Vicente Tirona Paterno (November 18, 1925 – November 21, 2014) was a Filipino businessman and politician. He served as Minister of Industry (1974–1979) and of Public Highways (1979–1980) during the

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

' government. He also served as a member of the

Interim Batasang Pambansa The Interim Batasang Pambansa (English: Interim National Assembly) was the legislature of the Republic of the Philippines from its inauguration on June 12, 1978 to June 5, 1984. It served as a transitional legislative body mandated by the 1973 ...

from 1978 to 1984 and later as

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from 1987 to 1992.

Early life

Vicente Tirona Paterno was born in Quiapo, Manila on November 18, 1925, to Jose P. Paterno and Jacoba Encarnacion Tirona.

Educational life

He is a graduate of De La Salle high school class 41 and later on earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree at the University of the Philippines in 1948 and obtained Master of Business Administration at Harvard University in 1953. Paterno was a lecturer in graduate school of U.P., La Salle and Ateneo de Manila from 1954 to 1962.

Personal life

He is survived by his wife Baby, his children Judy, Mailin, Maite, Victor and Tina, and his eight grandchildren.

Career

In October 1982, he founded Philippine Seven Corp. He is known for becoming the first general manager of Phinma and the first Filipino treasurer of Manila Electric Company (Meralco). Paterno started Philippine Seven Corporation in 1982. Popularly known as

7-Eleven 7-Eleven, Inc., stylized as 7-ELEVE, is a multinational chain of retail convenience stores, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The chain was founded in 1927 as an ice house storefront in Dallas. It was named Tote'm Stores between 1928 and 1946. A ...

, the convenience store has over 1,200 branches in the country. He served as independent director for different companies such as City Resources Phil Corp., Benpres Holdings Corp., Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., Cityland Development Corp. and of First Philippine Holdings. He eventually resigned as his health failed. Paterno won several awards – the Order of the Sacred Treasure from the Emperor of Japan, the 1982 MAP Management Man of the Year, and the 2013 Ramon V. del Rosario Award.

Political life

He was elected as a representative to the Batasang Pambansa following his resignation from President Ferdinand Marcos's Kilusang Bagong Lipunan. He criticized the administration's assassination of opposition Sen.

Benigno Aquino Jr. Benigno "Ninoy" Simeon Aquino Jr., (; November 27, 1932 – August 21, 1983) was a Filipino politician who served as a senator of the Philippines (1967–1972) and governor of the province of Tarlac. Aquino was the husband of Corazon Aqui ...

With Marcos, Paterno said technocrats had free reins to handle the economy except in cement prices, as he felt Marcos knew little in economics but had an edifice complex. He became chairman of the

National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections The National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections or NAMFREL is an election watchdog in the Philippines. It was the first and one of the most famous election watch campaigns. It is known to have introduced non-partisan national election monitor ...

(Namfrel) during the 1986 presidential elections. Afterwards, Paterno was appointed Deputy Executive Secretary for Energy from April 1986 to February 1987, and Chairman of the

Philippine National Oil Company The Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) is an energy company created on November 9, 1973, as a government-owned and controlled corporation founded during President Ferdinand Marcos' era to supply oil to the Philippines. Since then, its cha ...

from March 1986 to February 1987. President

Corazon Aquino Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People ...

convinced him to run for senator. He served one term from 1987 to 1992.

Death and legacy

Former Senator Vicente Paterno died at 8:40 in the morning of November 21, 2014. He was 89 years old.

References

External links

The obituary of Vicente Paterno - ABS-CBN News
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paterno, Vicente 1925 births 2014 deaths People from Quiapo, Manila 21st-century Filipino businesspeople Senators of the 8th Congress of the Philippines Secretaries of Trade and Industry of the Philippines Secretaries of Public Works and Highways of the Philippines University of the Philippines alumni Ferdinand Marcos administration cabinet members Members of the Batasang Pambansa Harvard Business School alumni Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Merit (Philippines) 20th-century Filipino businesspeople