel Jr.

| successor1 = Cornelio Villareal

| term_start2 = June 9, 1945

| term_end2 = December 20, 1945

| predecessor2 = Vicente Singson Encarnacion

| successor2 = Cipriano Primicias Sr.

| office3 = Member of the Philippine House of Representatives from Pangasinan's 2nd district
Member of the National Assembly (1935–1941)

| term_start3 = June 11, 1945

| term_end3 = August 4, 1957

| predecessor3 = District recreated

| successor3 = Angel B. Fernández

| term_start4 = 1928

| term_end4 = December 30, 1941

| predecessor4 = Isidoro Siapno

| successor4 = District dissolved

| office5 = Member of the San Carlos Municipal Council

| term_start5 = 1926

| term_end5 = 1928

| office6 = 4th President of the Liberal Party

| term_start6 = December 30, 1950

| term_end6 = December 30, 1957

| predecessor6 = Elpidio Quirino

| successor6 = Diosdado Macapagal

| birth_name = Eugenio Padlan Pérez

| birth_date = {{birth date|1896|11|13}}

| birth_place = Sitio Obong, Barrio Basista, San Carlos, Pangasinan, Captaincy General of the Philippines

| death_date = {{death date and age|1957|8|4|1896|11|13}}

| death_place = Quezon City, Philippines

| nationality = Filipino

| party = {{ubl|

Liberal (1946–1957)
Nacionalista (1926–1946)

|}}

| spouse = Consuelo Salazar

| children = 3

| alma_mater = University of the Philippines

| occupation = Lawyer

| order = 8th

}}

Eugenio Padlan Pérez (November 13, 1896 – August 4, 1957) was a Filipino politician who served as speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from 1946 to 1953. He was a member of the Liberal Party, whose president he served as during his term as Speaker.

Early life

Pérez was born on November 13, 1896, in Sitio Obong, Barrio Basista, San Carlos, Pangasinan (now Barangay Obong, Basista, Pangasinan). He earned his Bachelor of Arts at the University of the Philippines in 1918 and his law degree from that institution's College of Law in 1922. While in law school, he worked as a clerk in the Bureau of Agriculture and the Executive Bureau.Paras & La Vina, p. 99

Political career

Pérez first entered politics in 1926 when he was elected to the municipal council of his hometown, San Carlos. In 1928, he was elected to the House of Representatives of the Philippine Islands (later National Assembly) as a Representative of the 2nd district of Pangasinan. He served for nine consecutive terms.

In 1946, Pérez joined the newly established Liberal Party, which obtained a congressional majority in the House of Representatives in the 1946 general elections. He was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives when the 1st Congress of the Philippines convened later that year, and would serve as House Speaker throughout the 1st and 2nd Congresses.

Pérez was a leading congressional ally of Presidents Manuel Roxas and Elpidio Quirino, both of whom were Liberals. He helped secure the passage of the Bell Trade Act and the Parity Rights Amendment to the Constitution, allowing American citizens and corporations equal access to Philippine minerals, forests and other natural resources.Paras & La Vina, p. 100-101 He defended the exercise of President Quirino of emergency powers granted to the President after the end of World War II. When Quirino grew increasingly unpopular, Pérez rejected pleas from fellow Members of Congress to challenge the incumbent president for the Liberal Party nomination in the 1953 presidential elections.Paras & La Vina, p. 100 Perez managed the unsuccessful re-election campaign of Quirino in 1953.

The Liberal Party lost its congressional majority in the House of Representatives in the 1953 general elections. Pérez assumed the role of Minority Floor Leader, while he was succeeded as House Speaker by Jose Laurel, Jr. of the Nacionalista Party. Pérez died in office on August 4, 1957.

Family

Pérez was married to a soprano, Consuelo Salazar with whom he had three legitimate children, Victoria, Consuelo and Eugenio Jr.

His first daughter, Victoria, was the first wife of Jose de Venecia Jr.,{{cite news |url=http://www.pcij.org/i-report/2007/dynasty-building2.html |title=The Seven Ms of Dynasty Building |author=Sheila Coronel |work=i-Report Online |publisher=Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism |date=2007-03-14 |accessdate=2008-03-06 |archive-date=2008-02-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226165344/http://www.pcij.org/i-report/2007/dynasty-building2.html |url-status=dead }} who would become House Speaker thirty-five years after Pérez's death. His second daughter Consuelo is a lawyer and served as associate commissioner of the National Telecommunications Commission and commissioner of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology. His legitimate son Eugenio Perez Jr. is a Dartmouth alumnus.

Furthermore, when he was a bachelor, he acknowledged having one prior biological child, José "Pepito" Pérez, who was born on December 3, 1929.

Legacy

File:SanCarlosPangasinanjf274.JPG Plaza [https://web.archive.org/web/20080706092404/http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/2007/11/18/san-carlos-city-honors-late-speaker-eugenio-perez/].]]

File:SanCarlosPangasinanjf276.JPG

Yearly on November 13, a special non-working holiday in commemoration of his birth is observed at his home province of Pangasinan.{{cite PH act|chamber=RA|number=6721|url=https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/2/6261|title=An Act Declaring November Thirteen of Each Year a Special Public Holiday in the Province of Pangasinan|date=March 20, 1989|accessdate=November 15, 2024}}
A street in Quezon City, a national road network from Rosales to Binmaley,{{cite PH act|chamber=BP|number=693|url=https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/2/33754|title=An Act Naming the National Road Starting From the Junction in Carmen, Rosales, Pangasinan and Ending at the Junction of the Macarthur Highway in Binmaley, Pangasinan, the Speaker Eugenio Perez National Road|date=March 7, 1984|accessdate=November 15, 2024}} and a building in San Carlos, Pangasinan, are named after him.
A bust of Perez is located at the plaza of San Carlos, Pangasinan.

Notes

References

{{cite book|title=The Speakers of the Philippine Legislative Branch |author=Corazon L. Paras |author2=La Vina, Dean Karlo B. |publisher=House of Representatives of the Philippines |year=1996 |pages=99–101 |isbn=971-92100-0-1}}

{{s-vac|last=Vicente Singson Encarnacion|as=Minority Floor Leader of the Philippine Assembly}}

{{s-ttl|title=Minority Floor Leader of the House of Representatives|years=1945}}

{{succession box |

before= José Zulueta |

title= Speaker of the House of Representatives |

years= 1946–1953|

after= Jose Laurel, Jr.

}}

{{s-ttl|title=Minority Floor Leader of the House of Representatives|years=1954–1957}}

{{s-ttl | title= Representative, 2nd district of Pangasinan | years= 1928–1941}}

{{s-ttl | title= Representative, 2nd district of Pangasinan | years= 1945–1957}}