Esteban Raymundo Abada (March 15, 1896 – December 17, 1954) was a Filipino politician who served as

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

from 1949 until his death in 1954. He also held the position of

President pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippines The president pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippines is the second highest-ranking official of the Senate of the Philippines. During the absence of the president of the Senate, the Senate president '' pro tempore'' presides over the Sen ...

briefly in 1952. Prior to becoming a senator, Abada held various posts in the

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

Early life and education

Esteban Abada was born on March 15, 1896, in Seravia, present-day Enrique B. Magalona in the Philippine province of

Negros Occidental Negros Occidental (; ), officially the Province of Negros Occidental (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Negros, Negros Island. Its capital is the city of Bacolod, of which it is geographically s ...

. His parents were Jeronimo Abada and Petra Jereza. After elementary school in

Kabankalan Kabankalan, officially the City of Kabankalan (; ; , Spanish: ''Ciudad de Cabancalán''), is a component city in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2025 census, it has a population of 330,378 people making it th ...

, he completed the

Philippine Normal School The Philippine Normal University (PNU; ) is a public coeducational teacher education and research university in the Philippines. It was established in 1901 through Act No. 74 of the Philippine Commission ''"for the education of natives of the ...

in 1915.

Teaching career

After graduation, he was employed as an elementary school teacher for almost a year before being appointed principal in 1916. From 1917, Abada was supervising teacher until he left for the United States in September 1919 for further education at the expense of the Philippine government. There he completed a Bachelor of Arts degree at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in 1922. After returning to the Philippines, Abada was a high school teacher in

Bacolod Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; ; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Negros Island Region in the Philippines. With a total of 600,783 inhabitants as of the 2020 census, it is th ...

until 1924, principal of Zambales High School (1924–1925), Batangas High School (1925–1926) and Pangasinan Academic High School (1926-1927). Afterwards, he served as School Superintendent in Zambales,

Capiz Capiz (), officially the Province of Capiz (Capiznon language, Capiznon/Hiligaynon language, Hiligaynon: ''Kapuoran sang Capiz''; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the central part of the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines ...

and

Tarlac Tarlac, officially the Province of Tarlac (; ; ; ; ), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. It had a population of 1,503,456 people according to ...

. In 1939, Abada was appointed Administrative Officer with the Bureau of Public Schools.

Political career

After

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 ...

, Abada was appointed Director of Public Schools by President

Manuel Roxas Manuel Acuña Roxas (; January 1, 1892 – April 15, 1948) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of the Philippines from 1946 until his death in 1948. He served briefly as the third and last President of the ...

in 1946, and in 1948 he was appointed Deputy Minister of Education. The following year, in the 1949 elections, Abada was elected to the

Senate 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 ...

on behalf 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 ...

with the second highest number of votes. His focus in the Senate was also on education. For example, he chaired the Senate Committee on Education and initiated several laws to benefit education in the Philippines. From March to May 1952, Abada served as Senate President Pro-Tempore. At some point during his time as senator, he was also a member of the Philippine delegation to the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

Death

Esteban Abada died in 1954 before the end of his term as senator at the age of 58 in New York. He had traveled there for medical treatment. He was married to Purificacion Morente and had two children with her. The Esteban Abada Elementary School in

Quezon Quezon, officially the Province of Quezon () and historically known as Tayabas, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon Regions of the Philippines, region on Luzon. Lucena, a highly urbanized ci ...

City and the Esteban Abada High School in Sampaloc (Manila) are named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abada, Esteban 1896 births 1954 deaths Politicians from Negros Occidental Senators of the 2nd Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 3rd Congress of the Philippines Presidents pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippines Filipino educators Liberal Party (Philippines) politicians