Norberto Romuáldez y López (June 6, 1875 – November 4, 1941), often referred to as Norberto Romuáldez Sr. to distinguish him from his son with the same name, was a Philippine writer, politician, jurist, and statesman. He was the first Lopez-Romuáldez to attain national prominence, and is deemed the "Father of the Law on the
National Language
A national language is a language (or language variant, e.g. dialect) that has some connection—de facto or de jure—with a nation. There is little consistency in the use of this term. One or more languages spoken as first languages in the te ...
". He was the eldest son of Doña Trinidad Lopez-Romualdez, the Romualdez grand matriarch, and uncle of
First Lady of the Philippines
The first lady or first gentleman of the Philippines ( fil, Unang Ginang o Unang Ginoó ng Pilipinas) is the courtesy title given to the host or hostess of Malacañang Palace, the residence of the head of state and head of government of the Phil ...
Imelda Romualdez Marcos
Imelda Romualdez Marcos (; born Imelda Remedios Visitacion Trinidad Romualdez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who served as the First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power during the dictator ...
, the daughter of his youngest brother Vicente Orestes Lopez Romualdez.
Biography
Born to the prominent Lopez clan of Leyte (originally from
Granada
Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...
in the Andalusian region of
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 ...
), he is the grandson of Spanish friar and silversmith Don Francisco Lopez. Romuáldez grew up in
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 ...
, where the Lopez family owned vast coconut and
abacá
Abacá ( ; fil, Abaka ), binomial name ''Musa textilis'', is a species of banana native to the Philippines, grown as a commercial crop in the Philippines, Ecuador, and Costa Rica. The plant, also known as Manila hemp, has great economic impor ...
plantations, and first achieved status as a writer in the
Waray-Waray language
Waray (also known as Waray-Waray or Bisaya/Binisaya nga Winaray/Waray) is an Austronesian language and the fifth-most-spoken native regional language of the Philippines, native to Eastern Visayas. It is the native language of the Waray people ...
. His first Waray ''zarzuela'' was ''An Pagtabang ni San Miguel'' (The Aid of Saint Michael).
In 1908, Romuáldez wrote ''Bisayan Grammar and Notes on Bisayan Rhetoric and Poetic and Filipino Dialectology'', a treatise on the grammar of the
Waray-Waray language
Waray (also known as Waray-Waray or Bisaya/Binisaya nga Winaray/Waray) is an Austronesian language and the fifth-most-spoken native regional language of the Philippines, native to Eastern Visayas. It is the native language of the Waray people ...
. The following year (1909) he founded the ''Sanghiran san Binisaya ha Samar ug Leyte'' (Academy of the Visayan Language of Samar and Leyte) for the purpose of promoting and intellectualizing Waray-Waray. Romuáldez was also fluent in other languages like
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
,
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, and
Cebuano.
Romuáldez served as an
Associate Justice
Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some state ...
of the
Philippine Supreme Court
The Supreme Court ( fil, Kataas-taasang Hukuman; colloquially referred to as the ''Korte Suprema'' lso used in formal writing is the highest court in the Philippines. The Supreme Court was established by the Second Philippine Commission on Ju ...
during the American Period. He was also a participant in the 1934-1935 Constitutional Convention which resulted in the 1935 Constitution for the Philippine Commonwealth. He was later elected as assemblyman from the
4th district of Leyte through a
special election in 1936.
He was re-elected in
1938
Events
January
* January 1
** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...
.
Romuáldez ran for senator in
1941
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...
. However, he died on November 4, 1941, a week before the election, after an undisclosed illness. A book written about his niece's life notes that he died of a heart attack in Samar.
[Imelda Marcos By Carmen Navarro Pedrosa (1987)]
Writings
Published works
*1899: ''An Pagtabang ni San Miguel'' ("The Aid of Saint Michael"; drama)
*1908: ''Bisayan Grammar and Notes on Bisayan Rhetoric and Poetic and Filipino Dialectology'' (linguistics)
*1914: ''Tagbanwa Alphabet with Some Reforms Proposed'' (essays)
*1918: ''Philippine Orthography'' (essays)
*1921: ''An Anak han Manaranggot'' ("The Tuba Gatherer's Child", drama)
*1925: ''The Psychology of the Filipino'' (lectures)
*1931: ''Filipino Musical Instruments and Airs of Long Ago'' (lectures)
*1933: ''Philippine Legal and Business Forms Annotated''; co-authored with Enrique P. Custodio
References
See also
*
Lope K. Santos
Lope K. Santos (born Lope Santos y Canseco, September 25, 1879 – May 1, 1963) was a Filipino Tagalog-language writer and former senator of the Philippines. He is best known for his 1906 socialist novel, '' Banaag at Sikat'' and to his contrib ...
Visayan people
1875 births
1941 deaths
Writers from Leyte (province)
Politicians from Leyte (province)
Linguists from the Philippines
Filipino Roman Catholics
Filipino writers
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
Commissioners of the Bureau of Customs of the Philippines
Waray-language writers
Norberto Norberto may refer to:
*Norberto Alonso (born 1953), former Argentine football midfielder
* Norberto Araujo (born 1978), Argentine football central defender
* Norberto Aroldi (1932–1978), Argentine film actor and screenwriter
*Norberto Barba (bor ...
Filipino people of Spanish descent
{{Philippines-writer-stub