José Yulo Yulo (September 24, 1894 – October 27, 1976) was the

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines The chief justice of the Philippines ( fil, Punong Mahistrado ng Pilipinas) presides over the Supreme Court of the Philippines and is the highest judicial officer of the government of the Philippines. As of April 5, 2021, the position is cu ...

(May 7, 1942 – July 9, 1945) during the Japanese Occupation and was Speaker of the National Assembly of the Philippines from 1939 until World War II started in 1941. Yulo served in all of the branches of government: the legislative as House Speaker, congressman, and senator; the executive as Secretary of Justice and member of the Cabinet; and the judiciary as the

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 sta ...

and Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court of the Philippines 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 J ...

. He and his family also owned the Canlubang Sugar Estate that they bought in 1948.

Early life and career

Manuel Quezon and José Yulo 2011 stamp of the Philippines

José Yulo Yulo was born on September 24, 1894 in

Bago, Negros Occidental Bago, officially the City of Bago ( hil, Dakbanwa/Syudad sang Bago; fil, Lungsod ng Bago), is a 2nd class component city in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 191,210 people. Loc ...

to Sofronio Yulo and Segunda Yulo. He obtained his Bachelor of Laws degree 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 ...

and placed third in the

Philippine Bar Examination The Philippine Bar Examination is the professional licensure examination for lawyers in the Philippines. The exam is exclusively administered by the Supreme Court of the Philippines through the Supreme Court Bar Examination Committee. Brief hist ...

of 1913; however, due to his age, did not practice law until two years later. He became distinguished as one of the best corporation lawyers in the Philippines. Appointed as Justice Secretary by Governor-General

Frank Murphy William Francis Murphy (April 13, 1890July 19, 1949) was an American politician, lawyer and jurist from Michigan. He was a Democrat who was named to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1940 after a political career that included serving ...

and President Manuel L. Quezon in 1934 and 1935, he was elected to the

National Assembly of the Philippines The National Assembly of the Philippines ( tl, Kapulungáng Pambansâ ng Pilipinas, es, Asamblea Nacional de Filipinas) refers to the legislature of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 to 1941, and of the Second Philippine Republic ...

representing the province of

Negros Occidental Negros Occidental ( hil, Nakatungdang Negros; tl, Kanlurang Negros), officially the Province of Negros Occidental, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region. ...

, becoming its Speaker under the ruling

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 ...

on its convening session in 1939. 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 Philippine ...

was amended in 1940 changing the unicameral legislature system into a

bicameral system Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single gr ...

; thus the National Assembly was divided into a Senate and a

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. Yulo remained as Speaker of the National Assembly. Yulo was elected to the Senate 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 E ...

for the 1st Congress of the Commonwealth of the Philippines but did not serve immediately as he was arrested by the US Army's Counter-Intelligence Corps (CIC) because he had worked in various capacities under the Japanese-sponsored Philippine Government. Following the Japanese conquest of the Philippines in 1942, he became a member of the Preparatory Committee for Philippine Independence, and upon the establishment of the

Second Philippine Republic The Second Philippine Republic, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines ( tl, Repúbliká ng Pilipinas; es, República de Filipinas; ja, フィリピン共和国, ''Firipin-kyōwakoku'') and also known as the Japanese-sponsored Phi ...

in 1943, was appointed Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. He is the only former Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines to be subsequently appointed Chief Justice.Cruz, Isagani A. (2000). ''Res Gestae: A Brief History of the Supreme Court''. Rex Book Store, Manila He finally served his elected Senate term in 1945, lasting until 1946.

Accomplishments

Despite the difficulties experienced under Japanese occupation, Yulo attempted to maintain the integrity of the judiciary despite pressure from the Japanese military to sway in decisions on certain cases.

Postwar years

Yulo was the presidential candidate 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 ...

in the 1957 presidential election, eventually losing to incumbent President Carlos P. Garcia. His running mate, Pampanga's 1st district representative

Diosdado Macapagal Diosdado Pangan Macapagal Sr. (; September 28, 1910 – April 21, 1997) was a Filipino lawyer, poet and politician who served as the ninth president of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the sixth vice president, serving from 1 ...

, won the vice-presidential race. Yulo was later appointed by President

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 ...

as Secretary of Justice, and served from January 1, 1966 to August 4, 1967.

Death

Yulo died of

respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a rise ...

as a result of

atherosclerosis Atherosclerosis is a pattern of the disease arteriosclerosis in which the wall of the artery develops abnormalities, called lesions. These lesions may lead to narrowing due to the buildup of atheromatous plaque. At onset there are usually no s ...

at Makati Medical Center in

Makati Makati ( ), officially the City of Makati ( fil, Lungsod ng Makati), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. Makati is the financial center of the Philippines; it has the highest concentration ...

at 10:10 AM on October 27, 1976. He was buried in

Canlubang Canlubang is a major industrial zone located in the province of Laguna, southwest of Metro Manila in the Philippines. It was once a hacienda during the Spanish colonial period. Canlubang straddles two component cities of Laguna: Cabuyao, Calamba ...

, Calamba, Laguna on October 30, 1976.

References

External links

Department of Justice of the Republic of the Philippines
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yulo, Jose 1894 births 1976 deaths Araneta family Ateneo de Manila University alumni Candidates in the 1957 Philippine presidential election Chief justices of the Supreme Court of the Philippines Deaths from respiratory failure Filipino collaborators with Imperial Japan Liberal Party (Philippines) politicians People from Negros Occidental Secretaries of Justice of the Philippines Senators of the 1st Congress of the Commonwealth of the Philippines Speakers of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Negros Occidental University of the Philippines alumni University of the Philippines College of Law alumni Ferdinand Marcos administration cabinet members Quezon administration cabinet members Candidates in the 1953 Philippine vice-presidential election Members of the National Assembly of the Philippines