Alejandro "Landring" Durano Almendras Sr. (27 February 1919 – 4 August 1995) was a Filipino politician and businessman who served as

Senator of the Philippines The Senate of the Philippines () is the upper house of Congress of the Philippines, Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House of Representatives as the lower house. The ...

from 1959 to 1972. He also served as governor of the then-undivided Davao province from 1951 to 1958.

Biography

Early life and education

Almendras was born in

Danao, Cebu Danao, officially the City of Danao (; ), is a component city in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 156,321 people. Danao is within the Metro Cebu area. Etymology According to the most po ...

on February 27, 1919, to Paulo Almendras and Elisea Mercado Durano. He finished his secondary education at the Cebu Provincial High School in 1938. He took up aeronautical engineering at

Far Eastern University Far Eastern University (), also referred to by its acronym FEU, is a Private university, private research non-sectarian university in Manila, Philippines. Created by the merger of Far Eastern College and the Institute of Accounts, Business and ...

, but his studies were interrupted in 1941 due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war, Almendras resumed his studies, attending Mindanao Colleges in

Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao, is a City of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the List of Philippine cities and municipalities ...

. Almendras was married to Caridad Cabahug of

Borbon, Cebu Borbon, officially the Municipality of Borbon (; ), is a municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 38,187 people. History According to the Panublion publication, Borbon was estab ...

, with whom he had seven children.

World War II

Almendras was enlisted with the

Philippine Army Air Corps The Philippine Army Air Corps () was created in 1935 as the air component of the Philippine Army. It was the predecessor of the Philippine Air Force, created in 1947. History The Air Corps was created by the Philippine National Assembly' ...

during

. Following the surrender of the

United States Army Forces in the Far East United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Hukbong Katihan ng Estados Unidos sa Malayong Silangan''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Fuerzas del Ejército de los Estados Unidos en el Lejano Oriente'') was a m ...

to the

Japanese Imperial Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

, he went back to Cebu and served under the command of Colonel

James M. Cushing Lieutenant Colonel James M. Cushing (circa 1910 – August 26, 1963) was a mining engineer in US Army who commanded the Philippine resistance against Japan on Cebu Island in the Philippines during World War II.Smith, R.R., 2005, Triumph in the Ph ...

. At the age of 23, Almendras was named commander of the 88th Infantry Regiment of the Cebu Area Command. Years after the war, Almendras received the Outstanding Veteran Award in 1958.

Political career

Almendras was a third-year law student in 1951 at Mindanao Colleges when he ran for governor of Davao against incumbent Ricardo Miranda of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, who was the first elected governor. Almendras became the youngest governor in the country at that time, and was re-elected in 1955. Almendras served as governor until 1958, when he was succeeded by Vicente Duterte. The Foreign Correspondents' Association of the Philippines conferred him with the Outstanding Governor award. In the 1959 elections, Almendras was named part of the senatorial slate of the

Nacionalista Party The Nacionalista Party (Filipino language, Filipino and Spanish language in the Philippines, Spanish: ''Partido Nacionalista''; , NP) is a political party in the Philippines which is the oldest existing party in the country and in Southeast Asi ...

. In February 1959, Almendras was named as the Most Outstanding Cabinet Member by the Confederation of Filipino Veterans. Almendras was later appointed first secretary of the Department of General Services by President

Carlos P. Garcia Carlos Polestico Garcia (; November 4, 1896 – June 14, 1971), often referred to by his initials CPG, was a Filipino teacher, poet, orator, lawyer, public official, political economist, guerrilla and Commonwealth military leader who was the ...

. Almendras won as senator, placing eighth. He was re-elected in 1971, but his term was cut short in 1972 with the declaration of martial law by President

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

. In 1978, Almendras was elected 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 1 ...

, representing

Southern Mindanao Davao Region, formerly called Southern Mindanao (; ), is an administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region XI. Situated at the southeastern portion of Mindanao, enclosing Davao Gulf, it comprises five provinces: Davao de Oro, ...

. He won as member of the

Regular Batasang Pambansa The Regular Batasang Pambansa (English language, English: Regular National Assembly), or the First Batasang Pambansa, was the meeting of the Batasang Pambansa (legislature), Batasang Pambansa from the beginning of its session on July 23, 1984 ...

in 1984, representing

Davao del Sur Davao del Sur (; ), officially the Province of Davao del Sur (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital is Digos. Davao City is the largest city in terms of area an ...

alongside

Douglas Cagas Douglas "Dodo" Ralota Cagas (December 3, 1943 – June 10, 2021) was a Filipino politician and a representative of the Legislative districts of Davao del Sur, first district of the Philippine province of Davao del Sur. He later served as govern ...

. After the 1986

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, were a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...

that ousted Marcos, Almendras was appointed interim governor of Davao del Sur. In the 1987 elections, Almendras ran again for senator under the opposition

Grand Alliance for Democracy The Grand Alliance for Democracy (GAD) was a political multi-party electoral alliance during the 1987 Philippine legislative election. The coalition opposed the policies of incumbent president Corazon Aquino and her Lakas ng Bayan (LABAN; Peop ...

but lost, placing 29th. Later that year, Almendras organized Lakas ng Dabaw, a local political alliance in Davao City that fielded OIC vice mayor

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the first Philippine president from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assum ...

, the son of his late ally and cousin Vicente Duterte, for

mayor of Davao City The mayor of Davao City () is the chief executive of the government of Davao City in Davao Region, Philippines. The mayor leads the city's departments in executing ordinances and delivering public services. The mayorship is a three-year term and ...

. In

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, Almendras was elected representative of Davao del Sur's 1st district. He did not seek re-election in 1995, and was succeeded by his son Alejandro Jr.

Death and legacy

Almendras died on August 4, 1995, due to a lingering illness. He was credited for the passing of Republic Act 3018 which

nationalized Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with priv ...

the rice and corn industry and founded the Veterans Bank. House Speaker

Jose de Venecia Jose Claveria de Venecia Jr. (), also known as JDV, Joe De V or Manong Joe (born December 26, 1936), is a former Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines, serving from 1992 to 1998 and from 2001 to 2008. As Speaker, he was th ...

noted his role for the partition of Davao province which, according to de Venecia, brought socio-economic development in

Davao Region Davao Region, formerly called Southern Mindanao (; ), is an Regions of the Philippines, administrative region in the Philippines, designated as Region XI. Situated at the southeastern portion of Mindanao, enclosing Davao Gulf, it comprises fiv ...

. Due to his work and the resulting provinces, Almendras is known as the "Father of Davao".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Almendras, Alejandro 1919 births 1995 deaths People from Danao, Cebu Senators of the 7th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 6th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 5th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 4th Congress of the Philippines Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Davao del Sur Far Eastern University alumni Members of the Batasang Pambansa Garcia administration cabinet members Governors of Davao (province) Governors of Davao del Sur