Alejandro D. Almendras

Alejandro Durano Almendras (born February 27, 1919 in Danao , Bohol Province , † August 4, 1995 ) was a Filipino politician of the Nacionalista Party .

Life

World War II and Governor of Davao

Almendra's father, Paulo Almendras, was not only mayor of Danao, but also an early follower of future President Sergio Osmeña . Ramon Durano, his mother's younger brother, was at times a member of the House of Representatives .

After attending Cebu Provincial High School in 1938, he himself began studying aircraft construction at Far Eastern University in Manila , which he had to interrupt in 1941 after he was called up for active military service in the armed forces during World War II . During the war he served in the Philippine Air Force and after the surrender of the United States Army Forces, Far East (USAFFE) after the Battle of the Philippines, he returned to his home province, where he helped build a resistance movement . Due to his knowledge, leadership skills and courage, during the occupation of the Philippines by the Imperial Japanese Army in 1942, at the age of 23 , he was appointed commander of the 88th Infantry Regiment and lieutenant colonel by Colonel James Cushing, the commander of the US armed forces in Cebu promoted. He received several awards for his outstanding services during the Second World War.

After the end of the war he began studying law at Mindanao College in Davao City . While still a student, he began his political career in the Nacionalista Party and won the 1951 election for the governor of Davao. In the election he was able to prevail against the liberal incumbent and thus became the youngest provincial governor of the Philippines. In 1955 he was re-elected as governor of Davao and during his tenure he not only campaigned for the fight against bribery and corruption , but also for the construction of roads, schools, irrigation systems and other public facilities. In 1958 he was named Most Outstanding Veteran by the Veterans Association.

Minister and Senator

On May 8, 1959, he was appointed first Secretary of the Department of General Services by President Carlos P. Garcia , and as such was responsible for overseeing all materials, equipment and supplies. In February 1961 he was awarded the Most Outstanding Cabinet Member award by the Veterans Association.

At the end of 1959 he was elected Senator and was a member of the Senate until martial law was imposed by the dictatorial ruling President Ferdinand Marcos on September 21, 1972. During his long term mandate, he was instrumental in bringing about the law to nationalize the rice and grain industry (Republic Act RA 3018) and the law establishing the Veterans Bank. On his initiative, Republic Act 4867 came into force on May 8, 1967, alongside the provinces of Davao del Sur and Davao del Norte , the new province of Davao Oriental with its capital Mati City .

In 1969 he initiated law (RA 5876) to create the Davao del Norte School of Fisheries (DANSOF), from which the Davao del Norte State College emerged in 1995.

At the end of the reign of Ferdinand Marcos, he was elected member of the Congress ( Batasang Pambansa ) on May 14, 1984 as a candidate for Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) and representative of Davao del Sur and was a member of this until 1986.

In the Senate election in 1987, he ran for a seat in the Senate for the Nacionalista Party, which appears under the name Grand Alliance of Democracy (GAD), but only achieved 29th place out of the 24 seats available. In the election, the candidates for the United Nationalist Democratic Organization (LABAN) won 22 seats, while the GAD won just two Senate seats with Joseph Estrada and Juan Ponce Enrile .

In 1995 he was elected a member of the House of Representatives , in which he represented the first constituency of the Davao del Sur province for a legislative period until 1995 . He was followed in 1995 by his son Alejandro Almendras, Jr. , who, however, lost his seat again in 1998.

Web links

• Biography on the Senate homepage