Eulogio Rodriguez

Eulogio "Amang" Adona Rodriguez Sr. (born Eulogio Rodríguez y Adona; January 21, 1883 – December 9, 1964) was a Filipino politician who twice served as President of the Senate of the Philippines. He was known for vehemently confronting corruption during the administration of Carlos P. Garcia, alleging he held a list of corrupt officials close to the president which the media dubbed the "White Paper".[1][2]

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Adona and the surname or paternal family name is Rodriguez.
The Honorable
Eulogio Rodriguez
7th President of the Senate of the Philippines
In office
January 25, 1954 – April 5, 1963
Preceded byJosé Zulueta
Succeeded byFerdinand Marcos
In office
April 30, 1952 – April 17, 1953
Preceded byCamilo Osías
Succeeded byCamilo Osías
Senator of the Philippines
In office
December 30, 1949 – December 9, 1964
In office
July 5, 1945 – December 30, 1947
5th Mayor of Manila
In office
January 5, 1940 – August 28, 1941
Vice MayorCarmen Planas
Preceded byJuan Posadas Jr.
Succeeded byJuan Nolasco
In office
July 17, 1923 – February 8, 1924
Appointed byLeonard Wood
Vice MayorJuan Posadas Jr.
Preceded byRamón Fernández
Succeeded byMiguel Romuáldez
Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce
In office
July 26, 1934 – 1938
PresidentManuel L. Quezon
Governor-GeneralFrank Murphy
Preceded byVicente Singson Encarnacion
Succeeded byBenigno Aquino Sr.
Member of the House of Representatives from Rizal's 2nd district
In office
June 2, 1931 – September 16, 1935
Preceded byLuís Santiago
Succeeded byEmilio de la Paz Sr.
In office
June 2, 1925 – June 5, 1928
Preceded byMariano Melendres
Succeeded byLuís Santiago
Member of the House of Representatives from Nueva Vizcaya's at-large district
In office
June 12, 1924 – January 1, 1926
Preceded byEvaristo Pañganiban
Succeeded byAntonio Escamilla
6th Governor of Rizal
In office
1922–1923
Preceded byArcadio Santos
Succeeded byRuperto Martinez
In office
1916–1919
Preceded byMariano Melendres
Succeeded byAndres Gabriel
Municipal President of Montalban
In office
1906–1916
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byEusebio Manuel
Personal details
Born
Eulogio Rodríguez y Adona

(1883-01-21)January 21, 1883
Montalban, Manila, Captaincy General of the Philippines
DiedDecember 9, 1964(1964-12-09) (aged 81)
Pasay, Rizal, Philippines
Resting placeMontalban Memorial Park, Rodriguez, Rizal
Political partyNacionalista (1933–1964)
Other political
affiliations		Democrata (1917–1933)
Progresista (1907–1917)
Federalista (1906–1907)
Spouse(s)Juana Santiago
Luisita Canóy
Pilar Leyba
Children10 (including Eulogio Jr. and Isidro)

Early life

Coming from a poor family, Rodriguez was born in Montalban (renamed Rodriguez in his honor), then part of Manila province on January 21, 1883 to Petronilo Rodriguez and Monica Adona. He first studied at the Spanish-run public school in Montalban, then took his secondary course at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran in Manila, where he later completed his Bachelor of Arts in 1896. He then studied law under a private tutor. To help himself in his studies, he worked as a farmer.[3]

Political career
Rodriguez as Senate President, c. 1960s

Rodriguez first served as Municipal President of Montalban, Rizal from 1906 to 1916 and became Governor of Rizal from 1916 to 1919 and from 1922 to 1923. He was appointed mayor of Manila by Governor General Leonard Wood on July 23, 1923, and later appointed as Representative of Nueva Vizcaya from February 1924 to May 1925. He became the Representative of the Second District of Rizal from 1925 to 1928 and from 1931 to 1935.[4]

He was also appointed Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce by Governor-General Frank Murphy on July 26, 1934, re-appointed by President Manuel L. Quezon on November 15, 1935, and served as such until 1938. After his resignation as Mayor of Manila, he campaigned for a seat in the Senate and was elected senator in 1941. However, he would begin serving his first Senate term in 1945 due to Imperial Japan's invasion of the Philippines during World War II. In the middle of his first Senate term, he ran for Vice President in 1946 as the running mate of President Sergio Osmeña, but lost to fellow Senator Elpidio Quirino. He lost his Senate re-election bid in 1947. He returned to the Senate in 1949 and served until his death in 1964.[4]

On May 20, 1953, he was elected Senate President, a position he occupied for the next ten years. As the third highest government official, he steered the Senate into greater heights in terms of legislation. He was replaced by then-Senator Ferdinand Marcos, then the Minority Floor Leader, as Senate President in a leadership coup on 1963, ending his long leadership of the Upper Chamber.[4]

Party affiliation

Rodriguez started his political career as a Democrata or a member of the opposition party, and not until there was a general realignment of parties due to the divisive struggle over the approval of the Independence Law in 1933, did he switch to the majority or the Nacionalista Party, to which he remained faithful until the day of his death three decades later. He nursed the party during its darkest hours, and steered it successfully through the political reefs and typhoons that rocked the local scene, thus earning him the nickname "Mr. Nacionalista". Unlike many politicians of his time, he did not switch parties for personal convenience.[4]

Personal life

He had seven children by his first wife, Doña Juana Santiago (1881-1954): Eulogio Jr., Jose, Ruperto, Leonor, Isidro, Constancio and Adelaida. Santiago Rodriguez, from whom the street in Quezon City was named after that is now Broadway Avenue next to E. Rodriguez Ave., predeceased Sen. Rodriguez, thus Rodriguez was remarried to Doña Luisita Canoy. With his second wife, Luisita, he had three children: Adelaida Erlinda and Rafael. He later married his third wife, Pilar Leyba.[5]

His grandchildren include former Rizal congressman Isidro Rodriguez Jr. The grandchildren are noteworthy for refusing to name projects after themselves, a trait inculcated by Eulogio Rodriguez into his descendants.[6]

Death

He died in his sleep on December 9, 1964 at his home in Pasay City due to heart attack at the age of 81.[7] He was laid to rest at a cemetery behind his ancestral home in Montalban, Rizal.

The sudden death of Rodriguez, president of the Nacionalista Party for the past 18 years, marked the “passing of a great tradition,” quoted President Diosdado Macapagal. Many came to visit the funeral of the man they called "Don Yoyong".[8] Macapagal declared on December 9 until his burial a period of national mourning, where all flags would be flown at half-staff.[9]

Legacy

After Rodriguez's death, Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center, a private hospital in Marikina, was named after him. Rodriguez became famous for his malaprops, and it raised his reputation as a beloved everyman of the people.[10]

Eulogio Rodriguez Vocational High School (now Eulogio "Amang" Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology) was established in 1945 and was named after him. The Amang Rodriguez Elementary School in Malabon, Eulogio Rodriguez Integrated School in Mandaluyong, and Eulogio Rodriguez Sr. Elementary School in Quezon City are also named after him.[11] The aforementioned cities are formerly part of Rizal province, where Rodriguez served as its governor.

España Boulevard Extension in Quezon City and an avenue between barangays Rosario and Dela Paz in Pasig were renamed in his honor, as well as the municipality of Montalban.

See also

References
  1. Quirino, Carlos (1983). Amang: The Life and Times of Eulogio Rodriguez, Sr. New Day Publishers. pp. 184–185. ISBN 971-10-0141-1. Retrieved May 30, 2023. [B]its of the memorandum leaked to the press, which called it the "White Paper", but the general contents were still unknown to the public.
  2. Saez, Juan V. (November 9, 1959). "GA sums up, defines issues". The Manila Times. The Manila Times Publishing Company, Inc. p. 1. On graft and corruption, [Manuel Manahan] said, it is not a mere opposition campaign line [for the Grand Alliance]. In fact, he added, it was Senate President Eulogio Rodriguez who authored the 'White Paper.'
  3. "Eulogio Amang Rodriguez". 2022.
  4. "Biography of Senate President Eulogio A. Rodriguez, Sr".
  5. "Eulogio Rodríguez Sr".
  6. Video on YouTube
  7. "Senator Eulogio Rodriguez Philippine Party Leader, 81". The New York Times.
  8. "Passing of a tradition, December 9, 1964".
  9. Presidential Proclamation No. 335, s. 1964 (December 9, 1964). Declaring a period of national mourning over the death of Senator Eulogio Rodriguez, Sr.
  10. "Whims and Caprices in Politics".
  11. "School History". Amang Rodriguez Elementary School. Retrieved April 30, 2023.

Sources
  • Senate of the Philippines
  • Paras, Corazon. The presidents of the Senate of the Republic of the Philippines. Quezon City: Giraffe Books, 2000. ISBN 971-8832-24-6
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