José Yulo Yulo Sr. (September 24, 1894 – October 27, 1976) was the

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines The chief justice of the Philippines () presides over the Supreme Court of the Philippines, Supreme Court and is the highest judicial officer of the government of the Philippines. As of April 5, 2021, the position is currently held by Alexander ...

(May 7, 1942 – July 9, 1945) during the Japanese Occupation and was Speaker of the National Assembly of the Philippines from 1939 until World War II started in 1941. Yulo served in all of the branches of government: the legislative as House Speaker, congressman, and senator; the executive as Secretary of Justice and member of the Cabinet; and the judiciary as the

Associate Justice An associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some ...

and Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court of the Philippines The Supreme Court (; colloquially referred to as the ' (also used in formal writing), is the highest court in the Philippines. It was established by the Taft Commission on June 11, 1901, through the enactment of Act No. 136, which abolished th ...

. He and his family also owned the Canlubang Sugar Estate that they bought in 1948.

Early life and career

Yulo was born on September 24, 1894, in Bago, Negros Occidental to Sofronio Evangelista Yulo and Segunda Yulo (maiden name). He obtained his Bachelor of Laws degree at the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...

and placed third in the Philippine Bar Examination of 1913; however, due to his age, did not practice law until two years later. He became distinguished as one of the best corporation lawyers in the Philippines. Appointed as Justice Secretary by Governor-General Frank Murphy and President

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 ...

in 1934 and 1935, he was elected to the National Assembly of the Philippines representing the province of Negros Occidental, becoming its Speaker under the ruling Nacionalista Party on its convening session in 1939. The 1935 Philippine Constitution was amended in 1940 changing the unicameral legislature system into a bicameral system; thus the National Assembly was divided into a Senate and a

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

. Yulo remained as Speaker of the National Assembly. Yulo was elected to the Senate in 1941 for the 1st Congress of the Commonwealth of the Philippines but did not serve immediately as he was arrested by the US Army's Counter-Intelligence Corps (CIC) because he had worked in various capacities under the Japanese-sponsored Philippine Government. Following the Japanese conquest of the Philippines in 1942, he became a member of the Preparatory Committee for Philippine Independence, and upon the establishment of 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 ...

in 1943, was appointed Chief Justice of the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. He is the only former Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines to be subsequently appointed Chief Justice.Cruz, Isagani A. (2000). ''Res Gestae: A Brief History of the Supreme Court''. Rex Book Store, Manila He finally served his elected Senate term in 1945, lasting until 1946.

Accomplishments

Despite the difficulties experienced under Japanese occupation, Yulo attempted to maintain the integrity of the judiciary despite pressure from the Japanese military to sway decisions on certain cases.

Postwar years

Yulo was the vice presidential 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. For example, while the political systems ...

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

as the running mate of incumbent President

Elpidio Quirino Elpidio Rivera Quirino (; November 16, 1890 – February 29, 1956) was a Philippine nationality law, Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 6th President of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953. A lawyer by profession, Quirino entered p ...

. He eventually lost to Senator Carlos P. Garcia, while Quirino lost his re-election bid to former National Defense Secretary Ramon Magsaysay. He was the presidential candidate of the Liberal Party in the 1957 presidential election, eventually losing to Garcia, who is the incumbent President this time, once again. His running mate, Pampanga's 1st district representative Diosdado Macapagal, won the vice presidential race. Yulo was later appointed by President

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

as Secretary of Justice, and served from January 1, 1966, to August 4, 1967.

Death

Yulo died of

respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a r ...

as a result of

atherosclerosis Atherosclerosis is a pattern of the disease arteriosclerosis, characterized by development of abnormalities called lesions in walls of arteries. This is a chronic inflammatory disease involving many different cell types and is driven by eleva ...

at Makati Medical Center in Makati on October 27, 1976. He was buried in Canlubang, Calamba, Laguna on October 30, 1976.

Notes

References

External links

Department of Justice of the Republic of the Philippines
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yulo, Jose 1894 births 1976 deaths Araneta family Ateneo de Manila University alumni Candidates in the 1957 Philippine presidential election Chief justices of the Supreme Court of the Philippines Deaths from respiratory failure Filipino collaborators with Imperial Japan Liberal Party (Philippines) politicians People from Negros Occidental Secretaries of justice of the Philippines Senators of the 1st Congress of the Commonwealth of the Philippines Speakers of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Negros Occidental University of the Philippines alumni University of the Philippines College of Law alumni Ferdinand Marcos administration cabinet members Quezon administration cabinet members Candidates in the 1953 Philippine vice-presidential election Members of the National Assembly of the Philippines