Jovito Salonga

Jovito Salonga (2005)

Jovito Reyes Salonga (born June 22, 1920 in Pasig City , † March 10, 2016 ) was a Filipino lawyer and politician .

Life

MP and Senator

The son of a Presbyterian clergyman studied after school attendance law and occurred during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, the resistance movement at. After his arrest and torture, he was sentenced to many years of forced labor by a Japanese military court, but was released in 1943.

After his release, he completed his studies at the top of his class in 1944 and then began postgraduate studies in law at Harvard University , which he completed with a Master of Laws (LL.M.). This was followed by his doctorate at Yale University , but after the completion of which he gave up an academic career in the United States , because he wanted to participate in the reconstruction of the Philippines.

Upon his return, he quickly gained a reputation as one of the best lawyers in the country. Later he was a professor of law at the leading universities in Manila and also the author of numerous tax regulations that were used domestically and abroad.

Salonga, who was regarded as " The Nation's Fiscalizer" , earned an excellent reputation as a member of the House of Representatives , in which he represented the 2nd constituency of Rizal Province between 1961 and 1965 .

He then became a member of the Senate elected and was this from 1966 until the dissolution of the Senate after the imposition of martial law by President Ferdinand Marcos 1973.

Opponent of the Marcos regime and President of the Senate

After martial law was imposed in 1972, he was one of its greatest opponents and also worked as a criminal defense lawyer for political prisoners of the Marcos regime.

Following the October 1980 bombing of a Society of Asian Travel Agencies conference at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), Salonga was arrested with several others and held without investigation or incidents.

After his release from military custody, he took up a visiting professorship at Yale University, where he completed his textbook on international law during the last years of the Marcos dictatorship and wrote a program for a new democratic system in the Philippines.

From April 20, 1982 to June 1, 1993 he was chairman of the traditional Liberal Party .

Salonga returned to the Philippines on January 21, 1985, and after the end of the Marcos dictatorship in the wake of the People Power Revolution and the beginning of the presidency of Corazon Aquino in February 1986 , Salonga became Chairman of the Presidential Commission for Good Government which dealt with the investigation and recovery of illegally acquired assets of the members of the Marcos regime.

In 1987 he was again elected Senator with the best result and remained in office until 1992. During this time he was also President of the Senate between 1987 and 1991. In doing so, he again earned a reputation as an outstanding senator who introduced countless legislative initiatives . These included topics such as science (State Scholarship Act) , capital disclosure (Disclosure of Interest Act) , teaching body (Magna Carta for Public School Teachers) , Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, and punishment for looting (Act Defining and Penalizing the Crime of Plunder) , which was obviously directed against the behavior of the former President Marcos, his family and confidants, especially since he had campaigned against corruption and dictatorships since his youth .

Web links

• Senate homepage

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ex-Senate President Jovito Salonga dies
2. ↑ Bar Topnotchers 1946-1948
3. ^ Presidents of the Liberal Party ( Memento August 5, 2003 in the Internet Archive )