Eulogio Ramos Lerum (1908-unknown) was a Filipino politician and labor union leader. He was formerly the president of the Philippines' National Labor Union. In 1978, he became sectoral representative for organized labor from Luzon in the

Philippine Congress The Congress of the Philippines () is the legislature of the national government of the Philippines. It is bicameral, composed of an upper body, the Senate, and a lower body, the House of Representatives, although colloquially, the term "Congre ...

under Philippine president

Ferdinand Marcos Sr. 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 ...

Early career

Born in

Calauag, Quezon Calauag, officially the Municipality of Calauag (; ), is a municipality in the province of Quezon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 71,809 people. History According to the writings of Valentin Martin in his " ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, he was a farmer who became a union leader. During his time as a Filipino worker, his employer dismissed Lerum from his job due to his "union activities". The Court of Industrial Relations, however, declared his dismissal unjustified. After the 1963 elections, Philippine president

Diosdado Macapagal Diosdado Pangan Macapagal Sr. (; September 28, 1910 – April 21, 1997) was a Filipino lawyer, poet and politician who served as the 9th President of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the 5th Vice President of the Philippines, V ...

gave two of the five seats on the Social Security System (SSS) board of directors to Lerum and Carlos Santiago.

As a labor leader

He led the labor delegation in the 1975 National Tripartite Conference and sponsored key benefits like the thirteenth month pay and night work premium. Lerum raised the minimum wage to Php37.00 and was a prominent leader in the National Labor Union.

As legislator

Lerum was one of the 48 members of the

Constitutional Commission A constitutional commission is a body of commissioners appointed by a government for the purpose of making or revising a constitution. The commissioners are typically experts. However, in a country governed by a military regime, the commissioner ...

(ConCom) which drafted the

1987 Philippine Constitution The Constitution of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas'' or ''Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas'') is the supreme law of the Philippines. Its final draft was completed by the Constitutional Commission on October 12, 1986, and rati ...

Establishment of a fifteen-member Supreme Court

The Constitutional Commission's journal shows that the original plan was for an eleven-member

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. Commissioner Eulogio Lerum wanted to raise it to fifteen and suggested filling any vacancy within two months. His 15-member proposal was not accepted at first. Lerum wanted to ensure the Court's size remained stable by adding a rule to fill any vacancy in two months. After agreeing to extend this period to three months, the proposal was approved. Ultimately, the Commission decided on a fifteen-member Court, requiring vacancies to be filled within 90 days.

Later years

During the celebration of Labor Day in 2002, Lerum was honored by the Philippine government for his contributions to the Philippine labor movement.

References

{{reflist Sectoral members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Politicians from Quezon Filipino trade union leaders 1908 births Year of death missing