Miguel Cornejo y Reyes (May 8, 1888 – August 8, 1984) was a Filipino soldier, politician, and lawyer. He served as Municipal President of

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Philippine census, 2020 census, it has a ...

and representative from

Mountain Province Mountain Province (; ; ; ; ; ) is a landlocked province of the Philippines in the Cordillera Administrative Region in Luzon. Its capital is Bontoc while Bauko is the largest municipality. Mountain Province was formerly referred to as Mountain ...

. During the American Administration in the Philippines, and after independence, as an attorney and legislator he championed many causes. In 1939, he compiled and published the Cornejo's Commonwealth Directory of the Philippines, often used as an historical source for the period. Earlier in his career, he served in the Philippine National Guard (PNG) in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

after legislative enactment of the Militia Act on March 17, 1917. After the war upon its disbandment, because the US Territorial government did not authorize a Philippine Army at the time, Miguel R. Cornejo, together with Manuel David, founded the military organization of the National Volunteers of the Philippines, leading as Brigadier General. Descended from a prominent Spanish Filipino Mestizo Family, he spoke and authored many works in fluent Spanish, English and Tagalog. He married Crisanta Soldevilla of

Gasan, Marinduque Gasan, officially the Municipality of Gasan (), is a municipality in the province of Marinduque, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 36,197 people. Etymology The origin of the name of Gasan came from the term ''Gas ...

Political career

Cornejo was a two-term Municipal President (Mayor) of

, then a municipality in the province of

Rizal Rizal most commonly refers to: * Rizal (province), a province of the Philippines * José Rizal, Filipino national hero whom the province is named after Rizal may also refer to: People * Akmal Rizal Ahmad Rakhli, Malaysian footballer * Atep Ri ...

.Pasay City-Islands Philippines. http://pasay.islandsphilippines.com/history.php He was first elected Municipal President in 1919. In 1922, at the end of his term as Municipal President, he was elected Representative of

's Lone District for the

6th Philippine Legislature The 6th Philippine Legislature was the meeting of the legislature of the Philippines under the sovereign control of the United States from 1922 to 1925. Sessions Leadership Senate * President: Manuel L. Quezon ( 5th District, Naciona ...

. However, he did not finish his term as he was removed from office by the Governor-General on October 6, 1925 after being convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for assaulting an American. In 1928, he became Municipal President of Pasay once again, serving until 1931. During the 1930s, Cornejo was the leader of a minor

fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

party, which in 1935 became one of the founding parties of the National Socialist Party. The party ran former Philippine President

Emilio Aguinaldo Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (: March 22, 1869February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who became the first List of presidents of the Philippines, president of the Philippines (1899–1901), and the first pre ...

as its candidate in the

1935 Philippine presidential election The 1935 Philippine presidential and vice presidential elections were held on September 16, 1935. This was the first election since the enactment of the Tydings–McDuffie Act, a law that paved the way for a transitory government, as well as the ...

, which Aguinaldo lost to

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 ...

candidate

Manuel L. Quezon Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina (, , , ; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino people, Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier, and politician who was president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1 ...

Personal life

On June 29, 1974, he married his second wife, Paulita San Agustin Vicente, in

. Paulita was a devout Catholic and piano teacher from a distinct Spanish lineage. Their sponsors were Judge Pio Marcos and Mrs. Leonilla Garcia. He spent the rest of his life with her at 1225 Crisostomo Street Sampaloc, Manila, where the couple had some rental properties. His direct descendants are spread all over the world, from AustraliaNational Library of Australia. Catalogue. Cornejo's Commonwealth directory of the Philippines, compiled and edited by Miguel R. Cornejo. http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/970814 to Miami, Florida, USA, Montgomery County Maryland, USA, as well as Ontario, Canada, and include singer Wency Cornejo; composer Dr. Rodolfo Cornejo; Women Rights Champion and First ever Miss Manila Fame appointed by CITEM Philippines Department of Trade and Industry Deniece Cornejo; late Naval Colonel and Paranaque politician Councilor Jess C Bustamante; former television personality Joaqui Mendoza; Papal Knight Sir Drexel Gregory; and GMA executive Rodrigo Cornejo. Another grandson, Gerardo "Gerry" Cornejo, was an award-winning professional photographer and is currently a TV and radio producer and program host in the Philippines.

References

Book - History of the Armed Forces of the Filipino People by Cesar P. Pobre. New Day Publishers, 2000. Pages 163, 171.*

External links

Cornell University. Asia Collections - Colonial Era Resources.Book - The Philippine Army 1935-1942, by Ricardo Trota Jose. Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1992. Page 21.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornejo, Miguel R. 1888 births 1984 deaths Tagalog people 20th-century Filipino military personnel United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army soldiers Filipino Roman Catholics 20th-century Filipino lawyers Filipino people of Spanish descent Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Mountain Province Mestizo people Mayors of Pasay Members of the Philippine Legislature