Fernando Hofileña Lopez Sr. (April 13, 1904May 26, 1993) was a Filipino statesman. A member of the influential Lopez family of Iloilo, he served as

vice president of the Philippines The vice president of the Philippines ( fil, Pangalawang Pangulo ng Pilipinas, also referred to as ''Bise Presidente ng Pilipinas'') is the second-highest official in the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the first in the p ...

for three terms – under

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 enter ...

(1949–1953) for the Liberals and

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 ...

(1965–1969 and 1969–1972) for the

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 ce ...

s. He was also the chairman of

ABS-CBN Corporation ABS-CBN Corporation is a Filipino media company based in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is the largest entertainment and media conglomerate in the Philippines. It is a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation which is owned by t ...

from 1986 to his death in 1993.

Early life and career

Lopez was born on April 13, 1904, in

Jaro, Iloilo City 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 census ...

to Benito Villanueva Lopez and Presentacion Javelona Hofileña. He was the younger brother and only sibling of

Eugenio Lopez Sr Eugenio is an Italian and Spanish masculine given name deriving from the Greek ' Eugene'. The name is Eugénio in Portuguese and Eugênio in Brazilian Portuguese. The name's translated literal meaning is well born, or of noble status. Similar de ...

. The Lopez family was the richest and most influential family in the province. Lopez studied high school at

Colegio de San Juan de Letran The Colegio de San Juan de Letran, (transl: College of San Juan de Letran) also referred to by its acronym CSJL, is a private Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution owned and run by the friars of the Order of Preachers i ...

, finishing in 1921. He studied law in 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 Miguel ...

, earning his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1925. After passing the bar examinations, he did not go into private practice, but helped his older brother manage the family business. In 1945, with no prior political experience, Lopez was chosen by President

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 sudden ...

to be mayor of Iloilo City. In 1947, he ran for senator and won. Lopez was one of the founders of

University of Iloilo The PHINMA – University of Iloilo (colloquially referred simply to as UI) is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational institution in Iloilo City, Philippines. It was established in 1947 by the López family of Iloilo who founded the broadcastin ...

and the

FEATI University FEATI University (Far Eastern Air Transport Incorporated University) is a private non-sectarian co-educational higher education institution with a Catholic orientation established in 1946 in Santa Cruz, Manila, Philippines. FEATI was formerly kn ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. The brothers Eugenio and Fernando owned the Iloilo-Negros Air Express Company (the first Filipino owned air service), the ''Iloilo Times'' (''El Tiempo''), the ''

Manila Chronicle The ''Manila Chronicle'' was a newspaper in the Philippines founded in 1945. Its founding newspapermen sold it to Eugenio López, Sr. It was closed down when martial law was imposed by Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos ...

'' and

, LSC (Lopez Sugar Corporation), Bayantel (including Bayan DSL), SkyCable (including SkyBroadband), Meralco, RLC (Rockwell Land Corporation), Rockwell Center, First Balfour, Inc., Philippine Electric Corporation (Philec), First Electro Dynamics Corporation (Fedcor), First Sumiden Circuits, Inc. (FSCI), Securities Transfer Services, Inc. (STSI), The Medical City (TMC), BayanTrade DotCom, First Gas Holdings Corporation (Santa Rita), FGP. Corp. (San Lorenzo), FG Hydro Power Corporation (Pantabangan-Masiway), FG Bukidnon (Agusan

mini-hydro Small hydro is the development of hydroelectric power on a scale suitable for local community and industry, or to contribute to distributed generation in a regional electricity grid. Exact definitions vary, but a "small hydro" project is less t ...

), Bauang Private Power Corporation (Bauang), Panay Electric Company (PECO), First Philippine Industrial Corporation (the major fuel distributor of Shell and Chevron Caltex in the country), First Philippine Realty Corp, First Philippine Electric Corp. (First Philec), First Philec Solar Corporation, First Sumiden Circuits, Inc. (FSCI), First Sumiden Realty, Inc, First Philippine Industrial Park.

Vice-presidency

First term (1949–1953)

In 1949, Lopez became vice-president under President

and concurrently worked as secretary of agriculture, serving until 1953. He was then elected once again as senator, and re-elected in 1959.

Second and third term (1965–1972)

In 1965, Lopez ran with

and won as vice-president. He was re-elected in 1969, making him, to date the only vice-president to serve two non-consecutive terms, two different presidents and from different parties. By the time martial law was declared in 1972, the Lopez family fell out of Marcos' favor and was targeted by the regime because of their denunciations of Marcos. The position of vice-president was abolished, and the Lopez family was stripped of most of its political and economic assets.

Later life and death

After the removal of Marcos from power as a result of the

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 ...

of 1986, Lopez became chairman of FHL Investment Corporation and vice-chairman of

First Philippine Holdings Corporation First Philippine Holdings Corporation (FPH) is a management and investment company whose major business is power generation and distribution, with strategic initiatives in manufacturing and property development. FPH is a member of the Lopez Grou ...

. He died on May 26, 1993, a month after his 89th birthday leaving his wife Mariquit Javellana with whom he had six children: Yolanda, Fernando, Jr. (Junjie), Alberto (Albertito), Emmanuele, Benito and Mita. He was also the longest living vice president until he was surpassed by

Teofisto Guingona Jr. Teofisto "Tito" Tayko Guingona Jr. (born July 4, 1928) is a Filipino politician and diplomat who served as the 11th vice president of the Philippines from 2001 to 2004, during the first term of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Born in San ...

in 2017.

Honors and awards

: The

Order of the Knights of Rizal The Knights of Rizal is an Order of Chivalry from the Philippines, created to honor and uphold the ideals of Philippine national hero José Rizal. The civic organisation of the "Order of the Knights of Rizal" was established in 1911 by Colonel An ...

, Knight Grand Cross of Rizal (KGCR).

References