Jose Casten Zulueta (November 23, 1889 – December 6, 1972) was a Filipino lawyer and politician. He served as Senate President for a brief period in 1953.

Early life and education

Jose Zulueta was born to Evaristo Zulueta and Atilana Casten. Zulueta studied at the Ateneo de Manila. In 1911 he was appointed as a stenographer at ''Court of First Instance.'' He studied law and graduated in 1916 for the entrance examination for the Philippine bar (bar exam) and started a law practice.

Career

Zueleta in 1928 was elected to the House of Representatives of the Philippines on behalf of the 1st constituency of

Iloilo Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independen ...

. He was re-elected several times, and he would sit in the House until 1946. During the Japanese occupation, Zulueta was accused of collaboration, along with Jorge Vargas, Jorge Bocobo and

Manuel Roxas Manuel Acuña Roxas (; January 1, 1892 – April 15, 1948) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of the Philippines from 1946 until his death in 1948. He served briefly as the third and last President of the ...

, being the first to respond to General Homma's order to form an Executive Commission. After the establishment of the Philippine Republic in 1946, the Department of Interior was restored and Zulueta was appointed by President

once again to head the agency until 1948. Zulueta's term was marked by heightened tensions with the

Hukbalahap The Hukbong Bayan Laban sa Hapon (), better known by the acronym Hukbalahap, was a Filipino communist guerrilla movement formed by the farmers of Central Luzon. They were originally formed to fight the Japanese, but extended their fight int ...

movement, with Zulueta instituting a pass system that was required of Central Luzon residents wishing to travel outside their towns. Like his mentor Roxas, he adopted a hardline attitude toward the Huks, declaring in 1947 that the Huks faced only two choices: surrender or annihilation. He gave carte blanche to the

Philippine Constabulary The Philippine Constabulary (PC; , ''HPP''; ) was a gendarmerie-type military police force of the Philippines from 1901 to 1991, and the predecessor to the Philippine National Police. It was created by the Insular Government, American occupat ...

in all their operations against "dissidents". He was in charge of negotiating several times with its leaders, including Luis Lava,

Luis Taruc Luis Mangalus Taruc (; June 21, 1913 – May 4, 2005) was a Filipino people, Filipino political figure and rebel during the agrarian unrest of the 1930s until the end of the Cold War. He was the leader of the Hukbalahap group (from ''Hukbong B ...

, Juan Feleo and Jose de Leon. In 1946, Zulueta was elected as Speaker of the House of Representatives in the inaugural session of the Congress. After his term as minister he stood in April 1949 successfully apply for a new term in the House of Representatives. Before the end of his term, he is more than two years later at the 1951 election elected to the Philippine Senate.

Philippine Senate

In 1951, he joined the

Nacionalista Party The Nacionalista Party (Filipino language, Filipino and Spanish language in the Philippines, Spanish: ''Partido Nacionalista''; , NP) is a political party in the Philippines which is the oldest existing party in the country and in Southeast Asi ...

and ran as a candidate in the 1953 vice-presidential nomination at the Nacionalista Convention. In his time as a senator, which lasted until 1957, he was on April 30, 1953 until November 30, 1953 President of the Senate. He initially supported the Nacionalista Party to further his political fortunes but switched sides by forming an agreement with 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 ...

. Unsatisfied with the Nacionalista Party, he strengthened his support for the Liberal Party. As a result of the power struggle within the Philippine Senate, the Nacionalista Party compensated Zulueta by electing him Senate President. He became Senator (1951–1957) and was briefly elected the Senate President in 1953. Due to Zulueta's opportunistic behavior affecting the power balance in the senate, he was induced to step down from the senate presidency in favor of Eulogio Rodriguez. In mid-September 1953, he rejoined the Liberal Party.

Later political career

Zulueta in 1959 was elected governor of his native province of Iloilo. Later, he was from 1969 to 1972 again delegate on behalf of the first constituency of Iloilo. During the Marcos administration, he was made the Presidential Consultant on Local Government. In November 1967, he began campaigning for the reelection of president Marcos in the 1969 presidential election. He is among the few Filipinos included in the World Biography, 1948 edition and in the International Who's Who, 1952 edition.

Personal life

Zulueta was married to Soledad B. Ramos. His brother, Francisco Zulueta, also served as a Senator.

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