John Henry Osmeña

John Henry Renner Osmeña (January 17, 1935 – February 2, 2021), also known as Sonny Osmeña or simply John Osmeña, was the grandson of Philippine President Sergio Osmeña. He served as Senator of the Philippines from 1971 to 1972, 1987 to 1995, and 1998 to 2004. He was the last surviving senator of the 7th Congress, the last Congress before martial law.

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Renner and the surname or paternal family name is Osmeña.
The Honourable

John Henry R. Osmeña
Senator of the Philippines
In office
June 30, 1998 – June 30, 2004
In office
June 30, 1987 – June 30, 1995
In office
December 30, 1971 – September 23, 1972
18th President pro tempore of the Senate of the Philippines
In office
October 10, 1996 – July 12, 2000
PresidentJoseph Estrada
Preceded byBlas Ople
Succeeded byBlas Ople
Member of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Cebu's 3rd District
In office
June 30, 1995 – June 30, 1998
Preceded byPablo Garcia
Succeeded byAntonio Yapha, Jr.
Member of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Cebu's 2nd District
In office
December 30, 1969 – December 30, 1971
Preceded byJose Briones
Succeeded byCrisologo Abines
Vice Mayor of Cebu City
In office
December 30, 1965 – December 30, 1969
Councilor of Cebu City
In office
December 30, 1963 – December 30, 1965
Mayor of Toledo
In office
June 30, 2013 – June 30, 2019
Preceded byAurelio Espinosa
Succeeded byMarjorie Perales
Personal details
Born(1935-01-17)January 17, 1935
Cebu City, Philippine Islands
DiedFebruary 2, 2021(2021-02-02) (aged 86)
Cebu City, Philippines
Political partyLiberal Party (1963–1992; 2009–2021)[1]
Other political
affiliations		Genuine Opposition (2007)

NPC (1992–2007)

Independent (2004)
Spouse(s)Lucy Urgello (separated)
ChildrenJohn Gregory U. Osmena
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionPolitician

In Cebu City, he started out as City Councilor in 1963, became the Vice-Mayor in 1968 and was elected to the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District the year after.

Osmeña was the Mayor of the City of Toledo, Cebu from 2013 to 2019.

Personal life

Osmeña was born on January 17, 1935 in Cebu City, Cebu to Dr. Emilio Veloso Osmeña and María Luisa Renner.[2] He was the brother of former Cebu governor Emilio Mario "Lito" Osmeña, Jr. They had one sister, Annabelle "Annie" Osmeña-Aboitiz, a real estate developer. Osmeña studied and graduated at the University of San Carlos in Cebu City.

Other known relatives in politics include Philippine president Sergio Osmeña who was his grandfather, former Senator Sergio "Serging" Osmeña, Jr. who was his uncle, Sergio "Serge" Osmeña III who, also served as a senator, was his cousin, and Cebu City mayor and one-time representative Tomás "Tommy" Osmeña who was also his cousin.

Political life

In 1963, Osmeña was elected as councilor of Cebu City. Two years later, in 1965, he was elected as the city's vice mayor. In 1969, he was elected to the House of Representatives of the Philippines representing Cebu's 2nd District.[2]

In 1970, he was named as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines.[2]

In 1971, he ran as senator. At the Miting De Avance of the Liberal Party on Plaza Miranda on August 21, 1971, two grenades exploded, killing 11 and leaving several people wounded. Both of Osmeña’s legs were badly injured. He won a Senate seat in the 1971 election.[3]

When President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law on September 23, 1972, Osmeña went on exile in the United States.[2]

After the assassination of Former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino on August 21, 1983, he was the among the first political exiles to return to the country to help in the fight against the Marcos dictatorship.[2]

He was appointed officer-in-charge mayor of Cebu City after the 1986 People Power Revolution. He was again elected Senator in 1987 under the Lakas ng Bayan Coalition of President Corazon Aquino.[2]

In 1992, he ran for vice president under the Nationalist People's Coalition with businessman Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr. as his running mate. He soon withdrew his candidacy and was replaced by Senator Joseph Estrada. He instead sought re-election as senator, and was elected for a three-year term.[3]

He became the Representative of the 3rd District of Cebu in 1995 before being elected as senator again in 1998.[2]

Laws authored

Osmeña sponsored bills like The Municipal Telephone Act (Republic Act 6849) whereby each municipality will receive a telephone system; The Mini-Hydroelectric Program (RA 7156), which will provide non-conventional electricity in the countryside; The Public Telecommunications Act of 1995 (RA 7925), and the creation of the Philippine Postal Corporation (RA 7354). He also authored landmark bills like The Electric Power Crisis Act (RA 7648) and The Build-to-Operate Act (RA 7718).[2]

Osmeña authored the law that created the Department of Energy.[2]

Four bills were incorporated in Republic Act 9136 or otherwise known as The Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2000:

  • Senate Bill 1712 – Creation of National Transmission Company
  • Senate Bill 1621 – Amending Section 5 of RA 7638 or the Department of Energy Law
  • Senate Bill 1943 – Amending Certain Provisions of EO 172 or the Energy Regulatory Board as Amended by RA 8479
  • Senate Bill 2000 – An Act to Modernize and Reform the Power Industry.

Controversy

In 2004, Osmeña was charged with sexual abuse of a young boy,[4] for which the Department of Justice (DOJ, Republic of the Philippines) cleared him because "there is no probable cause to indict respondent with the offense charged." [5]

In 2004, Senator John Henry Osmeña sued Governor Gwen Garcia for plunder.[6]

Illness and death

In July 2020, it was announced that Osmeña had recovered from COVID-19 after 20 days of fighting the disease.[7] Osmeña died on 2 February 2021 at the age of 86.[8]

Further reading

References
  1. "LP TO SONNY: DON'T RUN, Party wants Cebu City 'united' under Bando Osmeña". Cebu Daily News. 2009-11-19. Archived from the original on 2009-11-22. Retrieved 2010-06-03.
  2. Israel, Dale G. (2021-02-03). "Former senator John Osmeña passes away at 86". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  3. "Former senator Sonny Osmeña dies". Rappler. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  4. "Sonny Accused of Call-Boy Rape". Archived from the original on 2004-04-23. Retrieved 2004-04-01.
  5. Calica, Aurea. "DOJ Drops Case vs. John Osmeña". Archived from the original on 2004-10-13. Retrieved 2004-08-18.
  6. "Philippine Daily Inquirer - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved Feb 2, 2021.
  7. Semilla, Nestle (July 8, 2020). "John O, former senator, wins battle with COVID-19". Inquirer PH. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  8. "Toledo ex-mayor Sonny Osmeña passes away at 86". SunStar. 2 February 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
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