Lorenzo Sumulong Sumulong Sr. (September 5, 1905 – October 21, 1997) was a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

politician who served in the

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for four decades, and as a delegate of his country to the

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. He was noted for having engaged in a debate with

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at the

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that allegedly provoked the

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Premier to bang his shoe on a desk.

Early life and education

Sumulong was born in

Antipolo Antipolo, officially known as the City of Antipolo ( fil, Lungsod ng Antipolo), is a 1st class component city and capital of the province of Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 887,399 people. It is the ...

, Rizal. He finished law at the

University of the Philippines College of Law The University of the Philippines College of Law (often referred to as UP Law) is the law school of the University of the Philippines Diliman. Formally established in 1911 in UP Manila, it is the third oldest continually-operating law school ...

and went on to top the 1929 bar examinations. In 1932, he obtained a Masters of Law degree from Harvard Law School.

Political career

Sumulong began his political career as a municipal councilor in Antipolo. In the 1946 general elections, Sumulong won a seat in the

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, representing the

2nd District of Rizal The legislative districts of Rizal are the representations of the province of Rizal in the various national and local legislatures of the Philippines. At present, the province is represented in the House of Representatives of the Philippines by ...

. In 1949, Sumulong was elected to the

. He won re-election to the Senate in 1955 and in 1961. He did not seek re-election in 1967, but would return to the Senate in the 1969 elections. In all, Sumulong remained in Congress for 24 years, initially under the

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, but later under the Nacionalista Party. He served through the 1st Congress until the 7th Congress. During his 21-year stint as senator, Sumulong became the chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accountability (also known as the Blue Ribbon Committee). Through that high-profile position, he investigated noted national controversies such as the Tambobong-Buenavista Estate deal and the Harry Stonehill scandals.

Faceoff with Khrushchev

Sumulong also served as chairman of the

Senate Foreign Relations committee The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid p ...

, and in that capacity, he led a Philippine delegation to the 902nd Plenary Meeting of the

in 1960. During that meeting, Sumulong took the floor and delivered the following remarks challenging the

to allow the people of

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the free exercise of their civil and political rights. Khrushchev was incensed by Sumulong's remarks. He denounced the Filipino senator as "a jerk, a stooge and a lackey of imperialism". Khrushchev then took out his shoe, waved it at Sumulong, then banged the shoe on the desk in front of him. The following day, Khrushchev acknowledged that he had offended Sumulong but also asserted that he was likewise offended by the delegate from the Philippines.

Later life

Sumulong's service in Congress ended in 1972, with the abolition of the Philippine Senate upon the declaration of martial law by

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Ferdinand Marcos. In 1987, President Corazon Aquino named Sumulong to the Constitutional Commission that drafted the 1987

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 ...

. Lorenzo is the father of Victor Sumulong, who served as congressman and mayor of

during the Estrada and Arroyo administrations.

Personal life

Sumulong was married to Estrella Rodriguez and had six children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sumulong, Lorenzo Presidents pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippines 20th-century Filipino lawyers People from Antipolo University of the Philippines alumni Harvard Law School alumni 1905 births 1997 deaths Senators of the 7th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 6th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 5th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 4th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 3rd Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 2nd Congress of the Philippines Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Rizal Liberal Party (Philippines) politicians Nacionalista Party politicians Members of the Philippine Constitutional Commission of 1986