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Jorge B. Vargas

Filipino lawyer, diplomat and youth advocate

Summary

Filipino lawyer, diplomat and youth advocate

Field	Value
honorific_prefix	The Honorable
name	Jorge B. Vargas
image	Jorge Bartolomé Vargas.jpg
caption	Photograph from The Commercial & Industrial Manual of the Philippines, 1941
office1	Presiding Officer of the Philippine Executive Commission
1blankname1	Governor-General
1namedata1	Masaharu Homma
Shizuichi Tanaka
Shigenori Kuroda
term_start1	January 23, 1942
term_end1	October 14, 1943
predecessor1	Himself
As Head of the Civilian Emergency Administration
successor1	José P. Laurel (as President)
office2	Head of the Civilian Emergency Administration
In concurrent capacity with the mayoralty of Manila
term_start2	December 22, 1941
term_end2	January 23, 1942
successor2	Himself
As Presiding Officer of the Philippine Executive Commission
appointer2	Manuel L. Quezon
office4	1st Mayor of the City of Greater Manila
(11th Mayor of Manila)
appointer4	Manuel L. Quezon
deputy4	{{collapsible list
title	List
term_start4	December 24, 1941
term_end4	January 26, 1942
predecessor4	Position established (City of Greater Manila)
Juan Nolasco (as Mayor of Manila)
successor4	León Guinto
office5	Secretary of National Defense
appointer5	Manuel L. Quezon
term_start5	December 11, 1941
term_end5	December 22, 1941
predecessor5	Manuel L. Quezon
in concurrent capacity as President
successor5	Basilio Valdez
office6	1st Executive Secretary of the Philippines
appointer6	Manuel L. Quezon
term_start6	January 30, 1936
term_end6	December 11, 1941
predecessor6	Post created
successor6	Manuel Roxas
office7	9th Vice Mayor of Manila
term_start7	January 1, 1932
term_end7	January 4, 1940
1blankname7	Mayor
1namedata7	Tomas Earnshaw (1932–1933)
Juan Posadas Jr. (1934–1940)
predecessor7	Isabelo de los Reyes
successor7	Carmen Planas
appointer7	Manuel L. Quezon
office8	Director General of the Philippine Carnival Association
term_start8	1921
term_end8	1922
predecessor8	Vicente Morente
successor8	Arsenio Luz
birth_name	Jorge Bartolomé Vargas y Celis
birth_date
birth_place	Bago, Negros Occidental, Captaincy General of the Philippines, Spanish East Indies
nationality	Filipino
death_date
death_place	Manila, Philippines
party	Nacionalista
spouse	Marina Yulo
Adelaida Montilla Peña
children	8
relatives	Ricky Vargas (grandson)
parents	Ángel Tiongco Vargas (father)
Filomena Trinidad Celis (mother)
otherparty	KALIBAPI (1942–1945)
alma_mater	University of the Philippines Diliman (BA, LL.B)

Shizuichi Tanaka Shigenori Kuroda As Head of the Civilian Emergency Administration In concurrent capacity with the mayoralty of Manila As Presiding Officer of the Philippine Executive Commission (11th Mayor of Manila) |Hermenegildo Atienza (as Vice Mayor of Manila) |Cornelio Cordero (as Assistant Mayor for Caloocan) |José Villena (as Assistant Mayor for Makati) |Pedro Cruz (as Assistant Mayor for Mandaluyong) |Moises San Juan (as Assistant Mayor for Pasay) |Daniel Santiago (as Assistant Mayor for San Juan) Juan Nolasco (as Mayor of Manila) in concurrent capacity as President Juan Posadas Jr. (1934–1940) Adelaida Montilla Peña Filomena Trinidad Celis (mother) Jorge Bartolomé Vargas y Celis (August 24, 1890 – February 22, 1980) was a Filipino lawyer, diplomat and youth advocate born in Bago, Negros Occidental, Philippines. He graduated valedictorian from Negros Occidental High School in 1909 and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1911 and a Bachelor of Law degree with honors in 1914, both from the University of the Philippines. He was a founding member of the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation (now the Philippine Olympic Committee) in 1911 and served in its executive committee in 1918. He served as its second chairman from 1935 to 1955. He was also the first Filipino member of the International Olympic Committee.

Early life and education

Vargas was born on August 24, 1890, in Bago, Negros Occidental, Philippines. He graduated valedictorian from Negros Occidental High School in 1909 and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1911 and a Bachelor of Law degree with honors in 1914, both from the University of the Philippines.

Career and founder

He was a founding member of the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation (now the Philippine Olympic Committee) in 1911 and served in its executive committee in 1918. He served as its second chairman from 1935 to 1955. He was also the first Filipino member of the International Olympic Committee.

Government service

After being admitted to the Philippine Bar in 1914, he was appointed as a law clerk for the Philippine Commission in 1915. He was promoted to the position of chief clerk of the Department of the Interior in 1917.

In 1918, he served as the legislative secretary to Speaker Sergio Osmeña of the House of Representatives.

In 1921, Vargas succeeded Vicente Morente as director-general of the Philippine Carnival Association which ran the Manila Carnival. He was succeeded by Arsenio Luz the following year.

In 1936, Vargas was appointed by President Manuel L. Quezon as his executive secretary, becoming the first in the country to serve in such a position.

When the Japanese invaded the country in 1941, Vargas was designated to the Department of National Defense as its secretary. A few weeks later, he was appointed by President Quezon as mayor of the City of Greater Manila in 1941. His responsibilities included administering the open city upon the arrival of occupational troops of the Imperial Japanese Army on January 2, 1942.

By 1942, Vargas became chairman of the Japanese-sponsored Philippine Executive Commission. During the collaborationist Second Philippine Republic, he was once asked by the Japanese to assume the Presidency, but he declined. He instead served as the regime's ambassador to Japan. In that position, he was quoted shortly before Japanese troops were driven from Manila as stating that "we know Japan is destined for sure victory and prosperity for ages to come."

Vargas served as chairman of the National Planning Commission from 1946 to 1954 and was a member of the Board of Regents of the University of the Philippines from 1961 to 1965. In 1960, the Philippines conferred on him the Legion of Honor with the rank of commander.

Scouting

[[Jorge B. Vargas Museum and Filipiniana Research Center]] ([[UP Diliman]])

Vargas involvement with scouting started in 1935 when he became a member of the executive board of the Philippine Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Together with other Philippine scouting advocates, he became one of the charter members of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines in 1936.

Upon the death of Manuel Camus in 1949, Vargas was unanimously chosen by the National Executive Board to serve as the president and chief scout of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines. He served the position of national president until 1961. He became a member of the World Scout Committee of the World Organization of the Scout Movement from 1951 to 1957.

Vargas was awarded the Bronze Wolf in 1959 and received other awards including the Silver Tamaraw (Philippines), Silver Fox (Canada), Silver Ibex (Austria), Silver Wolf (UK), and in 1959 also received the highest distinction of the Scout Association of Japan, the Golden Pheasant Award. He also became the first recipient of the *Tanglaw ng Kabataan *(Light of the Youth) Award of the BSP in 1961.

Death

Vargas died on February 22, 1980, in Manila, Philippines at the age of 89.

Honours

Empire of Japan: Grand Cordon (1st Class) of the Order of the Rising Sun (October 1, 1943)

Gallery

File:Jorge B Vargas and Homma Masaharu.jpg|Vargas (in white) with Japanese General Homma, 1943 File:Jorge B. Vargas.jpg|Vargas in 1978

References

Appointed by [[Manuel L. Quezon]] as head of the Civilian Emergency Administration, December 30, 1941; then appointed by [[Masaharu Homma]] as head of government, January 23, 1942
Concepcion, G. L.. (n.d.). "The Jorge B. Vargas Art Collection as a Microcosm of Art during the Commonwealth".
Boy Scouts of the Philippines. (2001). "On My Honor". Boy Scouts of the Philippines.
"History of the POC".
Galang, Zoilo M.. (1932). "Leaders of the Philippines: Inspiring Biographies of Successful Men and Women of the Philippines". National Publishing Company.
Philippine Carnival Association. (1927). "Manila Carnival Commercial and Industrial Fair a Recreation Center 1927". Philippine Carnival Association.
(August 24, 2021). "About Jorge B. Vargas".
(February 3, 1945). "Japan Is Warned by Puppet Envoy of Manila's Fate". Oakland Tribune.
(May 23, 2014). link
"Filipino Recipients of Japanese Decorations and Japanese Recipients of Philippine Decorations".

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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