Benito Cosme Legarda y Tuason (September 27, 1853 – August 27, 1915) was a Filipino legislator who was a member of the
Philippine Commission
The Philippine Commission was the name of two bodies, both appointed by the president of the United States, to assist with governing the Philippines.
The first Philippine Commission, also known as the Schurman Commission, was appointed by Preside ...
of the American colonial
Insular Government
The Insular Government of the Philippine IslandsThis form of the name appeared in the titles of U.S. Supreme Court cases, but was otherwise rarely used. See Costas v. Insular Government of the Philippine Islands, 221 U.S. 623, 1911. The Admini ...
, the government's legislature, and later a
Resident Commissioner from the Philippine Islands to the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
.
Early life and education
He was born in
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 ...
, Philippines on September 27, 1853 to a
Spanish-Filipino mestizo family.
He attended the Jesuits' College and 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 Miguel ...
of Manila.
Political life
He started his political life as a member of President
Emilio Aguinaldo
Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (: March 22, 1869February 6, 1964) was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who is the youngest president of the Philippines (1899–1901) and is recognized as the first president of the Philippine ...
's cabinet at
Malolos
Malolos, officially the City of Malolos ( fil, Lungsod ng Malolos), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to th ...
and vice president of the
Filipino Congress. He later became a member of the
Philippine Commission
The Philippine Commission was the name of two bodies, both appointed by the president of the United States, to assist with governing the Philippines.
The first Philippine Commission, also known as the Schurman Commission, was appointed by Preside ...
in 1901 and was elected as a Resident Commissioner to the Sixtieth and to the two succeeding Congresses (November 22, 1907 - March 3, 1912). He was not a candidate for renomination to the Sixty-third Congress in 1912, in large part due to opposition to his candidacy from the
Philippine Assembly
The Philippine Assembly (sometimes called the Philippine National Assembly) was the lower house of the Philippine Legislature from 1907 to 1916, when it was renamed the House of Representatives of the Philippines. The Philippine Assembly wa ...
.
He founded the
''Federalista'' Party in the early part of the 20th century.
[, page 444.] He was an upper-class Filipino who cooperated with the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
[
]
Death
Benito Legarda died on August 27, 1915, in Evian-les-Bains, France. He is buried at the Manila North Cemetery
The Manila North Cemetery (Spanish: ''Cementerio del Norte'') is one of the oldest cemeteries in Metro Manila, Philippines. The cemetery is owned by and located in the City of Manila, the national capital, and is one of the largest in the metropo ...
.
Legacy
The Legarda Elementary School
The Legarda Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Sampaloc in the City of Manila. Built in 1922, the school is notable for its main school building that has managed to retain its pre-war architecture, making its building the ...
and Legarda Street
Legarda Street is a short street located in Sampaloc district in Manila, Philippines. It crosses through the eastern section of the University Belt area in a generally east–west orientation between the Nagtahan Interchange and the intersect ...
in Manila were named in Legarda's honor.
See also
*
*List of Hispanic Americans in the United States Congress
This is a list of Hispanic and Latino Americans
Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these ...
References
1853 births
1915 deaths
Burials at the Manila North Cemetery
Filipino nationalists
Filipino people of Spanish descent
Hispanic and Latino American members of the United States Congress
Members of the United States Congress of Filipino descent
People from Quiapo, Manila
Resident Commissioners of the Philippines
University of Santo Tomas alumni
Members of the Philippine Commission
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