Felix Abad Fuentebella (September 5, 1915 – May 29, 2000) was the Representative of the Second District of

Camarines Sur Camarines Sur ( bcl, Habagatan na Camarines; tl, Timog Camarines), officially the Province of Camarines Sur, is a province in the Philippines located in the Bicol Region on Luzon. Its capital is Pili and the province borders Camarines Norte and ...

in the Philippines from 1954 to 1972 and the Provincial Governor of

from 1976 until 1986. He is the son of former

Ambos Camarines Ambos Camarines ( es, ambos, meaning "both"; commonly known as Camarines), officially the Province of Ambos Camarines, was a historical province in the Philippines found on the northern end of the Bicol Peninsula. It now exists as two separate ...

Governor Mariano Fuentebella and the half brother of

Jose Fuentebella Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin *Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...

and Manuel Fuentebella.

Early life and education

Felix Fuentebella was born on September 5, 1915 in Camarines Sur to former

Gobernadorcillo The ''gobernadorcillo'' (, literally "little governor") was a municipal judge or governor in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period, who carried out in a town the combined charges or responsibilities of leadership, economic, and judi ...

and Governor of Ambos Camarines Mariano Fuentebella and Marta Abad. He was educated in his home province and entered college in the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...

in 1937 and 1939 and graduated as a

Civil Engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

and

Mining Engineer Mining in the engineering discipline is the extraction of minerals from underneath, open pit, above or on the ground. Mining engineering is associated with many other disciplines, such as mineral processing, exploration, excavation, geology, and ...

. He worked as a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

in the Bureau of Public Works in

Camarines Norte Camarines Norte ( bcl, Amihanan na Camarines; fil, Hilagang Camarines), officially the Province of Camarines Norte, is a province in the Philippines located in the Bicol Region in Luzon. Its capital is Daet. The province borders Quezon to the w ...

and Camarines Sur, and then became a

laboratory technician A laboratory technician is a person who works in a laboratory performing analytical or experimental procedures, maintaining laboratory equipment and assisting scientists with their work. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first use o ...

on construction and testing materials before he ran for

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

Political and professional career

Felix ran as a Congressman of the Second District of Camarines Sur in 1953 after his nephew and Representative

Edmundo B. Cea Edmundo Bombase Cea (June 10, 1911 – December 30, 1993) was a Filipino politician. Senator Cea was born in Tigaon on June 10, 1911 to Angela Bombase and Congressman Severo Fuentebella Cea. He was educated at Sto. Tomas University obtain ...

ran in the

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

where he won. He went undefeated in his reelection bids in Congress until 1972 when

Martial Law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

was imposed by then

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

Ferdinand E. Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

. To serve the people despite the shut down of Congress after the declaration of

, he ran for Provincial Governor of Camarines Sur in 1976 and won serving the province for 10 years until EDSA I

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

took over on 1986 ousting President Ferdinand Marcos. After the EDSA I People Power Revolution and being known as a Marcos supporter, Felix never ran for any elective position in the province.

Death

Felix died on May 29, 2000.

Accomplishments as legislator and governor

Fuentebella's accomplishments included: *Instrumental in the construction of Tandaay-San Juan-Libon Road; Nabua-Baao Diversion Road; Nabua-Balatan Road; Hanawan-San Ramon-Sagrada-San Isidro-Iriga Road; Agdangan-Caranday-San Vicente-Lidong Road; Goa-Tinambac-Tamban Road; Tinambac-Siruma Road; Bula-Palson-Tupas-Sto. Domingo Road; Sta. Cruz-Masoli-Bato Road; Bula-La Victoria-Itangon Road; Alberto Highway; parts of Lagonoy-Presentacion-Garchitorena-Caramoan Road; and sections of the Quirino Highway. *Responsible for the concreting of: Anayan-Tigaon Road; Naga-Camaligan Provincial Road; Calabanga-Tinambac Road; and San Jose-Sabang Road. *Helped set up Tigaon Waterworks System, Sagñay Water System and the Tamban Water System, among the water systems in Camarines Sur. *Established Bongalon Port and Balatan Port. *Helped establish St. Paul and St. Andrew Academies. *Implemented Bicol River Basin Development Program. *Authored the law converting

Iriga Iriga, officially the City of Iriga (Rinconada Bikol: ''Syudad ka Iriga''; bcl, Siyudad nin Iriga; fil, Lungsod ng Iriga), is component city in the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 1 ...

into a charter city. *Made Pili provincial capital and helped construct capitol. *Helped bring Pilipinas Broadcasting Network to Bicol. *Authored the law creating

Presentacion Presentacion, officially the Municipality of Presentacion ( bcl, Banwaan kan Presentacion; tl, Bayan ng Presentacion), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Camarines Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population o ...

municipality. *Brought Alay Kapwa Surgical Mission by the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Mig ...

surgeons to Camarines Sur. *Was a catalyst in launching

Operation Smile Operation Smile is a nonprofit medical service organization founded in 1982 by Dr. William P. Magee Jr. and his wife Kathleen (Kathy) S. Magee. It is headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia. In addition to providing cleft lip and palate repair ...

, now a worldwide movement of medical practitioners to help children with cleft palates and facial deformities.

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20170304075132/http://www.camarinessur.gov.ph/ , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fuentebella, Felix 1915 births 2000 deaths Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Camarines Sur Governors of Camarines Sur Felix