Pedro Guevara


Pedro Guevara, was a Philippine soldier, lawyer, legislator, and Spanish writer who became Resident Commissioner of the Philippines during the American colonial period.

Early life

Born in Santa Cruz, Laguna, Philippines, on February 23, 1879.

Education

He attended the Pedro Guevara Memorial National High School and graduated from Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Manila, in 1896.

Philippine Revolution

He joined the Filipino forces during the Philippine Revolution and assisted in promoting the peace agreement of Biak na Bato at San Miguel, Bulacan, in 1897. He later rejoined the Filipino forces during the revolution, and also served throughout the Spanish–American War and the Philippine–American War, attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Political career

Later, he became a journalist for the Spanish language newspaper Soberania Nacional and Vidas Filipinas and a municipal councilor of San Felipe Neri, Rizal in 1907. He studied law at La Jurisprudencia and became a lawyer in private practice. His political life started when he became a member of the Philippine House of Representatives from 1909 to 1912 and a member of the Philippine Senate from 1916 to 1922. In 1921, Guevara was chair of the Philippine delegation to the Far Eastern Bar Conference at Beijing, China. He later was elected as a Nationalist Resident Commissioner to the House of Representatives of the Sixty-eighth United States Congress for a three-year term and four succeeding three-year terms. During this time, Guevara worked tirelessly for the approval of the Tydings–McDuffie Act which would establish the Commonwealth of the Philippines and eventually its independence in 10 years. Later, he served as delegate of Laguna during the Constitutional Convention of 1934 which framed the 1935 Philippine Constitution. His term ended on February 14, 1936, when a successor qualified in accordance with the newly established Commonwealth of the Philippines was selected.

Death

Upon retirement, Pedro Guevara resumed his law practice. He died of a heart attack in Manila on January 19, 1938, and was buried at the Manila North Cemetery.