Nicanor Espina Yñiguez (November 6, 1915 – April 13, 2007) 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 ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the

Regular Batasang Pambansa The Regular Batasang Pambansa (English: Regular National Assembly), or the First Batasang Pambansa, was the meeting of the Batasang Pambansa from the beginning of its session on July 23, 1984 until it was abolished by President Corazon Aquino on ...

from 1984 to 1986. Considered the "Father of Southern Leyte", he authored the law that created the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Southern Leyte Southern Leyte ( ceb, Habagatang Leyte; Kabalian language, Kabalian: ''Habagatan nga Leyte''; war, Salatan nga Leyte; tl, Timog Leyte), officially the Province of Southern Leyte, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines loc ...

Early life and education

Yñiguez finished his Associate in Arts degree from

Silliman University Silliman University (also referred to as Silliman or SU) is a private university, private Research institute, research university in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, the Philippines. Established in 1901 as Silliman Institute by the Presbyte ...

in 1935. Later, he graduated from 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 200 ...

, where he joined the

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 ...

fraternity with

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 ...

in 1937.

Political career

Yñiguez was first elected to the House of Representatives on December 30, 1957, as representative of

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

's third district. During his first term, he filed a bill creating the Province of Southern Leyte. This bill became Republic Act No. 2227 and was signed into law by President

Carlos P. Garcia Carlos Polestico Garcia (November 4, 1896 – June 14, 1971) was a Filipino teacher, poet, orator, lawyer, public official, political economist, guerrilla and Commonwealth military leader who was the eighth president of the Philippines. A l ...

in 1959. In 1961, he became the first representative of Southern Leyte's at-large district. He became an Assemblyman from 1984 to 1986, where he served as Speaker of the Batasang Pambansa. In 1986, he was Acting President of Kilusang Bagong Lipunan. After the

1986 People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...

, Yñiguez fled from the Philippines.

Death

He died on April 13, 2007. He was married for 66 years to Salvacion Oppus Yñiguez, who died in September 2005. Their eldest child, Gabriel, died young. They are survived by their children Rosette and Alfredo, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yniguez, Nicanor 1915 births 2007 deaths University of the Philippines alumni Speakers of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Leyte (province) Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Southern Leyte People from Southern Leyte Members of the Batasang Pambansa