Proceso Sebastián Explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Honourable
Proceso Sebastián
Office1:Senator of the Philippines
Term Start1:December 30, 1941
Term End1:December 30, 1947
Office2:Governor of Cagayan
Term Start2:1926
Term End2:1929
Predecessor2:Fermin Macanayan
Successor2:Vicente Formoso
Office3:Member of the Philippine House of Representatives from Cagayan's 2nd district
Term Start3:6 June 1922
Term End3:6 June 1925
Predecessor3:Bonifacio Cortes
Successor3:Antonio Guzman
Birth Date:26 January 1892
Birth Place:Claveria, Cagayan, Captaincy General of the Philippines
Nationality:Filipino
Party:Nacionalista (from 1925)
Democrata (1922–1925)
Alma Mater:University of the Philippines
Occupation:Politician
Profession:Lawyer

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]

Notes and References

  1. Book: de Rivera Castillet, Ed. Cagayan Province and her People . Community Publishers. 1960.
  2. Web site: ROSTER of Philippine Legislators (from 1907 to 2019). 4 August 2023 . House of Representatives of the Philippines.
  3. Web site: Past Governors. Province of Cagayan. 4 August 2023.
  4. Web site: Proceso Sebastian . 4 August 2023 . Senate of the Philippines.
  5. Web site: List of Previous Senators . 6 June 2023. Senate of the Philippines.