Proceso Sebastián

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Esmeria and the surname or paternal family name is Sebastián.
The Honourable
Proceso Sebastián
Senator of the Philippines
In office
December 30, 1941 – December 30, 1947
Governor of Cagayan
In office
1926–1929
Preceded byFermin Macanayan
Succeeded byVicente Formoso
Member of the Philippine House of Representatives from Cagayan's 2nd district
In office
6 June 1922 – 6 June 1925
Preceded byBonifacio Cortes
Succeeded byAntonio Guzman
Personal details
Born(1892-01-26)January 26, 1892
Claveria, Cagayan, Captaincy General of the Philippines
Political partyNacionalista (from 1925)
Democrata (1922–1925)
Alma materUniversity of the Philippines
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionLawyer

Proceso Esmeria Sebastián (January 26, 1892[1] – ?) was a Filipino lawyer, politician and diplomat.

Early life and career

Sebastián was born in Claveria, Cagayan, on January 26, 1892, to Gregorio Sebastián and Filomena Esmeria. He obtained his law degree from the University of the Philippines. After passing the Philippine Bar Examination in 1915, he worked as a lawyer in his home province.[1]

Political career

Sebastián was elected to the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 1922 representing the 2nd District of Cagayan for the Democrata Party. He served until 1925[2] and afterwards was elected governor of Cagayan, serving from 1926 to 1929.[3] As a member of the Philippine Legislature, he joined the Second Independence Mission to the United States.[1]

In 1931, he was appointed as a judge,[4] and spent the rest of the decade serving in the Visayas, Laguna and eventually in Manila.[1]

In 1941, Sebastián was elected to the Philippine Senate as a candidate of the Nacionalista Party. Because the Japanese invaded the Philippines shortly afterwards, he was only able to take office in 1945, following the liberation of the Philippines by the Americans.[5] During the Japanese occupation, he was appointed as an associate justice of the Court of Appeals by President Jose P. Laurel.[1]

As senator, Sebastián headed the Philippine delegation to the first UNESCO conference in Paris in 1946, where he was elected as one of the vice presidents of the UNESCO Assembly.[1]

After his term in the Senate, Sebastián was appointed by President Manuel Roxas to become Envoy-Extraordinary and Minister-Plenipotentiary to China in 1948. He was later appointed by President Elpidio Quirino as ambassador to Italy and the Holy See, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Nations Office at Geneva and ultimately Indonesia before retiring from the diplomatic service in 1954.[1]

Sebastián was elected to the Quezon City Council in 1959.[1]

Personal life

He was married to Antonia Villanueva and had three children.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i de Rivera Castillet, Ed. Cagayan Province and her People. Community Publishers.
  2. ^ "ROSTER of Philippine Legislators (from 1907 to 2019)" (PDF). House of Representatives of the Philippines. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  3. ^ "Past Governors". Province of Cagayan. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  4. ^ "Proceso Sebastian". Senate of the Philippines. Retrieved 4 August 2023. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ "List of Previous Senators". Senate of the Philippines. Retrieved 6 June 2023.