Jorge Bartolomé Vargas y Celis (August 24, 1890 – February 22, 1980) was a Filipino lawyer, diplomat and youth advocate born in Bago,

Negros Occidental Negros Occidental ( hil, Nakatungdang Negros; tl, Kanlurang Negros), officially the Province of Negros Occidental, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region. ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. He graduated

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA) ...

from Negros Occidental High School in 1909 and obtained a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

degree in 1911 and a

Bachelor of Law Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

degree with honors in 1914, both from the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 20 ...

. He was a founding member of the

Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation The Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation (PAAF) was the governing body of sports in the Philippines and the predecessor of the Philippine Olympic Committee. History The Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation was organized in a permanent basis ...

(now the

Philippine Olympic Committee The Philippine Olympic Committee Inc. (POC) is the National Olympic Committee of the Philippines. The POC is a private, non-governmental organization composed of and serve as the mother organization of all National Sports Associations (NSAs) i ...

) in 1911 and served in its executive committee in 1918. He served as its second chairman from 1935 to 1955. He was also the first Filipino member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...

Government service

After being admitted to the Philippine

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar ( ...

in 1914, he was appointed as a law clerk for the Philippine Commission in 1915. He was promoted to the position of chief clerk of the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the ma ...

in 1917. In 1918, he served as the legislative secretary to

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

Sergio Osmeña Sergio Osmeña Sr. (, ; 9 September 1878 – 19 October 1961) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fourth president of the Philippines from 1944 to 1946. He was vice president under Manuel L. Quezon. Upon Quezon's sudd ...

of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. In 1921, Vargas succeeded Vicente Morente as director-general of the Philippine Carnival Association which ran the Manila Carnival. He was succeeded by Arsenio Luz the following year. In 1936, Vargas was appointed by President Manuel L. Quezon as his

executive secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

, becoming the first in the country to serve in such a position. When the Japanese invaded the country in 1941, Vargas was designated to the Department of National Defense as its secretary. A few weeks later, he was appointed by President Manuel Quezon as mayor of the

City of Greater Manila The City of Greater Manila, also known simply as Greater Manila and sometimes Greater Manila Area (GMA), was a chartered city which existed during the World War II era. It was governed by the Commonwealth of the Philippines and was dissolved by ...

in 1941. His responsibilities included administering the

open city In war, an open city is a settlement which has announced it has abandoned all defensive efforts, generally in the event of the imminent capture of the city to avoid destruction. Once a city has declared itself open the opposing military will b ...

upon the arrival of occupational troops of the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emper ...

on January 2, 1942. By 1942, Vargas became chairman of the Japanese-sponsored

Philippine Executive Commission The Philippine Executive Commission (PEC; Tagalog: ''Komisyong Tagapagpaganap ng Pilipinas'') was a provisional government set up to govern the Philippine archipelago during World War II. It was established with sanction from the occupying Imp ...

. During the collaborationist

Second Philippine Republic The Second Philippine Republic, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines ( tl, Repúbliká ng Pilipinas; es, República de Filipinas; ja, フィリピン共和国, ''Firipin-kyōwakoku'') and also known as the Japanese-sponsored Phi ...

, he was once asked by the Japanese to assume the Presidency, but he declined. He instead served as the regime's Ambassador to Japan. In that position, he was quoted shortly before Japanese troops were driven from Manila as stating that "we know Japan is destined for sure victory and prosperity for ages to come." Vargas served as chairman of the National Planning Commission from 1946 to 1954 and was a member of the Board of Regents of the University of the Philippines from 1961 to 1965. In 1960, the Philippines conferred on him the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

with the rank of commander.

Scouting

Vargas involvement with scouting started in 1935 when he became a member of the executive board of the Philippine Council of the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded in ...

. Together with other Philippine scouting advocates, he became one of the charter members of the

Boy Scouts of the Philippines The Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP) is the national scouting organization of the Philippines in the World Organization of the Scout Movement. The Scout movement was first introduced in the Philippines on 1910 during the American Occup ...

in 1936. Upon the death of Manuel Camus in 1949, Vargas was unanimously chosen by the National Executive Board to serve as the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and

chief scout A Chief Scout is the principal or head scout for an organization such as the military, colonial administration or expedition or a talent scout in performing, entertainment or creative arts, particularly sport. In sport, a Chief Scout can be the prin ...

of the

. He served the position of national president until 1961. He became a member of the

World Scout Committee The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest international Scouting organization. WOSM has 173 members. These members are recognized national Scout organizations, which collectively have around 43 million participants. WOSM ...

of the

World Organization of the Scout Movement The World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM ) is the largest international Scouting organization. WOSM has 173 members. These members are recognized national Scout organizations, which collectively have around 43 million participants. WOSM ...

from 1951 to 1957. Vargas was awarded the

Bronze Wolf The Bronze Wolf Award is bestowed by the World Scout Committee (WSC) to acknowledge "outstanding service by an individual to the World Scout Movement". It is the highest honor that can be given a volunteer Scout leader in the world and it is the ...

in 1959 and received other awards including the Silver Tamaraw (Philippines), Silver Fox (Canada), Silver Ibex (Austria), Silver Wolf (UK), and in 1959 also received the highest distinction of the

Scout Association of Japan The is the major Scouting organization of Japan. Starting with boys only, the organization was known as Boy Scouts of Japan from 1922 to 1971, and as Boy Scouts of Nippon from 1971 to 1995, when it became coeducational in all sections, leading to ...

, the

Golden Pheasant Award The is the highest award for adult leaders in the Scout Association of Japan. It is awarded by the Chief Scout of Japan, awarded for eminent achievement and meritorious service to the Association for a period of at least twenty years. It may be ...

. He also became the first recipient of the ''Tanglaw ng Kabataan ''(Light of the Youth) Award of the BSP in 1961.

Death

Vargas died on February 22, 1980 in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

, Philippines at the age of 89.

Honours

*: Grand Cordon (1st Class) of the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight f ...

(October 1, 1943)

Gallery

File:Jouge B Vargas and Homma Masaharu.jpg, Vargas ''(in white)'' with Japanese General Homma, 1943

Government service

Scouting

Death

Honours

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading