José Bayani "Pepito" Hidalgo Laurel Jr. (August 27, 1912 – March 11, 1998), also known as Jose B. Laurel Jr., was a Filipino politician who was elected twice as speaker of 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 ...

. A stalwart of the

Nacionalista Party 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 ...

, he was the party's candidate for the country's

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

in the 1957 elections.

Early life and education

Laurel was born on August 27, 1912, in Tanauan,

Batangas Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( ), is a first class province of the Philippines located in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Calabarzon region. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,908,494 people, making ...

, the eldest son of Jose P. Laurel, who would serve as

president of the Philippines The president of the Philippines (, sometimes referred to as ) is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-ch ...

from 1943 to 1945, and Pacencia Hidalgo Laurel. His brother, Salvador, would become vice-president in 1986, Sotero would be elected as a

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 ...

in 1987. Another brother, Jose S. Laurel III, served as ambassador to Japan. His youngest brother, Arsenio, was the first two-time winner of the

Macau Grand Prix The Macau Grand Prix (; ) is an annual motorsport road racing event for automobiles and motorcycles held on the Guia Circuit in Macau. The event includes the Formula Regional and Motorcycle Grand Prix title races, with other races for Touri ...

. Laurel finished his intermediate and secondary education in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, and enrolled at 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 ...

. In 1936, he received his law degree from the U.P. College of Law and passed the bar exams the following year. There, he served as president of the U.P. Student Council and captain of the university's debate team. He was a member of the Upsilon Sigma Phi fraternity.

Political career

1941 The Correlates of War project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 3.49 million. However, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program estimates that the subsequent year, 1942, wa ...

, Laurel won his first election, as a member of the House of Representatives from the 3rd district of

. However, his term was interrupted by the Japanese invasion in late 1941. For the duration of the war, Laurel assisted his father, who was designated as president of the Philippines under the

Second Philippine Republic The Second Philippine Republic, officially the Republic of the Philippines and also known as the Japanese-sponsored Philippine Republic, was a Japanese-Axis powers, backed government established on October 14, 1943, during the Japanese occupatio ...

, and served as a representative for the at-large district of Batangas in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

from 1943 to 1944. Beginning in March 1945, Laurel, together with his family,

Camilo Osías Camilo Olaviano Osías Sr. (born Camilo Osías y Olaviano; March 23, 1889 – May 20, 1976), was a Filipino people, Filipino politician, twice for a short time President of the Senate of the Philippines. Along with American Mary A. Lane, Osías ...

, Benigno Aquino Sr., Gen. Tomas Capinpin, and Jorge B. Vargas evacuated to

Baguio Baguio ( , , ), officially the City of Baguio (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

. Shortly after the city fell, they traveled to

Tuguegarao Tuguegarao ( or ), officially the City of Tuguegarao (; ; ; ), is a 2nd class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2020 ...

, where they embarked on a

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...

plane to

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

via Formosa (now

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

) and

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

.Molina, Antonio. ''The Philippines: Through the centuries''. Manila: University of Santo Tomas Cooperative, 1961. Prin On September 15, days after Japan formally surrendered to the United States, his father, his brother Jose III, and Aquino were arrested by a group of Americans headed by a Colonel Turner for collaborating with

Imperial Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

and were imprisoned in Japan. He later joined the rest of the Laurel family in flying back to

on November 2. Jose Laurel Jr

Laurel's term as representative for the 3rd district of Batangas began only in 1945. When the Philippine Congress was restored upon independence in 1946, he again sought election 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 ...

representing the 3rd district of Batangas. He was successful in his bid, having been re-elected to the

second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

and

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

congresses. In 1954, he was elected to his first term as speaker of the House. He decided not to seek re-election for his seat in the House in

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

as he was drafted instead to run for vice president under the Nacionalista ticket spearheaded by President Carlos P. Garcia. He was defeated by Pampanga 1st district Representative

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 ...

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 ...

even as Garcia went on to victory. In 1961, Laurel regained his seat in the House of Representatives and would serve in that capacity until

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

was declared in 1972. He was again elected speaker in February 1967 and remained in that position until 1971, when Cornelio Villareal ( Capiz–2nd) of the Liberal Party regained the speakership.Paras & La Vina, p. 107 During his congressional career, Laurel focused on economic issues. He was an advocate of a

planned economy A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, ...

and

protectionism Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations ...

. Laurel was among those who, in 1965, recruited Senate president

Ferdinand Marcos 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 ...

to join the Nacionalista Party as its presidential candidate against Diosdado Macapagal. Laurel retired from politics after Congress was closed in 1972. However, he came out of retirement as he would be elected as an assemblyman from Batangas in the

Regular Batasang Pambansa The Regular Batasang Pambansa (English language, English: Regular National Assembly), or the First Batasang Pambansa, was the meeting of the Batasang Pambansa (legislature), Batasang Pambansa from the beginning of its session on July 23, 1984 ...

in 1984, serving until 1986. He was a member of the opposition

United Nationalist Democratic Organization The United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO) was the main political multi-party electoral alliance of the traditional political opposition during the turbulent last years of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos in the mid-1980s. It w ...

party. He also became a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission that drafted the present Philippine Constitution.

Death and family

Laurel died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

at the age of 85 on March 11, 1998. Two of his children, Jose Macario IV and Milagros ("Lally"), also became members of the House of Representatives, representing the same seat their father had held.Paras & La Vina, p. 108 The actor Noel Trinidad was his son-in-law.

Notes

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Laurel, Jose B. Jr. 1912 births 1998 deaths Jose B. Jr. Politicians from Batangas Speakers of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Batangas University of the Philippines alumni Nacionalista Party politicians 20th-century Filipino lawyers Children of presidents of the Philippines Candidates in the 1957 Philippine vice-presidential election Minority leaders of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Members of the National Assembly (Second Philippine Republic) Members of the Batasang Pambansa Members of the Philippine Constitutional Commission of 1986