Espiridión Guanco | |
|---|---|
 Guanco in c. 1917 | |
| Senator of the Philippines from the 8th District | |
| In office October 16, 1916 – May 2, 1925 | |
| Preceded by | office established |
| Succeeded by | Mariano Yulo |
| President pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippines | |
| In office July 21, 1919 – October 27, 1922 | |
| Preceded by | position established |
| Succeeded by | Sergio Osmeña |
| Member of the Philippine Assembly from Iloilo's 4th district | |
| In office October 16, 1909 – October 16, 1912 | |
| Preceded by | Adriano Hernández y Dayot |
| Succeeded by | Amando Avanceña |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 29, 1874 Pototan, Iloilo, Captaincy General of the Philippines |
| Died | May 2, 1925 (aged 50) Manila, Philippine Islands[1] |
| Cause of death | Cerebral attack[1] |
| Political party | Nacionalista (1909-1925) |
Espiridión Guanco y Cordero (29 December 1874[2] - 2 May 1925) was a Filipino politician during the American occupation. While serving for the Philippine senate, he was the Secretary to the Senate President Manuel L. Quezon.[3]
During the 1910s, Guanco lobbied the Philippine Legisture for the establishment of a national bank. This was to protect farmers in Negros Occidental.[4] His advocacy for agricultural development continued as a senator.[5]: 56 He died in 1925 due to a cerebral attack.[1]
Biography
[edit]Guanco was born on 29 December 1874 to Agustin Guanco and Filomena Cordero in Pototan, Iloilo.[2][5]: 56 He entered the seminary in Jaro at age seven. He then studied law and later worked as a teacher in a small village in Hinigaran, Negros Occidental. However, the Philippine Revolution against Spanish control began. During this event, Guanco joined the uprising in Hinigaran.[5]: 55
After the revolution, he became a lawyer in 1900 and returned to Iloilo. He made his law office there. Along with his career as a lawyer, he also dedicated himself to teaching and became a faculty member of the Molo Insitute, a Filipino school established by Ilonggo intelectuals.[5]: 56 He co-founded the Filipino newspaper, El Pais, over which the publication campaigned against the Americans.[6]
Guanco also managed a sugar mill in Hinigaran.[5]: 57 He also owned a sugar plantation near Binalbagan.[7]
Philippine Legislature
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He was first elected to the Philippine Assembly as the representative of the 4th district of Iloilo from 1909 to 1912.[8] As a member of the Philippine Assembly, he was appointed by the Speaker for the chairmanship of the irrigation committee.[9]
Establishment of a national bank
[edit]During the 1910s, farmers in Negros Occidental were alarmed by the potential delay in the establishment of a national bank. Guanco feared this would lead to severe financial consequences, including the withdrawal of government funds and the cessation of credit from British banks due to World War I. To address this, the farmers sent representatives, which include Guanco, to Manila and lobby for the immediate passage of the bill, recognizing its crucial role in supporting the agricultural sector in Negros.[4]
As senator
[edit]Upon the establishment of the Philippine Senate in 1916, he was elected as the first representative of the 8th senatorial district composed of the Negros provinces, Antique and Palawan.[2] In 1917, he became Secretary to the Senate President Manuel L. Quezon. He also became a member of the Senate committees on Agriculture and Natural Resources, Elections and Privileges, Finance, and Relations with the Sovereign Country.[3] During this period, he served as the chamber's first President pro tempore during the 5th Legislature from 1919 to 1922.[10] He served three terms until his death in office on 2 May 1925.
As a senator, Guanco advocated for the development of agriculture as a source of wealth in the Philippine Islands.[5]: 56
Death and legacy
[edit]In 1925, Guanco died at the Philippine General Hospital because of a cerebral attack.[1]
A bridge in Hinigiran was named after him. The bridge was set for demolition by the Department of Public Works and Highways in 2018.[11]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d The Philippine Republic. C. H. Tavenner. 1925.
The death of Philippine Senator Espiridion Guanco of the eighth district caused wide sorrow. He was long prominent as a statesman, having been president pro tempore of the senate. He died at the Philippine General Hospital following a sudden cerebral attack.
- ^ a b c "The 8th Senatorial District". The Freeman. 2 November 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
- ^ a b Philippines (1917). Official Gazette (Republic of the Philippines).
- ^ a b "Sugar and the Origins of Modern Philippine Society". University of California Press. Retrieved 2025-01-02.
- ^ a b c d e f Legislature, Philippines (1917). Directorio oficial del Senado y de la Cámara de Representantes: 4th. legislature, 1st session ... (in Spanish). Bureau of Printing.
- ^ Funtecha, Henry Florida; Padilla, Melanie Jalandoni (1998). The Struggle Against the Spaniards and the Americans in Western Visayas: Papers on the 1st and 2nd Conferences on the West Visayan Phase of the Philippine Revolution. U.P. in the Visayas, Centennial Committe.
- ^ Sugar Central and Planters News (in Spanish). 1920.
- ^ "ROSTER of Philippine Legislators (from 1907 to 2019)" (PDF). House of Representatives of the Philippines. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
- ^ Robertson, James Alexander (November 1910). "The Extraordinary Session of the Philippine Legislature, and the Work of the Philippine Assembly". American Political Science Review. 4 (4): 516–536. doi:10.2307/1944930. ISSN 1537-5943. JSTOR 1944930.
- ^ "List of Previous Senators". Senate of the Philippines. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
- ^ "American-era bridge in Negros Occidental to be demolished". Lifestyle.INQ. 2018-07-08. Retrieved 2025-01-02.