José Ruiz de Luzuriaga was a Filipino judge, sugar planter, revolutionary and politician. Luzuriaga was a member of the

Philippine Commission The Philippine Commission was the name of two bodies, both appointed by the president of the United States, to assist with governing the Philippines. The First Philippine Commission, also known as the Schurman Commission, was appointed by Pre ...

from 1901 to 1913.

Biography

José Ruiz de Luzuriaga was born on January 10, 1843, in Bacólod in the Filipino province of

Negros Occidental Negros Occidental (; ), officially the Province of Negros Occidental (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Negros, Negros Island. Its capital is the city of Bacolod, of which it is geographically s ...

. His father was a Spanish colonel in the

Carlist Carlism (; ; ; ) is a Traditionalism (Spain), Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty, one descended from Infante Carlos María Isidro of Spain, Don Carlos, ...

army who emigrated to the Philippines after the end of the

First Carlist War The First Carlist War was a civil war in Spain from 1833 to 1840, the first of three Carlist Wars. It was fought between two factions over the succession to the throne and the nature of the Monarchy of Spain, Spanish monarchy: the conservative a ...

in 1840 and married José's mother, Juliana Guiquin. He received private education in Bacólod and then went to the Instituto de Reyes in Manila. After completing his education, he returned to Bacolod where he became a trader and manager of the sugar plantations of the Ruiz de Luzuriaga family. Later he was justice of the peace and judge of the Court of First Instance (''Primera Instancia''). He was also a member of the provincial government and was appointed to the Visayas reform council in 1898 and became the president of the

Chamber of deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

. Luzuriaga acted as an intermediary for the surrender of the Spaniards to the revolutionary forces in Bacólod on November 6, 1898. In addition, he was subsequently elected president of the temporary government of Negros. Shortly thereafter on 18 February he was again responsible for a

peaceful transfer of power A peaceful transition or transfer of power is a concept important to democratic governments in which the leadership of a government peacefully hands over control of government to a newly elected leadership. This may be after elections or during t ...

, this time to the American troops. In 1900 Luzuriaga was appointed governor of the province of Negros Occidental. In 1901 he was one of the first members of the

. He was the only member who was a member during the entire period that this body existed (until 1913). At the end of his life, he emigrated to Spain, where he settled in Barcelona. There Luzuriaga died in 1921 at the age of 78. He was married to Josefina Blanco with whom he had some children. Luzuriaga Street in Bacolod was named after him.

References

Notes

*''Rosenstock's Press Reference Library'', Philippine Edition, Manila, 1913 {{DEFAULTSORT:Luzuriaga, Jose de 1843 births 1921 deaths People of the Philippine Revolution People of the Philippine–American War Governors of Negros Occidental Members of the Philippine Commission Filipino expatriates in Spain People from the Spanish East Indies