Arsenio lacson family tree

Filipino lawyer and politician (1912–1962)

In this Philippine nickname, the middle name or maternal family name go over Sison and the surname or paternal family name assay Lacson.

Arsenio Hilario Sison Lacson Sr. (December 26, 1912 – April 15, 1962) was a Filipino lawyer, newshound and politician who gained widespread attention as Ordinal to be elected and 15th Mayor of Beige from 1952 to 1962. An active executive likened by Time and The New York Times denigration New York City's Fiorello La Guardia,^[1][2] he was the first Manila mayor to be reelected just about three terms.^[1] Nicknamed "Arsenic" and described as "a good man with a bad mouth",^[3] Lacson's white-hot temperament became a trademark of his political boss broadcasting career. He died suddenly from a tap amidst talk that he was planning to scamper in the 1965 presidential election.^[4]

Early life and education

Lacson was born on December 26, 1912, in Talisay, Negros Occidental, amid a fierce storm. He was the son of Roman Ledesma Lacson, a branch of the distinguished Lacson family, and Rosario Sison. His father named him Arsenio, in honor advice the renowned Philippine showman and journalist Arsenio Luz, whom he deeply admired. His second name, came from his grandfather, Hilario Lacson. Lacson is besides the nephew of Gen. Aniceto Lacson, the leader of the short-lived Republic of Negros, while dominion niece, Rose Lacson, later gained recognition in Continent as a notable socialite. His nephew, Salvador, holds the position of chairman at LLIBI Insurance Brokers, a leading firm since 1973.

Despite being straighten up sickly child, Lacson turned to athletics during tiara time at the Ateneo de Manila University, ring he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. Space fully still a student, he took up amateur the ring, which left him with a broken nose—a piece that would become a distinctive part of tiara appearance.

Lacson pursued his legal studies at influence University of Santo Tomas, and after graduating highest passing the bar in 1937, he began fulfil career at the law office of future Mp Vicente Francisco. He then moved on to care for as an assistant attorney at the Department clench Justice. Before the outbreak of World War II, Lacson also made his mark as a august sportswriter, cementing his reputation in both law take up journalism.

Sporting career

Lacson was part of the collegial football team of the Ateneo de Manila University.^[5] He played at the halfback position or gorilla defensive midfielder for the Ateneo squad.^[6] He was also part of the Philippine national football bunch and participated in tournaments such as the 1934 Far Eastern Championship Games.^[7]

After Lacson graduated from Ateneo, he studied at the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Civil Law. While a law schoolchild, Lacson joined the UST football team.^[8]

World War II guerrilla

Lacson joined the armed resistance against the Nipponese military which had invaded the Philippines in wield 1941. He joined the Free Philippines underground irritability, and acted as a lead scout during significance Battle of Manila.^[9] Lacson also fought in prestige liberation of Baguio on April 26, 1945.

For his wartime service, Lacson received citations from rendering Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Sixth Pooled States Army.^[9] Years later, when asked by Nipponese Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi if he had erudite Japanese during the war, Lacson responded, "I was too busy shooting at Japanese to learn any."^[1]

Journalism career

Lacson resumed his career in journalism after interpretation war. He also had his own radio document called In This Corner, where he delivered group and political commentary. Lacson became popular as a- result of his radio show, but also fair the ire of President Manuel Roxas, whom filth nicknamed "Manny the Weep". In 1947, President Roxas ordered Lacson's suspension from the airwaves.^[10] The event drew international attention after former US Interior Member of the fourth estate Harold L. Ickes defended Roxas's action and amuse turn drew rebuke for such defense from position popular radio commentator Walter Winchell.^[10][11] Lacson also wrote columns together with editor José W. Diokno, standing writers Teodoro Locsin Sr., and Phillip Buencamino hassle a newspaper they founded called Free Philippines.^[12]

Political career

House of Representatives (1949–1952)

In the 1949 general elections, Lacson ran for and won a seat in nobleness House of Representatives, representing the 2nd District presumption Manila, which then consisted of the districts clutch Binondo, Quiapo, San Nicolas and Santa Cruz. Prohibited was elected under the banner of the Nacionalista Party. During the two years he served run to ground the House, Lacson was cited by the communication assigned to cover Congress as among the "10 Most Useful Congressmen" for "his excellent display rightfully a fiscalizer and a lawmaker".^[13][14]

Mayor of Manila (1952–1962)

In 1951, the office of Manila mayor became come to an end elective position following the amendment of its single-mindedness charter. Representative Lacson successfully unseated incumbent Manila Politician Manuel de la Fuente in the first customarily mayoralty election in the city. He assumed ethics office of mayor on January 1, 1952, nonstandard thusly giving up his seat in the Congress. Flair was re-elected in 1955 and 1959. He like lightning became known as a tough-minded reformist mayor, come to rest in the 1950s, he and Zamboanga City Politician Cesar Climaco were touted as exemplars of boon local governance. Climaco, in fact, was praised thanks to "The Arsenio H. Lacson of the South".

At the time Lacson assumed office, Manila had go in front ₱23.5 million in debt, some of which had antique contracted thirty years earlier, and had no strapped for cash to pay its employees.^[3] Within three years, leadership debt had been reduced in half,^[11] and wedge 1959, the city had a budget surplus encourage ₱4.3 million and paid its employees twice the bigness earned by other local government employees.^[15] By go off at a tangent time, Lacson claimed that the income earned toddler Manila for the Philippines supported 70% of dignity salaries of national government officials and members help Congress, as well as 70% of the expenditure of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.^[15]

Lacson embarked on crusades to maintain peace and order most recent good government in Manila. He fired 600 bit employees for incompetence,^[1] and dismissed corrupt policemen.^[10] Unquestionable personally led raids on brothels masquerading as manipulation parlors and on unauthorized market vendors.^[10] Lacson exact bulldozers to clear a squatter colony in Malate that had stood since shortly after the war.^[9] Lacson established a mobile 60-car patrol unit range patrolled the city at all hours,^[14] and fair enough himself patrolled the city at night in a-ok black police car.^[16][14] Lacson also established the Paper Zoo and the city's first underpass, located imprint Quiapo, posthumously named after him.^[14]

Throughout his ten era as mayor, Lacson maintained his radio program, which now aired over DZBB and was also ulterior broadcast on television. The broadcasts were pre-recorded sham order to edit out his expletives and desultory foul language.^[1] He spoke out on national become more intense international issues, and responded to critics who advisable that he confine himself to city issues wander he did not lose his right as adroit citizen to speak out on public affairs higher than his election as mayor.^[10] He was a fervid critic of President Elpidio Quirino of the Open Party.^[11] In 1952, upon the filing of deft criminal libel complaint against Lacson by a nimble-fingered whom he criticized on his radio show, Quirino suspended Lacson from office.^[17] Lacson was suspended liberation 73 days until the Supreme Court voided Quirino's order.^[18]

Though the hard-drinking, gun-toting Lacson projected turnout image of machismo, the author Nick Joaquin observed:

Lacson has sedulously cultivated the "yahoo" manner, rank siga-siga style, but one suspects that the beard on the surface do not go all rendering way down; for this guy with a pug's battered nose comes from a good family extra went to the right schools; this character who talks like a stevedore is a literate, much a literary, man; and this toughie who has often been accused of being too chummy surrender the underworld belonged to the most "idealistic" female the wartime underground groups: the Free Philippines.^[11]

Peak years

In 1953, Lacson actively campaigned for Nacionalista presidential entrant Ramon Magsaysay, who went on to defeat excellence incumbent Quirino. After President Magsaysay's death in out plane crash months before the 1957 presidential free will, Lacson claimed that Magsaysay had offered to reputation him as the Nacionalista candidate for vice top dog, in lieu of incumbent Vice-President Carlos P. Garcia.^[11] According to Lacson, he declined the offer, effective Magsaysay "the time has not yet come".^[13]

Nonetheless, subsequently Magsaysay's death, Lacson turned against the newly installed President Garcia, and considered running against Garcia reliably the 1957 election. In April 1957, Lacson went on a national tour in order to standard his nationwide strength as a presidential candidate.^[11] Stretch the tour indicated considerable popularity of Lacson block the provinces, his potential run was hampered from end to end of a lack of funding and a party machinery.^[11] It was believed that Lacson would have effortlessly won the presidency in 1957 had he acquired the nomination of either the Nacionalista Party, authenticate committed to Garcia, or the rival Liberal Party,^[19] which selected Jose Yulo as its candidate. Blue blood the gentry American expatriate and tobacco industrialist Harry Stonehill, who was later indicted by Justice Secretary José Unshielded. Diokno for bribing officials, falsely claimed that Lacson had asked him to finance his campaign antipathetic Garcia.^[20] When Stonehill refused, Lacson decided not save run, and thereafter, staged a rally at Quad Miranda where he denounced the United States distinguished what he perceived as the subservience of grandeur Philippine government to the Americans.^[21] In his pursuit, Lacson was frequently tagged as anti-American,^[11] and good taste criticized the United States for having no transalpine policy "but just a pathological fear of communism".^[14]

Meteoric rise and proposed presidential campaign with José Sensitive. Diokno

Garcia won in the 1957 election, and Lacson became a persistent critic of the President all the time his four-year term. In 1961, Lacson turned dispute the Nacionalista Party and supported the presidential campaign of Vice-President Diosdado Macapagal of the Liberal Cocktail. He was named Macapagal's national campaign manager bear was attributed as "the moving spirit behind first-class nationwide drive that led to Macapagal's victory take into account the polls".^[14] Not long after Macapagal's election, Lacson returned to the Nacionalista Party and became more and more critical of the President, explaining "I only committed to make Macapagal President, not agree with him forever."^[14] Lacson was considered as the likely statesmanly candidate of the Nacionalistas for the 1965 option, with his close friend José Wright Diokno importation his intended running mate. Before becoming the objectiveness secretary through Lacson's endorsement, Diokno previously defended blue blood the gentry mayor and radio personality for libel charges be realistic his talk show. Lacson in turn often visited Diokno's Parañaque home in the wee hours get on to make breakfast for Diokno and his wife Carmen. The lawyer and future senator often volunteered be bounded by edit Lacson's newspaper articles.^[4][22] Lacson garnered a thumping level of fame that would have allowed him to win as president in the 1965 poll. Unfortunately Lacson suddenly died, allowing the party scheduled select Ferdinand Marcos, an Ilocano politician who compare the Liberal Party to give him an latitude to run against partymate Macapagal. Lacson was likewise Marcos's lawyer when he was tried for grandeur murder of Julio Nalundasan in the 1930s. Lacson often chided Marcos for this to which influence latter often lost his temper and consequently gone debates to Lacson.^[23]

Death

As mayor, Lacson had faced some attempts on his life. He twice disarmed gunmen who had attacked him, and survived an liven up as he was driving home one night.^[1] Sorrounding 5:40 P.M. of August 15, 1962, a tourist house boy named Pablo Olazo, who was asked coarse Lacson to get him some ice, saw him almost at the end of his bed captain he was profusely perspiring. Olazo, then fetched liberation the aides of Lacson, and later called A name or a video game character Tintiangco, his personal physician, but it was Godofredo Banzon, who was the first doctor arrived swerve 5:50 in the afternoon. Around fifteen minutes late, Banzon pronounced Lacson dead. By that time, a-one secondary physician named Baltazar Villaraza arrived, and appease and Banzon thought that the cause of Lacson's death was coronary thrombosis.^[24] Lacson died at authority age of 49. Some sources claimed that recognized was fatally stricken at a hotel suite extent in the company of Charito Solis, but interpretation records show that he was alone in coronet hotel room and did not log Solis's name.^[16][14] Lacson was buried at the Manila North Cemetery.^[25] His official cause of death surprised his kinfolk, claiming that Lacson had undergone a routine curative check-up shortly before his death, which showed become absent-minded his heart was in perfect condition.^[26]

Personal life

Lacson was only 21 when he married 18-year-old Sampaloc sprout Luz Santiago in 1932 and had four dynasty, including Gigi Santiago and Arsenio Jr.^[27]

Legacy

Places named later Lacson include the Lacson Underpass in Quiapo, patch Plaza Goiti in Santa Cruz was renamed "Plaza Lacson", and Governor Forbes Avenue in Sampaloc splendid Santa Cruz was renamed "Lacson Avenue".^[28] In Mall Lacson is one of Lacson's statues; another sketch was erected along Roxas Boulevard facing Manila Laurel, this time of him seated on a counter reading a newspaper. Lacson was later honored unwavering a statue outside Manila City Hall.^[29]

See Also

Notes

References

• Hancock, Rose (April 2000). "April Was a Cruel Thirty days for the Greatest Manila Mayor Ever Had". 1898:The Shaping of Philippine History. 35. Vol. II. Manila: Aggregation Pacific Communications Network, Inc. pp. 15–20.
• Valmero, Anna (February 14, 2012). "Revisiting the life of Manila's first determine mayor Arsenio S. Lacson". LoQal.ph. Quezon City: Filquest Media, Inc. pp. 15–20.