John Henry Renner Osmeña (January 17, 1935 – February 2, 2021), also known as Sonny Osmeña or simply John Osmeña, was the grandson of

Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

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 sudd ...

. He served as a senator of the Philippines from 1971 to 1972, 1987 to 1995, and 1998 to 2004. He was the last surviving senator of the 7th Congress, the last Congress before

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

. In

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines and capital of the Cebu Province. Acc ...

, he started out as a city councilor in 1963, became the vice-mayor in 1967 and was elected to the House of Representatives representing the 2nd district the year after. He was the mayor of

Toledo, Cebu Toledo, officially the City of Toledo ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Toledo; fil, Lungsod ng Toledo), is a 3rd class component city in the province of Cebu, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 207,314 people. Toledo City is ...

from 2013 to 2019.

Early life and education

Osmeña was born on January 17, 1935, in

, to Dr. Emilio Veloso Osmeña and María Luisa Renner. He was the older brother of former Cebu governor Emilio Mario "Lito" Osmeña Jr. and Annabelle "Annie" Osmeña-Aboitiz, a real estate developer. His grandfather was

, the fourth

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 t ...

. Osmeña graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of San Carlos in Cebu City. He also went to 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 ...

and the International Social Development Institution in the

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for further studies.

Political career

Osmeña's career in politics began in 1963 when he was elected as a councilor of

. Five years later, in 1968, he was elected as the city's vice mayor and in 1969, was elected to the

House of Representatives of the Philippines The House of Representatives of the Philippines ( fil, Kapulungan ng mga Kinatawan ng Pilipinas, italic=unset, ''Kamara'' or ''Kamara de Representantes'' from the Spanish word ''cámara'', meaning "chamber") is the lower house of Congress, the ...

representing Cebu's 2nd district. In 1970, he was named as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines. Running for the Senate in 1971, Osmeña was at the August 21, 1971 ''miting de avance'' of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

Plaza Miranda Plaza Miranda is a public square bounded by Quezon Boulevard, Hidalgo Street and Evangelista Street in Quiapo, Manila. It is the plaza which fronts the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene (Quiapo Church), one of the main churches of the City ...

where two grenades exploded killing 11 and leaving several people wounded. Both of Osmeña's legs were badly injured. He won a Senate seat in the 1971 election. When President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law on September 23, 1972, Osmeña went on exile in the United States. After the assassination of former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino on August 21, 1983, he was the among the first political exiles to return to the country to help in the fight against the Marcos dictatorship. He was appointed officer-in-charge of

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 demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a sustained campaign of c ...

. He was again elected a senator in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

under the Lakas ng Bayan Coalition of President Corazon Aquino. In 1992, he ran for vice president under the Nationalist People's Coalition with businessman Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. as his running mate. He soon withdrew his candidacy and was replaced by Senator

Joseph Estrada Joseph Ejercito Estrada, (; born Jose Marcelo Ejercito; April 19, 1937), also known by the nickname Erap, is a Filipino politician and former actor. He served as the 13th president of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, the 9th vice presi ...

. He instead sought re-election as senator, and was elected for a three-year term. He became the representative of the 3rd district of Cebu in 1995 before being elected as senator again in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

. During this time, Osmeña gained the moniker, "The Lone Ranger". In 2001, during the impeachment trial of

, he voted to prevent the presentation of an envelope believed to contain evidence that proves Estrada received bribe money. Osmeña ran and lost for senatorial re-election in 2004 and 2007. In 2004, Osmeña sued Governor Gwen Garcia for plunder. Osmeña ran for mayor of

in the

2010 Cebu City local elections Local elections were held in Cebu City on May 10, 2010 within the Philippine general election. Registered voters of the city elected candidates for the following elective local posts: mayor, vice mayor, district representative, and eight councilo ...

but lost. He was elected as mayor of

, and served from 2013 to 2019. After that, he sought to represent Cebu's 3rd congressional district, but was defeated in 2019.

Laws authored

Osmeña sponsored bills like ''The Municipal Telephone Act'' (Republic Act 6849) whereby each municipality will receive a telephone system; ''The Mini-Hydroelectric Program'' (RA 7156), which will provide non-conventional electricity in the countryside; ''The Public Telecommunications Act of 1995'' (RA 7925), and the creation of the

Philippine Postal Corporation The Philippine Postal Corporation ( fil, Korporasyong Pangkoreo ng Pilipinas), abbreviated as PHLPost and also known as the Philippine Post Office, is a government-owned and controlled corporation responsible for providing postal services in t ...

(RA 7354). He also authored landmark bills like ''The Electric Power Crisis Act'' (RA 7648) and ''The Build-to-Operate Act'' (RA 7718). Osmeña authored the law that created the

Department of Energy A Ministry of Energy or Department of Energy is a government department in some countries that typically oversees the production of fuel and electricity; in the United States, however, it manages nuclear weapons development and conducts energy-re ...

. Four bills were incorporated in Republic Act 9136 or otherwise known as ''The Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2000'': * Senate Bill 1712 – Creation of National Transmission Company * Senate Bill 1621 – Amending Section 5 of RA 7638 or the Department of Energy Law * Senate Bill 1943 – Amending Certain Provisions of EO 172 or the Energy Regulatory Board as Amended by RA 8479 * Senate Bill 2000 – An Act to Modernize and Reform the Power Industry.

Personal life

Osmeña was married (and later separated) to Lucy Miller (nee Urgello) in 1969. They only had one son, John Gregory "John-John" Osmeña, a former Cebu vice governor and provincial board member. Among Osmeña's grandsons is John Henry Gregory Osmeña, son of John Gregory. In 2004, Osmeña was charged with sexual abuse of a young boy, for which the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

cleared him because "there is no probable cause to indict respondent with the offense charged." In July 2020, it was announced that Osmeña had recovered from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines The COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines has resulted in, as of , reported cases, resulting in reported deaths, the fifth-highest in Southeast Asia, behind Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The first case in the Philippines was ...

after 20 days of fighting the disease. Osmeña died on 2 February 2021, sixteen days after his 86th birthday.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osmena, John Henry 1935 births 2021 deaths Presidents pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippines Senators of the 12th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 11th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 9th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 8th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 7th Congress of the Philippines People from Cebu City Cebuano people Filipino Roman Catholics Nationalist People's Coalition politicians United Opposition (Philippines) politicians Liberal Party (Philippines) politicians University of San Carlos alumni Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Cebu Filipino city and municipal councilors John Henry PDP–Laban politicians Independent politicians in the Philippines Mayors of places in Cebu

Early life and education

Political career

Laws authored

Personal life

Further reading

References