Decoroso Ras Rosales (December 20, 1907 – January 23, 1987) was a Filipino politician.

Early life and education

Rosales was born on December 20, 1907 in

Calbayog Calbayog, officially the City of Calbayog (; ), is a component city in the province of Samar, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 186,960 people. It lies along the coastal region of the province stretching about ...

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

, to Basilio Rosales and Aqueda Ras. He received his Associate of Arts degree in 1920 and Bachelor of Laws degree both from the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...

. He was admitted to the Bar in 1933.

Political career

Rosales was elected in 1941 to the

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 ...

to represent the 1st district of

, defeating Secretary of Public Works Jose Avelino, but was not able to take office until 1945 due to the Japanese invasion during the

Second World War 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 ...

. During that period, he joined the

resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized group of people that tries to resist or try to overthrow a government or an occupying power, causing disruption and unrest in civil order and stability. Such a movement may seek to achieve its goals through ei ...

and became civil administrator for unoccupied areas of

Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

, attaining the rank of Colonel. In 1947, he ran for Governor of Samar as a

Nacionalista 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 ...

candidate but lost. He tried again in 1950 and won, but was briefly imprisoned shortly afterwards after a defamation case was filed against him. He served as governor until 1955, when he was elected to the

Philippine Senate The Senate of the Philippines () is the upper house of Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the House of Representatives as the lower house. The Senate is composed of 24 senators who are elected at-large (the country f ...

, serving in that position until losing his reelection bid 1961. As a senator, he was one of three members of the body who opposed the passage of the Rizal Law, along with

Mariano Jesús Cuenco Mariano Jesús Cuenco y Diosómito (January 16, 1888 – February 25, 1964) was a Filipino politician and writer from Cebu. He was the 4th President of the Senate of the Philippines. M.J. Cuenco Avenue, a major thoroughfare in Cebu City, was n ...

and Soc Rodrigo. Rosales was later elected as a delegate to the Philippine Constitutional Convention of 1971 and was also appointed by President

Corazon Aquino María Corazón "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipino politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines and the first woman president in the country, from Presidency of Corazon ...

to become a member of the Philippine Constitutional Commission of 1986 that drafted the current

Constitution of the Philippines The Constitution of the Philippines (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas'' or ''Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas'') is the Constitution, supreme law of the Philippines. Its final draft was completed by the Philippine Constitution ...

enacted in 1987.

Personal life and death

Rosales was married to Rosita Sepulveda and had two children. His older brother Julio Rosales was a senior clergyman in the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

who rose to become a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

and Archbishop of Cebu. He died on January 23, 1987 in

Tacloban Tacloban ( ; ), officially the City of Tacloban (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city on Leyte island in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, Tacloban has a popu ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosales, Decoroso 1907 births 1987 deaths 20th-century Filipino lawyers Governors of Samar (province) Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Samar (province) Nacionalista Party politicians Senators of the 3rd Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 4th Congress of the Philippines University of the Philippines College of Law alumni