Antonio Magsaysay Diaz (September 6, 1927 – August 3, 2011) was a politician and lawyer. He was elected to the

House of Representatives of the Philippines The House of Representatives (; '','' thus commonly referred to as ''Kamara'') is the lower house of Congress of the Philippines, Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the Senate of the Philippines as the upper house. The ...

representing

Zambales Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales (; ; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital is Iba, Zambales, Iba, which is located in t ...

for three separate tenures – 1969 to 1972, 1992 to 2001, and 2004 until his death on August 3, 2011.

Early life

Diaz, a nephew of the late-president

Ramon Magsaysay Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay Sr. (August 31, 1907 – March 17, 1957) was a Filipino statesman who served as the seventh President of the Philippines, from December 30, 1953, until his death in an 1957 Cebu Douglas C-47 crash, aircraft disast ...

, member of the Magsaysay political clan of Zambales, was variously the vice governor and representative of the province since the 1960s. Diaz obtained a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Some law degrees are professional degrees that are prerequisites or serve as preparation for legal careers. These generally include the Bachelor of Civil Law, Bachelor of Laws, an ...

from the Ateneo de Manila University in 1954. According to a statement from the family, Diaz gave the bulk of his pork barrel funds to his scholarship program which included the provision of tuition money and stipends to some 500,000 high school and college students not only in his district but in the entire province. In the last 10 years, Diaz allocated approximately P500 million for this program alone. Records from Diaz's office showed that public school students in the district receive at least P1,000 each a year while those in private schools get at least P4,000 each. He made his career in government service, starting out as deputy customs commissioner (1963–1964), head of the legal department of the Land Reform Commission (1964–1965), and was subsequently elected vice governor of Zambales (1967–1969), before winning the first of many congressional terms in 1969. He was also a member of the Batasang Pambansa in 1984. Diaz's mother, Mercedes, is a sister of the late President Ramon Magsaysay.

Personal life

He was married to Felmida V. Diaz with four children: Ramon Victor, Roderick Albert, Roberto Carlos and Rica Victoria, daughters-in-law Carla, Yveth, and Anna, son-in-law Ronald Arambulo and grandchildren Regina Isabel, Marianna Antonia, Bianca Alberta, Ricardo, Paquito, Rafael, Sabrina Victoria and Sidney Louise.

Education

*Elementary: Castillejos Elementary School (1934–1940) *High School: Letran College (1940–1950) *College: Ateneo de Manila University; Associate in Arts, graduated magna cum laude (1952) and Bachelor of Laws (1954)

Career history

*Professor of political science of

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 ...

(1955–1957) *Head executive assistant; Head, legal department of

Land Reform Commission The Land Reform Commission (LRC) is a statutory body in Sri Lanka established under the Land Reform Law No. 1 of 1972, and amended by ''Law No. 39 of 1975''. It was created by the United Front government led by Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaik ...

(1956–1958) *Vice president of

Federation of Free Farmers The Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) is an agricultural association in the Philippines. History The organization was founded on October 25, 1953, in Porac, Pampanga by Catholics with Christian democratic leanings, following the decline of commu ...

(1956–1957) *Barangay captain of Santa Maria,

Castillejos, Zambales Castillejos, officially the Municipality of Castillejos (; ), is a municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 67,889 people. History Castillejos was established in 1743 by Tagal ...

(1958–1961) *Chief executive assistant Department of Finance (1961–1963) *Deputy commissioner,

Bureau of Customs The Bureau of Customs (BoC or BOC; ) is a Philippine government agency that is responsible for the collecting of customs, customs duties, excise duties, and other indirect taxes in the Philippines. It is part of the Department of Finance (Philip ...

(1963–1964) *Legal consultant,

Benguet Consolidated Mining Corporation Benguet (), officially the Province of Benguet ('';'' ; ; ; ), is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the southern tip of the Cordillera Administrative Region in the island of Luzon. Its capital is La Trinidad. The highland pr ...

(1964–1966) *Chairperson, PNB Provident Fund of

Philippine National Bank The Philippine National Bank (PNB, ; ; Hokkien in the Philippines, Hokkien ) is a major Filipino bank based in Pasay in the Philippines. It was established by the Philippine government on July 22, 1916, during the Insular Government, America ...

(1966–1970) *Provincial vice governor of Zambales (1967–1969) *Director of

Philippine National Railways The Philippine National Railways (PNR) (; ) is a government-owned and controlled corporation, state-owned railway company in the Philippines which operates one commuter rail service between Laguna (province), Laguna and Quezon, and local servic ...

(1967–1969) *Representative, lone district, Zambales

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

(1969–1972) *Director and senior vice president,

Philtrust Company Philippine Trust Company (, Also known in Hokkien ; & Mandarin ), commonly known as Philtrust Bank, is one of the oldest private universal banks in the Philippines. Founded on October 16, 1916, its history parallels the growth of the Philipp ...

(1978–1984) *Representative of

Batasang Pambansa The Batasang Pambansa Complex, or simply the Batasan (), is the seat of the House of Representatives of the Philippines. It is located along the Batasan Road in Batasan Hills, Quezon City. The complex was initially the home of the Batasang Pa ...

(1984–1986) *Deputy minister, Department of Tourism (1985–1986) *Partner, Albano, Garcia, Diaz Law Office (1987–1992) *Representative, 2nd district, Zambales House of Representatives (1969–1972;1992–2001; 2004–2010)

Death

He died on August 3, 2011 (Wednesday) cause of multiple organ failure secondary to sepsis and pneumonia at St. Luke's Medical Center in Quezon City. He was 83. Teodoro Camat, who heads Diaz's office in Zambales’ 2nd congressional district, said the lawmaker died at 6:20 am. Camat said Diaz's body will be taken to the

Iba Cathedral Saint Augustine Cathedral Parish, commonly known as Iba Cathedral, is a cathedral parish of the Roman Catholic Church located in the municipality of Iba, Zambales, Iba, Zambales, Philippines. It is dedicated to Augustine of Hippo, Saint Augustin ...

here on Saturday after necrological services at the House of Representatives. The body will then be transferred for the wake in his hometown at

San Marcelino, Zambales San Marcelino, officially the Municipality of San Marcelino (; ), is a municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 37,719 people. Etymology The town got its name after the first ' ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz, Antonio 1927 births 2011 deaths People from Olongapo Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Zambales Lakas–CMD politicians Labor Party Philippines politicians 20th-century Filipino lawyers Ateneo de Manila University alumni Magsaysay family Deaths from pneumonia in the Philippines Deaths from sepsis Deaths from multiple organ failure Members of the Batasang Pambansa Macapagal administration personnel Ferdinand Marcos administration personnel