Camilo Olaviano Osías, Sr. (born Camilo Osías y Olaviano; March 23, 1889 – May 20, 1976) was a Filipino politician, twice for a short time

President of the Senate of the Philippines The president of the Senate of the Philippines ( fil, pangulo ng Mataas na Kapulungan ng Pilipinas or ), commonly known as the Senate president, is the presiding officer and the highest-ranking official of the Senate of the Philippines, and thir ...

. Along with a certain American named Mary A. Lane, Osías translated into English the poem ''Filipinas'' that was set to the ''Marcha Nacional Filipina'', producing the ''Philippine Hymn'' that is now the national anthem, ''

Lupang Hinirang "" ("Chosen Land"), originally titled in Spanish as "" ("Philippine National March"), and commonly and informally known by its incipit "" ("Beloved Country"), is the national anthem of the Philippines. Its music was composed in 1898 by Juliá ...

''.

Life and career

Osías attended school in Balaoan,

Vigan Vigan, officially the City of Vigan ( ilo, Siudad ti Vigan; fil, Lungsod ng Vigan), is a 4th class component city and capital of the province of Ilocos Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 53,935 people. L ...

and San Fernando, and was selected a government scholar to the

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in 1905. He studied at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

in 1906 and 1907. He graduated from the Western Illinois State Teachers College at

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in 1908, and from the Teachers College of

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in 1910. On his return to the Philippines, he taught and later assumed various administrative positions, particularly in the field of education. He successively became the first Filipino Superintendent of Schools (1915 to 1916), Assistant Director of Education (1917 to 1921), a lecturer at 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 20 ...

(1919 to 1921), and President of

National University A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. Some national universities are associated with national cultural or po ...

(1921–1936), a private institution. Osías then entered national politics. He was a member of the first Philippine mission to the United States (1919 to 1920). He was elected to the Philippine Senate in 1925, and as a

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 ...

, was

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in the

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in 1928, reelected in 1931 and served from March 4, 1929 until January 3, 1935, when his term expired in accordance with the new government of the

Philippine Commonwealth The Commonwealth of the Philippines ( es, Commonwealth de Filipinas or ; tl, Komonwelt ng Pilipinas) was the administrative body that governed the Philippines from 1935 to 1946, aside from a period of exile in the Second World War from 1942 ...

. In 1934, he was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the Philippine Senate, but became a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1934, and a member of the first

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in 1935. In 1939, he was a member of the Economic Mission to the United States, and chairman of the Educational Mission between 1938 and 1941. Back in the Philippines, Osías became chairman of the National Council of Education in 1941, Director of Publicity and Propaganda until January 1942, chairman of the National Cooperative Administration in 1941, later Assistant Commissioner of the Department of Education, Health, and Public Welfare, then Secretary of Education until 1945. He was also Chancellor of Osías Colleges. He was elected again to the Philippine Senate in 1947 for a term expiring in 1953. He was

twice for a short time in 1952 and in 1953. He was the Philippines' representative to the

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and to the International Trade Conference in

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in 1948. He ran as a Nacionalista again, this time for

President of the Philippines The president of the Philippines ( fil, Pangulo ng Pilipinas, sometimes referred to as ''Presidente ng Pilipinas'') is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of ...

, in 1953 and lost to

Ramón Magsaysay Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay Sr. (August 31, 1907 – March 17, 1957) was a Filipino statesman who served as the seventh president of the Philippines, from December 30, 1953, until his death in an aircraft disaster on March 17, 1957. An automo ...

. He was again elected, this time as a Liberal to the Philippine Senate (1961–1967), and served as president ''

pro tempore ''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to "for the time being" in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a '' locum tenens'' (placeholder) in the absence o ...

''. He was a resident of

Mandaluyong Mandaluyong, officially the City of Mandaluyong ( fil, Lungsod ng Mandaluyong), is a first class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to ...

Rizal Rizal, officially the Province of Rizal ( fil, Lalawigan ng Rizal), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Its capital is the city of Antipolo. It is about east of Manila. The province is named after Jos� ...

(since incorporated into

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

), until his death.

Bibliography

*Camilo Osías: ''The Story of a Long Career of Varied Tasks'' (Manlapaz Publishing Co., Quezon City, 1971) *Eduardo Bananal: ''Camilo Osías: Educator and Statesman'' (Manlapaz Publishing Co., Quezon City, 1974) *''Camilo Osia'' (sic) in ''Hispanic Americans in Congress, 1822-1995'', prepared under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing by Carmen E. Enciso and Tracy North, Hispanic Division, Library of Congress (Government Printing Office, Washington, 1995)

External links

Life and career

Bibliography

See also

External links