Miguel Diosomito Cuenco (December 15, 1904 – June 30, 1990) was a
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 ...
Visayan
Visayans ( Visayan: ''mga Bisaya''; ) or Visayan people are a Philippine ethnolinguistic group or metaethnicity native to the Visayas, the southernmost islands of Luzon and a significant portion of Mindanao. When taken as a single ethnic group ...
lawyer, journalist, and legislator from
Cebu
Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 16 ...
,
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 ...
. Except the years from 1946 to 1949, he served as member of the Lower House of
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
representing the
5th legislative district of Cebu from 1935 until 1965.
Early life
Miguel Cuenco was born to the couple Mariano Albao Cuenco of
Sogod, Cebu
Sogod, officially the Municipality of Sogod ( ceb, Lungsod sa Sogod; tgl, Bayan ng Sogod), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 39,447 people.
It is north of Ce ...
and Remedios Lopez Diosomito of
Baybay, Leyte on December 15, 1904. His siblings were
Jose Ma. Cuenco, the first Archbishop of
Jaro, Iloilo
Jaro (; ) is a district of Iloilo City in the Philippine province of Iloilo on Panay Island in the Western Visayas region. It is the largest in terms of area and population of Iloilo City's seven districts, with 130,700 people in the 2020 censu ...
, and former Senate President
Mariano Jesus Cuenco.
Education
Acquiring a Liberal Arts degree at the
Colegio de San Carlos when he was 14 years old, he was involved in various student activities, won prizes in philosophy and oratorical contests, and recognized for his writing skills in the Spanish language. He earned a law degree from 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 ...
at the age of 18 and became a lawyer on November 16, 1926.
At the University of Santo Tomas, he was an editor of school papers ''Revista Escolar de Derecho'' and ''Unitas''.
He pursued further studies in 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 territori ...
, attending
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
,
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
and
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
in Washington DC where he took Diplomacy and International Relations.
Miguel Cuenco married Fara Remia Jalbuena Ledesma on May 27, 1948.
The couple had three children, but only their daughter Marietta survived to adulthood.
Journalism
At a young age, he was an editor for ''La Juventud'', a Spanish newspaper. He also became a reporter and editor of ''El Precursor,'' a Cebu periodical
founded by election lawyer Domingo Franco and whose management would be taken over later on to his brother, Mariano.
Legal education
He also was a professor of political law at the University of San Carlos and later became the dean of the College of Law. Before the war, he was appointed by the
Supreme Court as member of the committee responsible for amending the Code of Legal Ethics by the recommendation of
Jose P. Laurel
José Paciano Laurel y García (; March 9, 1891 – November 6, 1959) was a Filipino people, Filipino politician, lawyer, and judge, who served as the president of the Japanese-occupied Second Philippine Republic, a puppet state during World W ...
.
Political career
When
Sergio Osmeña
Sergio Osmeña Sr. (, ; 9 September 1878 – 19 October 1961) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fourth president of the Philippines from 1944 to 1946. He was vice president under Manuel L. Quezon. Upon Quezon's sudd ...
retired from politics after his defeat in the
1946 presidential election, the Cuenco family took political hold in the locality by allying themselves with
Manuel Roxas
Manuel Acuña Roxas (born Manuel Roxas y Acuña; ; January 1, 1892 – April 15, 1948) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of the Philippines, who served from 1946 until his death due to heart attacks in 19 ...
, the newly elected president, as well as a local political leader named Ramon Durano. The Cuencos did not have large landholdings, but they had commercial interests in Cebu City and owned Bisaya Land Transportation Company, one of only two major land transportation companies at that time. The Osmeñas and Cuencos later established alliance in 1954 to 1955, a political fusion that Miguel hesitated to join for quite some time.
Affiliated with the
Nacionalista Party,
Miguel Cuenco was elected member of the
Philippine Legislature
The Philippine Legislature was the legislature of the Philippines from 1907 to 1935, during the American colonial period, and predecessor of the current Congress of the Philippines. It was bicameral and the legislative branch of the Insular G ...
for two terms representing the 5th legislative district of Cebu in 1931 to 1935, succeeding his brother Mariano Jesus Cuenco. He was again voted to serve in the same elected post for the
1st National Assembly and the
2nd National Assembly during the
Commonwealth period from 1935 to 1941. Before the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
in 1941, he was again reelected but only served after the war in 1945. After the war, he was voted again as Congressman of the Cebu's 5th district for four terms starting in 1950 until 1965.
As legislator in the Lower House of Congress, he authored the Republic Act 709, a law approved on June 5, 1952 and that required the mandatory teaching of
Spanish language
Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a global language with more than 500 million native speakers, mainly in th ...
in colleges and universities. He was Chairman on the Committee on Elections from 1931 until 1935, Chairman of the Committee on Public Works from 1934 to 1945, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and member of the following committees: on Revision of Laws, and on Labor and Industrial Relations. In April of 1954, he was part of the Philippine delegation to the Geneva International Conference. However, he declined the offers of President Manuel Roxas and later President
Elpidio Quirino
Elpidio Rivera Quirino (born Elpidio Quirino y Rivera; ; November 16, 1890 – February 29, 1956) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the sixth president of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953.
A lawyer by profession, Quirino ente ...
for diplomatic posts for the United States,
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
,
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
or
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
.
Business
In addition, Miguel Cuenco was a business executive, working as Vice President of the Bisaya Land Transportation Company Inc and the manager of the company's shipping department. The company was wholly owned by Filipino and engaged in transportation and shipping in the
Visayas
The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao. Located in the central part of the archipelago, ...
and
Mindanao
Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
.
In 1958, he filed a complaint against Dioscoro Lazaro,
Manuel Cuenco, Jose P. Velez, Jesus P. Velez, Federico A. Reyes, and Nicolas Jumapao for an article published on The Republic Daily, a Cebu newspaper of which Lazaro was the publisher, that reported Cuenco was sued by the company for issues allegedly involving the company's management. The case was dismissed by the Supreme Court on March 31, 1976.
The Supreme Court also ruled a separate case involving the assets of Bisaya Land Transportation, stating that Cuenco's rights to the assets only arise upon the dissolution of the company.
Later years
On December 17, 1965, he announced his retirement from politics .
He had received various awards, including recognition from the Legislative Press Club, Philippine Women Voter's League, and University of San Carlos (distinguished alumnus).
He was 86 when he died on June 30, 1990.
Historical commemoration
* A statue was erected in his honor in the plaza of Alegria, Cebu.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuenco, Miguel
1990 deaths
20th-century Filipino writers
Members of the National Assembly of the Philippines
University of San Carlos alumni
University of Santo Tomas alumni
1904 births
20th-century Filipino lawyers
Members of the Philippine Legislature
Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Cebu
Georgetown University alumni