Norberto Romuáldez y López (June 6, 1875 – November 4, 1941), often referred to as Norberto Romuáldez Sr. to distinguish him from his son with the same name, was a Philippine writer, politician, jurist, and statesman. He was the first Lopez-Romuáldez to attain national prominence, and is deemed the "Father of the Law on the

National Language '' '' A national language is a language (or language variant, e.g. dialect) that has some connection— de facto or de jure—with a nation. The term is applied quite differently in various contexts. One or more languages spoken as first languag ...

". He was the eldest son of Doña Trinidad López de Romuáldez, the Romuáldez grand matriarch, and uncle of

First Lady of the Philippines The first lady or first gentleman of the Philippines () is the courtesy title given to the host or hostess of Malacañang Palace, the residence of the head of state and head of government of the Philippines. The title is traditionally held by t ...

Imelda Romualdez Marcos Imelda Romualdez Marcos (; born Imelda Remedios Visitación Trinidad Romuáldez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who was First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power after her husband Ferdinand ...

, the daughter of his youngest brother Vicente Orestes Lopez Romualdez.

Biography

Born to the prominent López clan of Leyte (originally from

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

in the Andalusian region of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

), he is the grandson of Spanish friar and silversmith Don Francisco López. Romuáldez grew up in

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...

, where the López family owned vast coconut and

abacá Abacá ( ; ), also known as Manila hemp, is a species of banana, ''Musa textilis'', endemic to the Philippines. The plant grows to , and averages about . The plant has great economic importance, being harvested for its fiber extracted from t ...

plantations, and first achieved status as a writer in the

Waray language Waray (also known as Waray-Waray or Bisayâ/Binisayâ nga Winaray/Waray, meaning Samar language) is an Austronesian language and the fifth-most-spoken native regional language of the Philippines, native to Eastern Visayas. It is the native l ...

. His first Waray ''zarzuela'' was ''An Pagtabang ni San Miguel'' (The Aid of Saint Michael). In 1895, the “favorite son of Leyte,” earned his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

with honors at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. In 1895, he was a

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

teacher at 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 ...

. He passed the

Philippine Bar Examinations The Philippine Bar Examinations is the professional licensure examination for lawyers in the Philippines. The exam is exclusively administered by the Supreme Court of the Philippines through the Supreme Court Bar Examination Committee. History ...

in 1903. In 1908, Romuáldez wrote ''Bisayan Grammar and Notes on Bisayan Rhetoric and Poetic and Filipino Dialectology'', a treatise on the grammar of the Waray language. The following year (1909) he founded the ''Sanghiran san Binisaya ha Samar ug Leyte'' (Academy of the Visayan Language of Samar and Leyte) for the purpose of promoting and intellectualizing Waray. Romuáldez was also fluent in other languages like

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, and Cebuano. Romuáldez served as an

Associate Justice An associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some ...

of the

Philippine Supreme Court The Supreme Court (; colloquially referred to as the ' (also used in formal writing), is the highest court in the Philippines. It was established by the Taft Commission on June 11, 1901, through the enactment of Act No. 136, which abolished th ...

during the American Period. He was a delegate to 1934-1935 Constitutional convention, being one of the "Seven Wise Men" who drafted the 1935

Constitution of the Philippines The Constitution of the Philippines (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas'' or ''Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas'') is the Constitution, supreme law of the Philippines. Its final draft was completed by the Philippine Constitution ...

for the Philippine Commonwealth. He was later elected as assemblyman from the 4th district of Leyte through a special election in 1936. He was re-elected in

1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

. Romuáldez ran for senator in

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 ...

. However, he 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 ...

Palapag Palapag, officially the Municipality of Palapag (; ), is a municipality in the province of Northern Samar, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 34,034 people. It is located in the northernmost part of Samar Island. H ...

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

(now part of

Northern Samar Northern Samar (; ), officially the Province of Northern Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catarman, the most populous town in the province and is located at the northern portion of ...

) at the age of 66, a week before the election. A book written about his niece

Imelda Marcos Imelda Romualdez Marcos (; born Imelda Remedios Visitación Trinidad Romuáldez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who was First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power after her husband Ferdinand ...

's life notes that he died of a heart attack.

Commemoration and legacy

Norberto_Romualdez_bust_and_historical_marker

On the eve of his niece

and her husband

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 ...

's proclamation as President and First Lady of the Philippines, in 1965, his composition, a song, "Plegaria" (A Plea), was sung in the Marcos family home in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...

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 ...

(now part of

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila ( ), commonly shortened to Metro Manila and formally the National Capital Region (NCR; ), is the capital region and largest List of metropolitan areas in the Philippines, metropolitan area of the Philippines. Located ...

Norberto Romualdez Sr. park

On June 14, 2024,

Burauen Burauen (IPA: u'ɾaʊen, officially the Municipality of Burauen (; ), is a First Income Class municipality in the province of Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 52,511 people. Etymology The name “Burauen ...

Mayor Juanito Renomeron inaugurated the restored park built in 1975, beside the 1600 Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church along the corner of Santa Ana and Ave Maria Streets, the exact site of his 1800s ancestral house. It is named after Romualdez. It was first improved in 2022 with the assistance of the

National Historical Commission of the Philippines The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP; ) is a government agency of the Philippines. Its mission is "the promotion of Philippine history and cultural heritage through research, dissemination, conservation, sites management ...

assistance. Romualdez' monument with a 1975 NHCP installed marker stands as the centerpiece with pavilion, concrete benches and a path walk.

Writings

Published works

*1899: ''An Pagtabang ni San Miguel'' ("The Aid of Saint Michael"; drama) *1908: ''Bisayan Grammar and Notes on Bisayan Rhetoric and Poetic and Filipino Dialectology'' (linguistics) *1914: ''Tagbanwa Alphabet with Some Reforms Proposed'' (essays) *1918: ''Philippine Orthography'' (essays) *1921: ''An Anak han Manaranggot'' ("The Tuba Gatherer's Child", drama) *1925: ''The Psychology of the Filipino'' (lectures) *1931: ''Filipino Musical Instruments and Airs of Long Ago'' (lectures) *1933: ''Philippine Legal and Business Forms Annotated''; co-authored with Enrique P. Custodio

Biography

Commemoration and legacy

Norberto Romualdez Sr. park

Writings

Published works

References

See also