Arsenio Cruz Herrera (; December 14, 1863 – April 8, 1917) was considered the first

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

mayor of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. He was also the leader of the

Progresista Party The Progresista Party (Progressive Party, ''Partido Progresista'' in Tagalog and Spanish) was a conservative political party in the Philippines during the early 20th century. Formed in 1900 as the Federalist Party (Partido Federalista), the party o ...

from 1907 to 1914.

Early life

Arsenio was born on December 14, 1863, in

Tondo, Manila Tondo is a district located in Manila, Philippines. It is the largest in terms of area and population of Manila's sixteen districts, with a Census-estimated 631,313 people in 2015 and consists of two congressional districts. It is also the seco ...

. His parents were Tomás Cruz and Ambrosia Herrera. He studied in a school under Fortunato Jacinto, then at

Colegio de San Juan de Letran The Colegio de San Juan de Letran, (transl: College of San Juan de Letran) also referred to by its acronym CSJL, is a private Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution owned and run by the friars of the Order of Preachers i ...

where he received a degree of ''bachiller en artes'' (

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

) in 1880. He later enrolled at the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Migue ...

to attain a licentiate in canon law (1889) and jurisprudence (1892). At the

, he studied while working at the university library. He was able to start his own law office right after graduating, a firm where

Juan Sumulong Juan Marquez Sumulong Sr. (born Juan Sumulong y Marquez; December 27, 1875 – January 9, 1942) was a Filipino former revolutionary, journalist, lawyer, educator and politician from the province of Rizal. He was the president of the opposition ...

and

Rafael Palma Rafael Palma y Velásquez (: October 24, 1874 May 24, 1939) was a Filipino politician, Rizalian, writer, educator and a famous Freemason. He was a senator from 1916 to 1921 and was the fourth president of the University of the Philippines. Biog ...

were later able to work as young lawyers. His law practice earned as much as eighty thousand pesos per year.

Career

Philippine Revolution

Little was known about his activities during the Philippine Revolution. According to Manuel Artigas, he advised General Maximo Hizon on the capture of Angeles,

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga ( pam, Lalawigan ning Pampanga; tl, Lalawigan ng Pampanga ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac ...

. After the return of Emilio Aguinaldo in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, Cruz Herrera together with Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista and

Felipe Buencamino Felipe Siojo Buencamino Sr. (August 23, 1848 – February 6, 1929) was an infamous turncoat, Filipino lawyer, and politician. He fought alongside the Spaniards in the Philippine Revolution but later switched sides and joined Emilio Aguinaldo's ...

First Philippine Republic

Cruz Herrera was offered the post as War Director of the new revolutionary government, a responsibility he refused to take.

Antonio Luna Antonio Narciso Luna de San Pedro y Novicio Ancheta (; October 29, 1866 – June 5, 1899) was a Filipino army general who fought in the Philippine–American War before his assassination in 1899. Regarded as one of the fiercest generals of hi ...

was made War Director instead. Cruz Herrera rather chose to manage the official government newspaper, the ''El Heraldo de la Revolución''. His efforts made the revolutionary government to establish the ''Universidad Cientifico-Literaria de Filipinas'' in 1899, where he taught law. During the

Malolos Congress The Malolos Congress (also known as the Revolutionary Congress), formally known as the National Assembly, was the legislative body of the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines. Members were chosen in the elections held from June 23 to Septe ...

, he was elected as one of the four elected members from

. He was also part of the commission that drafted the

Malolos Constitution The Political Constitution of 1899 ( es, Constitución Política de 1899), informally known as the Malolos Constitution, was the constitution of the First Philippine Republic. It was written by Felipe Calderón y Roca and Felipe Buencamino as ...

, which was enacted on January 21, 1899. He later realized that the armed struggle for independence was vain, so he decided to cooperate with the Americans.

American period

Cruz Herrera was convinced on the peace plans of the

Schurman Commission The Schurman Commission, also known as the First Philippine Commission, was established by United States President William McKinley on January 20, 1899, and tasked to study the situation in the Philippines and make recommendations on how the U.S. ...

, and later joined a group that supported American autonomy in the Philippines. During the

Taft Commission The Taft Commission, also known as the Second Philippine Commission (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Ikalawang Komisyon ng Pilipinas''), was established by United States President William McKinley on March 16, 1900, following the recommendations ...

, he was appointed President of the Municipal Board of Manila. However, he did not enjoy any influence in the city legislation. He resigned on September 18, 1905. During the First Philippine Assembly elections and the Second Philippine Assembly elections, he led the

and ran for Rizal's 1st district. He lost in both occasions, but he won the seat for Rizal's 1st District in the Third Philippine Assembly elections. His

, however, never had the majority wrested from the Nacionalista Party from 1907 to 1912. On April 2, 1914, he moved to the Democrata Party.

Personal life

Cruz Herrera was first married on September 9, 1888, to married Julita Alejandrino, sister of the revolutionary general,

José Alejandrino José Cándido Alejandrino y Magdangal (December 1, 1870 – June 1, 1951) was a Philippine Republican Army general during the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine–American War. He was also a senator of the Twelfth Senatorial District of ...

. They had eight children namely: José, Rosario, Miguel, Concepción, Augustín, Natividad, Augusto, and Emmanuela. On March 4, 1912, Julita died. Later, he married Bernarda Sastre. They did not have any children together. Cruz Herrera died on April 8, 1917.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz Herrera, Arsenio Mayors of Manila 1863 births 1917 deaths Colegio de San Juan de Letran alumni People from Tondo, Manila Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Rizal Members of the Malolos Congress Members of the Philippine Legislature