Sergio "Serging" Veloso Osmeña Jr. (December 4, 1916 – March 26, 1984) was a Filipino politician who served as a

Senator of the Philippines The Senate of the Philippines () is the upper house of Congress of the Philippines, Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House of Representatives as the lower house. The ...

, and ran against

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 ...

in the 1969 Philippine Presidential election. He was the son of

Sergio Osmeña Sergio Osmeña Sr. (, ; zh, c=吳文釗, poj=Gô͘ Bûn-chiau; September 9, 1878 – October 19, 1961) was a Filipino people, Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the List of presidents of the Philippines, fourth president of the Ph ...

, the fourth

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 ...

. His sons, Sergio Osmeña III was a

, and Tomas Osmeña is a former Mayor of Cebu City.

Early life

Osmeña was born in the town of

Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

on December 4, 1916, to Sergio Osmeña Sr., then the House Speaker and representative from the 2nd district of Cebu, and Estefania Chiong Veloso. He had a brother, Emilio Osmeña, father of Emilio Mario Osmeña Jr. and

John Henry Osmeña John Henry Renner Osmeña (January 17, 1935 – February 2, 2021), also known as Sonny Osmeña or simply John Osmeña, was the grandson of Philippines, Philippine President of the Philippines, President Sergio Osmeña. He served as a senator of ...

. He graduated Associate of Arts, cum laude, from Ateneo de Manila University on 1935, and Bachelor of Science in commerce, summa cum laude, from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1936. After graduating which Osmeña opened an import-export business in New York.

Actions in World War II

Osmeña collaborated with the Japanese in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He escaped justice and returned to the Philippines and became President of the De La Rama Steamship Company, Inc.

Political career

In 1951, he was elected provincial Governor of Cebu. He was later elected Mayor of Cebu City for three terms in 1955, 1959 and 1963. Elected as representative for the second district of

in 1958, his notable work as fiscalizer brought him recognition from the Congressional Press Club which voted him as one of the Ten Most Outstanding Congressmen of 1959. In 1961, Osmeña ran for

Vice President of the Philippines The vice president of the Philippines (, also referred to as ) is the second-highest official in the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the first in the presidential line of succession. The vice president is directly elect ...

as an independent, but lost to

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 ...

Emmanuel Pelaez. In the November 1965 elections, he won a seat in the

Philippine Senate The Senate of the Philippines () is the upper house of Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the House of Representatives as the lower house. The Senate is composed of 24 senators who are elected at-large (the country f ...

1969 Philippine Presidential election

Osmeña publicly opposed the Marcos administration. On April 5, 1969, at the

St. Francis Hotel The Westin St. Francis, formerly known as St. Francis Hotel, is a hotel located on Powell and Geary Streets in San Francisco, adjacent to the whole western edge of Union Square, San Francisco, California, Union Square. The two 12-story south wi ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, Marcos exposed Osmeña of collaborating with the Japanese in

. Later on June 15, Osmeña won 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 ...

nomination for

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 ...

, and would run against incumbent President

for the 1969 Philippine presidential election. Marcos spent US$50 million in infrastructure projects in an effort to improve the country. This rapid campaign spending was so massive that it would be responsible for the Balance of Payments Crisis of 1970, whose inflationary effect would cause social unrest leading all the way up to the proclamation of Martial Law in 1972. Marcos was reported to have spent Php 100 for every Php 1 that Osmena spent, using up Php 24 million in Cebu alone. Despite Marcos' win, Osmeña never conceded defeat.

Subsequent activities and exile

Following his defeat, Osmeña continued as a leader in the Liberal Party. According to historian Joseph Scalice, Osmeña organized a covert organization called the Workshop Group, led by Terry Adevoso, that plotted to assassinate president Marcos in the early 1970s by hiring foreign

contract killer Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...

s. The hitmen's numerous attempts were thwarted, however, due to a mole in the organization named Jose Maristela that informed Marcos of their plans. On August 21, 1971, Osmeña along with prominent members of the

held a proclamation rally at the

Plaza Miranda Plaza Miranda is a public square bounded by Quezon Boulevard, Hidalgo Street and Evangelista Street in Quiapo, Manila. It is the plaza which fronts the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Jesus Nazareno (Quiapo Church), one of the main churc ...

Quiapo, Manila Quiapo () is a district of the city of Manila, in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. Known as the “Old Downtown of Manila", the district’s most famous landmark is Quiapo Church, a Basilicas in the Catholic Church, minor basilic ...

. While on stage with the other Liberal leaders, two hand grenades were thrown on stage, injuring Osmeña. The Plaza Miranda bombing injured 95, including Osmeña, and killed nine. Afterwards, Osmeña left for the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and lived in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California. Marcos proclaimed

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 ...

in September 1972, citing the threat of the

Communist Party of the Philippines The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP; ) is a far-left, Marxist–Leninist–Maoist revolutionary organization and communist party in the Philippines, formed by Jose Maria Sison on 26 December 1968. The CPP has been fighting a gue ...

and the rebellion of the Muslim Independence Movement. Marcos also submitted documents to the

US Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

charging that the declaration of

was also due to a plot to kill him. He claimed that Osmeña was a key figure in the plot, although no formal charges were filed against him. Osmeña's son,

Serge Serge may refer to: *Serge (fabric), a type of twill fabric *Serge (llama) (born 2005), a llama in the Cirque Franco-Italien and internet meme *Serge (name), a masculine given name (includes a list of people with this name) *Serge (post), a hitchi ...

, was captured and imprisoned due to allegations that he was involved in the assassination attempts.

Personal life

He was married to Lourdes de la Rama of

Negros Occidental Negros Occidental (; ), officially the Province of Negros Occidental (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Negros, Negros Island. Its capital is the city of Bacolod, of which it is geographically s ...

with whom he had five children: Sergio III ("Serge"), Tomas ("Tommy"), Maria Victoria ("Minnie"), Esteban ("Stevie"), and Georgia.

Death

Osmeña died of

respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a r ...

at the age of 67 on March 26, 1984, at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Historical commemoration

In 2014, a life-size brass statue of Osmeña was erected at Plaza Sugbu in

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu, is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 964,169 people, making ...

. It was designed by national artist for sculpture Eduardo Castrillo and commissioned by Insular Life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osmena Jr., Sergio 1916 births 1984 deaths Ateneo de Manila University alumni Candidates in the 1961 Philippine vice-presidential election Candidates in the 1969 Philippine presidential election Cebuano people Children of presidents of the Philippines Deaths from respiratory failure Filipino collaborators with Imperial Japan Filipino Roman Catholics Governors of Cebu Independent politicians in the Philippines Liberal Party (Philippines) politicians Mayors of Cebu City Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Cebu New York University Stern School of Business alumni Sergio People from Cebu City Senators of the 6th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 7th Congress of the Philippines Suspended members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines