Ernesto "Ernie" Madarang Maceda Sr. (March 26, 1935 – June 20, 2016) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, and columnist who served as a Senator of the Philippines from 1971 to 1972 and again from 1987 to 1998. He served as

Senate President President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for ex ...

from 1996 to 1998.

Early life and career

Maceda was born on March 26, 1935, in Pagsanjan,

Laguna Laguna (Italian and Spanish for lagoon) may refer to: People * Abe Laguna (born 1992), American DJ known as Ookay * Andrés Laguna (1499–1559), Spanish physician, pharmacologist, and botanist * Ana Laguna (born 1955), Spanish-Swedish ballet d ...

. Maceda earned his Associate in Arts degree, magna cum laude, in 1952, and Bachelor of Laws degree, cum laude, from the Ateneo de Manila University in 1956. He then finished Master of Laws, taxation and international law, at

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

, Massachusetts, US, in 1957. At the age of 23, he was hailed as the No. 1 councilor of Manila in 1959. Because of his numerous achievements in the city council, Councilor Maceda was named “Outstanding Councilor of Manila".

Roles in the Marcos Cabinet

In 1966, Maceda was appointed as the

Presidential Assistant on Community Development The secretary of the interior and local government (Filipino: ''Kalihim ng Interyor at Pamahalaang Lokal'') is the member of the Cabinet in charge of the Department of the Interior and Local Government. The current secretary is Benjamin Abalos J ...

and was the youngest Cabinet Member of the Marcos administration. In 1969, he was appointed executive secretary in concurrent capacity as chairman of the Commission on Reorganization. In 1970, the Commerce and Industry portfolio was given to Maceda. In the post, he launched consumer protection programs and established trade relations with various Eastern European Social countries.

First Senate term (1971–72)

During the 1971 midterm elections, Maceda was only one out of three senators elected under the banner of the

Nacionalista The Nacionalista Party (Filipino and Spanish: ''Partido Nacionalista''; ) is the oldest political party in both the Philippines and in Southeast Asia in general. It is responsible for leading the country throughout the majority of the 20th ce ...

party of then-President

Ferdinand 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 ...

. He took office on December 30, 1971. In 1972, Maceda's bill granting protection to real estate buyers on installment basis was the only bill signed into law before Martial Law was proclaimed. The bill is known as the Maceda Law. His term was supposed to have ended on December 30, 1977.

Break with Marcos, exile, and opposition leadership (1972–1986)

Maceda went into exile in the United States after breaking with President Marcos over the Martial Law declaration and eventually became the adviser of Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. Following Aquino's assassination, he became one of the leaders of the opposition during the 1984 Batasan Pambansa Campaign and the 1986 snap presidential election.

Second Senate term (1987–1992)

When

Corazon 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 ...

was installed as President of the Philippines, he was appointed to head the Ministry of Natural Resources. The following year he ran for the Senate on Corazon Aquino's ticket and won. He served his second term as senator from June 30, 1987, to June 30, 1992. In January 1991, a survey organized by Senate reporters regarding the senators' overall performance was released, with Maceda receiving the most number of points. On September 16, 1991, Maceda was among the "Magnificent 12" senators who voted against the extension of the PH-US Bases Treaty.

Third Senate term (1992–1998)

During the 1992 general elections, Senator Maceda was re-elected under the

Nationalist People's Coalition The Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) is a conservative political party in the Philippines, founded in 1992 by then-presidential candidate Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. History The Party was founded in 1992 after some members of the Nacionalista ...

, which was a faction that bolted from the

Party, headed by former Tarlac Governor Danding Cojuangco. Placed sixth in the senatorial race, he took office for the third time and served from June 30, 1992, to June 30, 1998. In his third term, he served as senate president from 1996 to 1998.

Senate Presidency

On October 10, 1996, the Senate was re-organized and Maceda was installed as Senate President succeeding

Neptali A. Gonzales, Sr. Neptali Alvaro Gonzales (June 10, 1923 – September 16, 2001), better known as Neptali Gonzales, Sr., was the President of the Philippine Senate from 1992 to 1993, 1995 to 1996, and 1998. Early life and career Neptali Alvaro Gonzales was b ...

In November of that year, Senate President Maceda delivered a speech denouncing the PEA-Amari Scandal – calling the same as the ''"grandmother of all scams"''.PEA scandal
/ref> The PEA-Amari Scandal was a controversial deal involved the acquisition of 158 hectares of reclaimed land on Manila Bay that was to be converted into so-called Freedom Islands. The deal was forged as part of the Ramos administration's Manila Bay Master Development Plan (MBMDP). During this time, he was also nicknamed "Mr. Expose" by the Philippine Free Press.

Post-senate presidency

On January 26, 1998, he resigned as Senate President, citing loss of support by the majority of his fellow senators. Then Senator Neptali Gonzales, whom Maceda helped, was installed as Senate President from 1992 to 1993 and 1995 to 1996 succeeded him. Maceda became the new minority leader of the Senate. In February 1998, months before his second and last term as senator ended, Maceda ran for mayor of Manila in the 1998 presidential elections, but lost to Lito Atienza. Senator

Juan Ponce Enrile Juan Valentin Furagganan Ponce Enrile Sr., (born Juanito Furagganan; February 14, 1924), also referred to by his initials JPE, or Manong Johnny, is a Filipino politician and lawyer known for his role in the administration of Philippine dicta ...

, then the Assistant Minority Leader of the Senate became the acting minority leader even though he was also running for the presidency of the Philippines.

Ambassadorship (1998-2001) and later career

After his term in the Senate ended, Maceda was appointed Philippine Ambassador to the United States (1998–2001) by President Joseph Estrada. In the

2004 elections 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

, Maceda ran for senator under the

Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino The Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino (KNP) (''Coalition of United Filipinos''), also known as the United Opposition, was the political multi-party electoral alliance of the dominant opposition in the Philippines during the 2004 general elec ...

of presidential candidate

Fernando Poe, Jr. Ronald Allan Kelley Poe (August 20, 1939 – December 14, 2004), known professionally as Fernando Poe Jr., and often referred to by his initials FPJ, was a Filipino actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, and politician. His long and s ...

but lost. He ran again in the

2013 elections The following elections were occurred in the year 2013. Asia * 2013 Armenian local elections 26 May, 17 November, and 8 December 2013 * 2013 Armenian presidential election 18 February 2013 * 2013 Bangladeshi presidential election 22 April 2013 ...

, but lost his bid to return to the Senate. Maceda holds the distinction of being the only Filipino to have held 5 Cabinet positions in his lifetime. In 2007, he joined the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila and became one of the professors of the

PLM College of Law The College of Law of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) in Manila, Philippines is one of the two Professional schools of the University. Its current dean is Ernesto P. Maceda Jr., former Vice Mayor and City Councilor of Manila. It is loc ...

. He wrote a thrice-weekly column for the ''Philippine Star'', entitled "Search For Truth", and hosted his own talk show "Mr. Expose" on the radio station DZRJ-AM.

Personal life

Maceda became estranged from his wife Maria Azucena, popularly known as Marichu Vera-Perez of Sampaguita Pictures fame. His father-in-law was the great star builder and producer Dr. Jose Perez. His marriage to Ms. Vera-Perez produced five sons: Emmanuel, Ernesto Jr., Erwin, Edmond, and Edward. Ernesto Jr. is a former vice mayor of Manila, while

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

currently serves as the representative of the

4th district of Manila The highly urbanized city of Manila is currently represented in the House of Representatives of the Philippines by its six congressional districts. Every three years, each district elects one representative who will sit on their behalf in Congres ...

and Edmond is director of sustainability at Enderun Colleges and a Sustainability Consultant to Megaworld Corporation. Ernesto Maceda also has ten grandchildren.

Death

Maceda died of multiple organ failure at

St. Luke's Medical Center St. Luke's Medical Center (SLMC) is a private non-profit health care institution based in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines which operates two hospitals of the same name in Quezon City and Taguig. Founded by the American missionary Charl ...

in Quezon City, Philippines on the night of June 20, 2016. He was aged 81. He was interred at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina on June 25, 2016.

References

External links and sources