Pedro C. Hernaez (12 December 1899 - 21 June 1978) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, diplomat and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Early life and career

Hernaez was born on 12 December 1899 in Talisay, Negros Occidental to Rosendo Hernaez and Teofila Conlu. He attended the Public School of Talisay and San Agustin College of

Iloilo Iloilo (), officially the Province of Iloilo ( hil, Kapuoran sang Iloilo; krj, Kapuoran kang Iloilo; tl, Lalawigan ng Iloilo), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is the City of Iloilo, the ...

, and obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from San Juan de Letran College and Bachelor of Laws degree from the Escuela de Derecho in 1921. He was admitted to the bar the same year. He practiced law while working as a sugar industry executive in

Negros Negros is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the Philippines, with a total land area of . Negros is one of the many islands of the Visayas, in the central part of the country. The predominant inhabitants of the island region a ...

as well, serving as President of the Talisay-Silay Sugar Planters Association.

Political career

His first stint in politics was in 1934, when he was elected to represent Negros Occidental to the Constitutional Convention that drafted the

1935 Philippine Constitution The Constitution of the Philippines (Filipino: ''Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas'' or ''Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas'', Spanish: ''Constitución de la República de Filipinas'') is the constitution or the supreme law of the Republic of the Philippines ...

. When the Philippine Commonwealth was established in 1935, he was elected to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

representing the 2nd District of Negros Occidental. There, he served as Chairman of the Committees on Banks and Corporations and was a main author of Commonwealth Act 326, which converted the municipality of

Bacolod, Negros Occidental Bacolod, officially the City of Bacolod (; hil, Dakbanwa/Syudad sang Bacolod; fil, Lungsod ng Bacolod), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Western Visayas, Philippines. It is the capital of the province of Negros Occidenta ...

into a chartered city. In 1941, he was elected to the Philippine Senate as a candidate of the

Nacionalista Party 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 ...

but was not sworn in until 1945 due to the Japanese occupation of the country during the

Second World War 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 opposin ...

. He served in office until 1947. During this time, he was also appointed by President

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 194 ...

to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

on 14 October 1946 as one of the Congressional Members of the Philippine Delegation and was later elected vice chairman of the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

's Economic and Financial Committee, which dealt with postwar reconstruction, on 1 November that year. In 1949, he ran again for the Senate but lost. In 1957, he was appointed 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 ...

as his Secretary of Commerce and Industry, serving until 1960 when he was appointed as Philippine Ambassador to

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 ...

, serving until 1962.

Personal life

Hernaez was married to Encarnacion de la Rama and had two children. He died on 21 June 1978.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hernaez, Pedro 1899 births 1978 deaths 20th-century Filipino politicians Colegio de San Juan de Letran alumni Filipino lawyers Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Negros Occidental Nacionalista Party politicians Secretaries of Trade and Industry of the Philippines Senators of the 1st Congress of the Commonwealth of the Philippines Senators of the 1st Congress of the Philippines