Antonio Villegas

Antonio de Jesus Villegas (January 9, 1928 – November 16, 1984) was a Filipino Mayor of Manila from 1962 to 1971. His term was after the term of Arsenio Lacson as Mayor of Manila, and before the period of martial law in the Philippines.[1]

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is de Jesus and the surname or paternal family name is Villegas.
The Honourable
Antonio J. Villegas
Mayor Antonio J. Villegas in 1970
16th Mayor of Manila
In office
April 16, 1962 – December 31, 1971
Vice MayorHerminio A. Astorga (1962–1967)
Felicisimo Cabigao (1968–1969)
Leonardo Fugoso (1970)
Mel Lopez (1971)
Preceded byArsenio Lacson
Succeeded byRamon Bagatsing
Vice Mayor of Manila
In office
December 30, 1959 – April 15, 1962
MayorArsenio Lacson
Preceded byJesus Marcos Roces
Succeeded byHerminio A. Astorga
Personal details
Born
Antonio de Jesus Villegas

(1928-01-09)January 9, 1928
Tondo, Manila, Philippine Islands, U.S.
DiedNovember 16, 1984(1984-11-16) (aged 56)
Reno, Nevada, U.S.
Resting placeManila North Cemetery, Manila, Philippines
Political partyLiberal Party

Political career
Seal of Manila introduced in 1965 during Villegas' term as mayor.

Villegas was elected as Vice Mayor of Manila in 1959[1] and became the city mayor when Arsenio Lacson died in 1962 with over one year left on his term.

In 1963, he ran for reelection under the Liberal Party (LP) banner and won against Nacionalista Party (NP) Congressman Roberto Oca.

Villegas inaugurated the "Manila Film Festival" ("Manila Tagalog Film Festival") in 1966, the precursor of the modern Metro Manila Film Festival.[2] Foreign films were banned from being screened during the duration of the film festival. The annual event would later be discontinued during the tenure of Villegas' successor in the 1970s.[3]

In 1967, he ran again for reelection and won against NP Congressman Pablo Ocampo. His victory along with his party council members in Manila was the only major victory enjoyed by the Liberal Party (LP) in 1967. All of the LP senatorial candidates except for Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino were defeated by the opposing Nacionalista Party.

In 1971, then-Congressman Ramon Bagatsing was chosen by the Liberal Party to run for Manila Mayor. Vice-Mayor Felicisimo Cabigao remained NP's bet for mayor. Villegas was left without a party. He formed the Libre'ng Pilipino Party (LPP) to run for reelection as mayor. He selected journalist J.V. Cruz to be his running mate for vice mayor. In the 1971 local election, Villegas lost to Bagatsing.

Later life and death

After losing in the 1971 local mayoral elections to then Manila Congressman Ramon Bagatsing, Villegas and his entire family emigrated to the United States.

He remained in Reno, Nevada, until his death on November 16, 1984.[4] His coffin was exhumed from Reno cemetery and flown to the Philippines in October 1997. Memorial ceremony was held in Manila City Hall. Eulogies by the Villegas family, then-Mayor Alfredo Lim, and Senator Blas Ople were given. Villegas's body was finally buried in a plot located along the rotunda of Manila North Cemetery.[5]

Writings
  • Manila, 1962: Mayor Antonio J. Villegas reports (1963)
  • Building a better Manila (1963)
  • Manila: Its Needs and Resources (1966)
  • Dahong Alaala (1968)
  • To end the reign of misery and strife ... Libre'ng Pilipino (1971)

References
  1. Joaquin, Nick (1990). Manila,My Manila. Vera-Reyes, Inc.
  2. "Subsidize movie industry – Lito Atienza". 2010-02-04. Archived from the original on 2011-11-29. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
  3. Valiente, Tito Genova (24 December 2015). "The MMFF: This business and madness of filmfests". BusinessMirror. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  4. "Villegas vs CA". Archived from the original on 2012-12-15. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
  5. "LIM PAYS RESPECT TO GOVERNOR-GENERAL FRANCIS BURTON HARRISON". Archived from the original on 2012-01-19. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.