Quintín Babila Paredes Sr. (born Quintín Paredes y Babila; September 9, 1884 – January 30, 1973) 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 ...

lawyer, politician, and statesman.

Early life

He was born in

Bangued Bangued, officially the Municipality of Bangued ( ilo, Ili ti Bangued; tgl, Bayan ng Bangued), is a 1st class municipality and capital of the province of Abra, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 50,382 people. ...

, Abra,

Philippines 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 ...

in 1884 to ''Don'' Juan Félix Paredes y Pe Benito and Regine Babila.

Education and early career

He obtained his elementary education at the school his father had established, and also studied at the Colegio Seminario de Vigan and at the

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 ...

. He pursued law at the Escuela de Derecho de Manila. Graduating in 1907, Paredes took and passed the bar examinations the same year, and started his private practice in

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 ...

. He was appointed fourth prosecuting attorney on July 9, 1908, first prosecuting attorney on November 1, 1913, and served until March 1, 1917.Biographical Directory of the United States Congress: Paredes, Quintin
(HTML) Accessed August 9, 2007.

Government service

He served as Philippine Solicitor General from March 1, 1917 to 1918, as Attorney-General from 1918 to July 1, 1920, and as Secretary of Justice from 1920 to 1921. As Attorney-General, Paredes was a member of the first parliamentary mission to the United States in 1919. He resumed the practice of law in

in 1921.

Political career

House of Representatives

He was elected to the

Philippine House of Representatives 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 ...

to represent the

Abra's at-large congressional district Abra's at-large congressional district refers to the lone congressional district of the Philippines in the province of Abra. Abra has been represented in the country's various national legislatures since 1898. The first congressional delegation ...

in 1925, 1928, 1931, and 1934, serving as Speaker pro tempore of the House of Representatives from 1929 to 1931, and as the

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

itself from 1933 till 1935. In 1935 he was elected as a member of the

Philippine Assembly The Philippine Assembly (sometimes called the Philippine National Assembly) was the lower house of the Philippine Legislature from 1907 to 1916, when it was renamed the House of Representatives of the Philippines. The Philippine Assembly wa ...

but he resigned to serve as the Philippines' Resident Commissioner.Official Website of the Senate of the Philippines: Biography of Senate President Paredes
(HTML) Accessed August 9, 2007. Under the

Tydings–McDuffie Act The Tydings–McDuffie Act, officially the Philippine Independence Act (), is an Act of Congress that established the process for the Philippines, then an American territory, to become an independent country after a ten-year transition period. ...

that created the Philippine Commonwealth Government, Paredes became its first Resident Commissioner, serving from February 14, 1936, until his resignation on September 29, 1938. In 1938 he was again elected a member of the Philippine Assembly, and served as the Majority Floor Leader during this term. He was also elected as a member of the Philippine Senate from 1941 to 1945 that did not sit in session due to the onset of World War II and the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines. After the Second World War, Paredes ran again for his old post representing Abra in the Philippine House of Representatives, and won. He held this post from 1946 to 1949.

Senate

In the Philippine elections of 1949, Paredes topped the Senatorial race as a 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 ...

. He briefly became the President of the Philippine Senate in 1952, and was reelected as a Philippine Senator in 1955, finishing his second term in 1961. Retiring from politics in 1963, Paredes died ten years later in Manila.

Footnotes

References

External links