Manuel Tría Fuentebella (October 11, 1889 – February 26, 1955) was the Member of the

Philippine House of Representatives The House of Representatives (; '','' thus commonly referred to as ''Kamara'') is the lower house of Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the Senate of the Philippines as the upper house. The lower house is commonly refe ...

from

Camarines Sur Camarines Sur (; ), officially the Province of Camarines Sur (Central Bikol language, Bikol: ''Probinsya kan Habagatan na Camarines''; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Bicol Region on Luzon. Its ca ...

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds, The Second, or (The) 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Minute and second of arc, ...

District from 1925 to 1931 in the 7th and

8th Philippine Legislature The 8th Philippine Legislature was the meeting of the legislature of the Philippine Islands under the sovereign control of the United States from 1928 to 1930. Sessions Leadership Senate * President: Manuel L. Quezon ( 5th District, Na ...

Early life and education

Manuel Fuentebella was born on October 11, 1889, in Sagñay, Ambos Camarines to then Ambos Camarines Governor Mariano Fuentebella and Perpetua Tria. His brother was former legislator ambassador and foreign affairs adviser Jose Fuentebella. He graduated from the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (UST; ), officially the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines or colloquially as ''Ustê'' (), is a Private university, private Catholic school, Catholic researc ...

medical school and practiced medicine in his hometown of Sagñay.

Political and professional career

He was elected to the 7th and

as a representative of

and served two terms from 1925 to 1931. During his term in Congress, he chaired the Philippine Assembly's Committee on Women's Suffrage and was instrumental in the passage of the law that gave women the right to vote. He also proposed a hospital to be set up in each municipality and led medical missions in

. His first love was writing. An ardent nationalist, he wrote poems in Spanish and Bicol about love and patriotism, notably "The Arrow" which describes the arrow that native Bul-og shot against the Lion of Castille and the Eagle of America. He was also an

orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14 ...

and a composer. His early musical compositions, presented by nephews and cousins, were staged in the towns. Manuel stepped away from the public limelight to continue his medical practice, but politics never left him and he remained an adviser to his brother Jose. The Dr. Manuel Fuentebella Memorial Hospital in Sagñay is named after him.

Death

He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on February 26, 1955.

References

* Building Institutions: The Fuentebella Legacy by Coylee Gamboa * http://www.congress.gov.ph/ Official Congress Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Funetebella, Manuel 1889 births 1955 deaths Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Camarines Sur Manuel University of Santo Tomas alumni Members of the Philippine Legislature