Rafael Corpus (October 24, 1880 – July 21, 1960) was a Philippine

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

, politician, and statesman who served as both chairman and president of the Philippine National Bank. Corpus was born in

San Antonio, Zambales San Antonio, officially the Municipality of San Antonio ( ilo, Ili ti San Antonio; tgl, Bayan ng San Antonio), is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 37,450 peo ...

, Philippines, and finished his Bachelor of Arts degree at the Ateneo de Manila University in 1897. He then studied at 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 ...

and later studied law at Escuela de Derecho in 1903. He then went to the United States to take up a post graduate course at

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

in 1905. He represented the province of

Zambales Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales ( fil, Lalawigan ng Zambales; ilo, Probinsia ti Zambales; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Zambales''; xsb, Probinsya nin Zambales), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon re ...

lone district Lone may refer to: People *Lone (given name), a given name (including a list of people with this name) *Lone (musician), Matt Cutler, an electronic musician from Nottingham, United Kingdom *Lone (surname), a surname (including a list of people wi ...

as an assemblyman in the Third Philippine Legislature in 1912. He was appointed Solicitor General in 1914, a position he held until 1916. He became

Secretary of Agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments. The department includes several organi ...

and Natural Resources in 1922. During the so-called Cabinet Crisis of 1923, he, together with other Cabinet Secretaries, resigned en masse over a dispute with Governor General

Leonard Wood Leonard Wood (October 9, 1860 – August 7, 1927) was a United States Army major general, physician, and public official. He served as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Military Governor of Cuba, and Governor-General of the Philippi ...

. He was the Chairman of the

Philippine National Bank The Philippine National Bank (PNB, Filipino/ tl, Bangko Nasyonal ng Pilipinas, lit=; es, Banco Nacional Filipino; Hokkien ) is one of the largest banks in the Philippines. It was established by the Philippine government on July 22, 1916, durin ...

from 1923 to 1931 before becoming its President from 1932–1935. He was a member of the first Monetary Board of the

Central Bank of the Philippines The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (; commonly abbreviated as BSP in both Filipino and English) is the central bank of the Philippines. It was established on July 3, 1993, pursuant to the provision of Republic Act 7653 or the New Central Bank Act ...

in 1949. He devoted more than thirty years to public service occupying various other important government positions. A nephew of the philanthropist

Teodoro R. Yangco Teodoro "Theo" Rafael Arguelles Yangco (November 9, 1861 – April 20, 1939) was a Filipino businessman who served in a variety of public and civic offices and was considered to be the foremost Filipino philanthropist of his time. He served as the ...

, he successfully managed the latter's various business enterprises and became Administrator of his Estate. He was married to Eluteria Pablo with whom he had six children, including Sergio P. Corpus, a notable businessman.

References

Additional References

* * * * *
G.R. No. L-22469 October 23, 1978 TOMAS CORPUS, plaintiff-appellant, vs. ADMINISTRATOR and/or EXECUTOR of the Estate of Teodoro R. Yangco
* Isagani A. Cruz (March 12, 2000) SEPARATE COLUMN “The Cabinet Crisis of 1923” Philippine Daily Inquirer * "Rafael M. Corpus: A life of Total Service" Philbank News (a newsletter of the Philippines National Bank] Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Zambales 1960 deaths Ateneo de Manila University alumni George Washington University alumni University of Santo Tomas alumni Secretaries of Agriculture of the Philippines Secretaries of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines Solicitors General of the Philippines People from Zambales 1880 births Members of the Philippine Legislature {{Philippines-politician-stub