Catalino Tiacho Macaraig Jr. (November 5, 1927 – November 16, 2003) was a Filipino political who was the longest-serving (from September 17, 1987 to December 14, 1990) Executive Secretary of President
Corazon C. Aquino
Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People P ...
.
Personal life
Macaraig was born in
Santa Cruz, Manila
Santa Cruz is a district in the northern part of the City of Manila, Philippines, located on the right bank of the Pasig River near its mouth, bordered by the districts of Tondo, Binondo, Quiapo, and Sampaloc, as well as the areas of Grace ...
,
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 ...
on November 5, 1927 to Catalino Macaraig and Ignacia Tiacho Macaraig. His only sibling was a younger sister, Gloria, born in 1932.
Macaraig was a product of the Philippine public school system from his elementary to his university years: Santa Ana Elementary School, Araullo High School, Arellano High School (where he graduated in 1946), and the
University of the Philippines
The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 20 ...
(U.P.), where he graduated in 1952 with a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.).
While at U.P., Macaraig was a member of
Upsilon Sigma Phi
The Upsilon Sigma Phi () is the oldest Greek-letter organization and fraternity in Asia. Founded in 1918, it is also the oldest student organization in continuous existence in the University of the Philippines. It has two chapters — a single ch ...
, the oldest Greek-letter fraternity in Asia. He was also a member of the
U.P. Vanguards, the university's Reserve Officer Training Corps Unit and the pioneer of the ROTC in the Philippines. He was into athletics as a member of the U.P. varsity weight-lifting team and the U.P. Law swimming team.
After he obtained his law degree and passed the Philippine bar exams in 1952, Macaraig left for the United States and earned a Master of Laws degree (LL.M.) in 1954 from the
University of Michigan Law School
The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparative Law (MCL ...
, where he specialized in International Law and Public Administration.
Macaraig received the Most Distinguished Alumnus Award (Sunburst Order – Golden Class) of the Arellano (Manila North) High School in 1977 and the Upsilonian Noble and Outstanding (UNO) Award, the highest recognition conferred on Upsilonians.
On December 18, 1955, he married Araceli (Celi) Villareal Andaya (Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, University of the Philippines (U.P.), 1952; Master of Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, 1954), a native of Mambusao, Capiz. They had six children.
Professional life
Soon after returning to the Philippines in 1954, Macaraig began a career in government when he joined the Department of Justice as Judicial Supervisor in the Judiciary Division. In the 1960s, he rose through the ranks in a succession of positions: special attorney, prosecution division, chief legal officer, law division, and chief of the technical staff. At this time, he also held concurrent positions as Director of the Bureau of Prisons from 1966 to 1967, Member and later Chairman of the Board of Pardons and Parole from 1962 to 1970, Chairman of the Appeals Committee for Motion Pictures, and Chairman of the Interim Board of Censors for Motion Pictures.
Macaraig also got involved in teaching as a Professorial Lecturer in the U.P. College of Law, teaching different subjects in the evenings for almost a decade beginning in 1963. He was one of the incorporators of the U.P. Law Alumni Association in 1973, and later served as Vice-President of the U.P. Law Alumni Foundation.
In 1970, he was invited to join the Philippine judiciary as District Judge of the Court of First Instance of Laguna and San Pablo City, and he was appointed Undersecretary of Justice in April 1971.
Macaraig was a member of the following entities at one time or another during his work in the government's executive branch: Dangerous Drugs Board, Council for the Welfare of Children, Human Settlements Regulatory Commission, Presidential Action Committee on Land Problems, Committee on Negotiated Contracts, Technical Staff for the Philippine Military Bases Panel and the North Borneo Claim, U.P. Law Center's Revised Administrative Code Project and Special Committee Symposium on the Treatment of Offenders, and Constitutional Revision Project.
On September 21, 1972, Philippine President
Ferdinand E. Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...
declared
Martial Law in the Philippines. In 1978, the Philippine's form of government was converted from presidential to parliamentary; hence, the Department of Justice became the Ministry of Justice, while Macaraig became a Deputy Minister of Justice. Macaraig stayed on in government because he believed that honest public servants and career officials should not abandon the ship of state, even if it was being steered by a corrupt and abusive leader.
Macaraig was appointed
Minister of Justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
from January to July 1979, but he was soon demoted to Deputy Minister as a result of policy differences with Marcos. These increasing disagreements made his remaining in government untenable, so he retired in January 1980.
Private sector
Following Macaraig's resignation from government work, he was hired by Lepanto Consolidated Mining Co., a publicly listed and premier Philippine company. From 1980 to 1987, Macaraig held various positions in Lepanto and its subsidiaries: Director and Senior Vice-President of Lepanto; Director and President of Insular Lumber Co. (Phils.), Inc.; Director and Vice-President of Manila Mining Corporation, Shipside Inc., Diamond Drilling Corporation of the Philippines, Diaboart Products Philippines, Philippine Fire and Marine Insurance Corporation, and Lepanto Investment and Development Corporation.
Return to government
In 1986, the EDSA Revolution began, resulting in
Ferdinand Marcos being deposed and replaced by Corazon C. Aquino as President of the republic. By March 1987, President Aquino had drafted Macaraig into her cabinet as Deputy Executive Secretary. Macaraig had been highly recommended by Aquino's first Executive Secretary, Joker Arroyo.
In September 1987, President Aquino reorganized her Cabinet after a
coup attempt against her administration. She replaced Joker Arroyo with Macaraig as Executive Secretary.
In Philippine government, the position of Executive Secretary is "the most important office under the Chief Executive and is considered a department in itself. The Executive Secretary—often referred to as the "Little President"—handles the official relations of the President with all other department and instrumentalities of the government. He holds a very vital position. He is often called upon to represent the person of the president in official acts and ceremonies. He also acts as the head of the bureaus and offices not under any departments of the government and placed under the supervision of the Office of the President."
Macaraig was President Aquino's longest-serving among her five Executive Secretaries during her six-year term. In his over three years as Executive Secretary, Macaraig was regarded as one of Aquino's Cabinet secretaries who diligently and with integrity fulfilled their duties to the office, the president, and the country, such that he was considered by some people to be a hero.
Despite concurrently holding top posts in the country's biggest corporations at one time or another (among these, he was Chairman of
Philippine National Oil Company,
Philippine Airlines
Philippine Airlines (PAL), a trade name of PAL Holdings, Inc. (Philippine Stock Exchange, PSEPAL (Philippine Air Lines until 1970), is the flag carrier airline of the Philippines. Headquartered at the Philippine National Bank, PNB Financial Cen ...
and
Philippine National Bank
The Philippine National Bank (PNB, Filipino/ tl, Bangko Nasyonal ng Pilipinas, lit=; es, Banco Nacional Filipino; Hokkien ) is one of the largest banks in the Philippines. It was established by the Philippine government on July 22, 1916, duri ...
), Macaraig never took advantage of his positions for personal gain.
![Catalino Macaraig, Jr](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Catalino_Macaraig%2C_Jr._receives_the_Philippine_Legion_of_Honor.jpg)
On December 26, 1990, shortly after Macaraig stepped down as Executive Secretary, President Aquino conferred upon him one of the highest awards her office could bestow, the
Philippine Legion of Honor
The Philippine Legion of Honor ( fil, Lehiyong Pandangal ng Pilipinas; es, Legion de Honor Filipino) was established by President Manuel Roxas, through Philippine Army Circular No. 60 dated July 3, 1947. The Philippine Legion of Honor was patterne ...
, Degree of Commander. President Aquino's citation includes the following:
"In recognition for his outstanding and meritorious services rendered to the Republic of the Philippine in the span of thirty years, culminating in his three-year tenure as Executive Secretary of the Office of the President. For his steadfast leadership and action at the time of grave danger to our democratic institutions where he successfully, courageously, and quietly coordinated the task of saving the republic…For his exemplary efforts and zeal, and for pursuing the national interest and ensuring that the presidency and the people are served, foregoing credit for himself…For a record of honesty and integrity worthy of emulation."
Private life and retirement
Macaraig later returned to work for the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company until he retired in 1997 at the age of 70.
After his 76th birthday on November 5, 2003, Macaraig underwent a second cataract operation, then was confined at the National Kidney Institute (NKI) for an emergency vascular operation. Shortly after he was discharged from the NKI, he suffered cardiac arrest and died on November 16, 2003.
U.P. Law scholarship
Shortly after Macaraig's death, his family and friends established the Catalino T. Macaraig Jr. Scholarship in the U.P. College of Law for the tuition support of a law student, preferably one employed in the executive or judicial branches.
[University of the Philippines, Law Complex, Scholarships: ]
See also
*
Executive Secretary (Philippines)
The Office of the Executive Secretary of the Philippines (formerly the Executive Office) is the head and highest-ranking official of the Office of the President of the Philippines and a member of the Cabinet of the Philippines. The office-holder ...
*
List of Cabinets of the Philippines
The following is a list of Cabinets of the Philippines by the President of the Philippines under which they operated.
Emilio Aguinaldo (1899–1901)
Manuel L. Quezon (1935–1944)
Appointments (1935–1941)
War Cabinet (1941–1 ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macaraig, Catalino Jr.
2003 deaths
1927 births
Recipients of the Philippine Legion of Honor
Executive Secretaries of the Philippines
20th-century Filipino lawyers
University of the Philippines alumni
People from Santa Cruz, Manila
University of Michigan Law School alumni
Secretaries of Justice of the Philippines
Corazon Aquino administration cabinet members
Ferdinand Marcos administration cabinet members