Benigno Simeón Aquino y Quiambao (September 3, 1894 – December 20, 1947) was a Filipino politician who served as speaker of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

of the Japanese-sponsored puppet state in the Philippines from 1943 to 1944. He was the Director-General of KALIBAPI, a political party established during the

Japanese occupation of the Philippines The Japanese occupation of the Philippines (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Pananakop ng mga Hapones sa Pilipinas''; ) occurred between 1942 and 1945, when the Empire of Japan, Japanese Empire occupied the Commonwealth of the Philippines during Wo ...

. A member of the

Aquino family The Aquino family of Tarlac (, ) is one of the most prominent families in the Philippines because of their Political family, involvement in politics. Some family members are also involved in other fields such as business and entertainment. The fa ...

, one of his grandchildren (through Benigno "Ninoy" Jr.), Benigno S. Aquino III was the 15th

President of the Philippines The president of the Philippines (, sometimes referred to as ) is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-ch ...

, serving from 2010 to 2016.

Early life

Aquino was born in Murcia (now part of

Concepcion, Tarlac Concepcion, officially the Municipality of Concepcion (; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Tarlac, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 169,953 people. H ...

) in the town of

Tarlac Tarlac, officially the Province of Tarlac (; ; ; ; ), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. It had a population of 1,503,456 people according to ...

to Servillano "Mianong" Aquino, a general in the

Philippine Revolution The Philippine Revolution ( or ; or ) was a war of independence waged by the revolutionary organization Katipunan against the Spanish Empire from 1896 to 1898. It was the culmination of the 333-year History of the Philippines (1565–1898), ...

who later served as a member of the

Malolos Congress The Malolos Congress (), also known as the Revolutionary Congress () and formally the National Assembly, was the legislative body of the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines. From 1898 to 1899, prior to the Philippine Declaration of I ...

, and Guadalupe Quiambao. He had two siblings: Gonzalo Aquino (1893–??) and Amando Aquino (1896–??), and a half-brother, Herminio Aquino (1949–2021). He studied at the

Colegio de San Juan de Letran The Colegio de 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 in Intramuros, Manila, Philippines. I ...

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

and later at the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (UST; ), officially the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines or colloquially as ''Ustê'' (), is a Private university, private Catholic school, Catholic researc ...

, where he earned his

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

degree in 1913, and was admitted to the bar the following year.

Political career

Aquino was first elected to the

Philippine Legislature The Philippine Legislature was the legislature of the Philippines from 1907 to 1935, during the American colonial period, and predecessor of the current Congress of the Philippines. It was bicameral and the legislative branch of the Insular ...

as a member of the

Philippine House of Representatives The House of Representatives (; '','' thus commonly referred to as ''Kamara'') is the lower house of Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the Senate of the Philippines as the upper house. The lower house is commonly refe ...

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (later Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off th ...

representing the 2nd district of

. He was reelected to the same position in

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

and

1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

before winning a

Philippine Senate The Senate of the Philippines () is the upper house of Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the House of Representatives as the lower house. The Senate is composed of 24 senators who are elected at-large (the country f ...

seat in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

representing the 3rd Senatorial District comprising the

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan (; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on ...

Nueva Ecija Nueva Ecija, officially the Province of Nueva Ecija ( ; ; ; ), is a landlocked province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Palayan, while Cabanatuan, its former capital, is the largest Local gove ...

Pampanga Pampanga, officially the Province of Pampanga (; ; ), is a province in Central Luzon in the Philippines. Lying on the northern shore of Manila Bay, Pampanga is bordered by Tarlac to the north, Nueva Ecija to the northeast, Bulacan to the east, ...

and his home-province of

. He became part of the Philippine Independence Mission in 1931, which negotiated the terms of obtaining

Philippine independence The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

from the United States. During the elections for the

Commonwealth of the Philippines The Commonwealth of the Philippines (; ) was an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territory and Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States that existed from 1935 to 1946. It was established following the ...

government in

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

he ran again in his district in Tarlac and won, this time as a member of the

. In 1937, he was appointed by Commonwealth

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Manuel L. Quezon Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina (, , , ; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino people, Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier, and politician who was president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1 ...

as secretary of agriculture and commerce.

Speaker of the National Assembly

Being among the more prominent Commonwealth officials remaining in the country after the Commonwealth government went into exile in 1941, Aquino was among those recruited by the Japanese to form a government. He became the director-general of KALIBAPI and one of the two assistant chairmen of the

Preparatory Commission for Philippine Independence The Preparatory Committee for Philippine Independence (PCPI) was the drafting body of the Constitution of the Philippines#Second Republic (1943), 1943 Philippine Constitution during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines during World War II. T ...

. When the

Second Philippine Republic The Second Philippine Republic, officially the Republic of the Philippines and also known as the Japanese-sponsored Philippine Republic, was a Japanese-Axis powers, backed government established on October 14, 1943, during the Japanese occupatio ...

was inaugurated, he was elected Speaker of the

Arrest and collaboration charges

Philippine puppet government officials in Japan 1945

In December 1944, as the combined Filipino and American forces continued their advance to liberate the Philippines from Japanese forces, the government of the Second Philippine Republic, which included Aquino, was moved to

Baguio Baguio ( , , ), officially the City of Baguio (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

. Subsequently, they travelled to

Tuguegarao Tuguegarao ( or ), officially the City of Tuguegarao (; ; ; ), is a 2nd class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2020 ...

, where they were flown to Japan via

Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as Formosa, has an area of and makes up 99% of the land under ROC control. It lies about across the Taiwan Strait f ...

(now

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

) and

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. On September 15, 1945, while in

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...

, Aquino, alongside former President Jose P. Laurel and his son Jose III, was arrested and placed into custody by Americans led by Colonel Turner following the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...

. They were imprisoned at

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

prison and two months later at

Sugamo Prison Sugamo Prison (''Sugamo Kōchi-sho'', Kyūjitai: , Shinjitai: ) was a prison in Tokyo, Japan. It was located in the district of Ikebukuro, which is now part of the Toshima 23 special wards, ward of Tokyo, Japan. History Sugamo Prison was orig ...

. On July 23, 1946, they were flown back to the Philippines for trial on

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state (polity), state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to Coup d'état, overthrow its government, spy ...

charges by the People's Court. A few weeks later, he was released on bail.

Personal life

First marriage

In May 1916, he married Maria Urquico, the daughter of ''

katipunero The Katipunan (), officially known as the (; ) and abbreviated as the KKK, was a revolutionary organization founded in 1892 by a group of Filipino nationalists Deodato Arellano, Andrés Bonifacio, Valentin Diaz, Ladislao Diwa, José Dizon, an ...

'' Antonio Urquico and Justa Valeriano. He had two sons and two daughters with Maria: Antonio Aquino "Tony" (1917–1993), Servillano Aquino II "Billy" (1919–1973), Milagros Aquino "Mila" (1924–2001), and Erlinda Aquino "Linda" (1926–2022).

Second marriage

After Maria died in March 1928, he married Aurora Lampa Aquino (maiden name, granddaughter of Melencio Aquino and Evarista de los Santos and daughter of Agapito de los Santos Aquino and Gerarda Miranda Lampa) on December 6, 1930, with whom he had seven children—Maria Aurora (Maur), Benigno Simeon Jr. (Ninoy), Maria Gerarda (Ditas), Maria Guadalupe (Lupita), Agapito (Butz), Paul, and Maria Teresa (Tessie).

Death

On December 20, 1947, Aquino died of a heart attack at the

Rizal Memorial Coliseum The Rizal Memorial Coliseum is an indoor arena in the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila, Philippines. It can hold up to 6,100 people. History The Rizal Memorial Coliseum within the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex was built on the former si ...

while watching a boxing match.

Ancestry

References

External links

* . ''Accessed on April 24, 2007.''
Allied Families: Aquino-Cojuangco
''Accessed on April 25, 2007.''
Sugar and the Origins of Modern Philippine Society
''Accessed on April 25, 2007.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Aquino, Benigno Sr. 1894 births 1947 deaths Benigno Aquino 1 Colegio de San Juan de Letran alumni Filipino Roman Catholics Kapampangan people Majority leaders of the Senate of the Philippines Senators of the 8th Philippine Legislature Senators of the 9th Philippine Legislature Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Tarlac Secretaries of agriculture of the Philippines Secretaries of trade and industry of the Philippines Nacionalista Party politicians People from Tarlac Speakers of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Quezon administration cabinet members Unofficial vice presidents of the Philippines Majority leaders of the House of Representatives of the Philippines University of Santo Tomas alumni Members of the National Assembly of the Philippines Members of the National Assembly (Second Philippine Republic) 20th-century Filipino lawyers Secretaries of the interior and local government of the Philippines Prisoners and detainees of the United States military Members of the Senate of the Philippines from the 3rd district People charged with treason