John Henry Osmeña

John Henry Renner Osmeña ( born January 17, 1935) is a Filipino politician.

Biography

Political career and opponents of the Marcos dictatorship

John Henry Osmeña, who was a relative of the former President Sergio Osmeña, studied post-school mechanical engineering at the University of San Carlos and completed postgraduate studies at the University of the Philippines and de International Social institution in the Netherlands.

He began his political career in 1963 as a member of the City Council of Cebu City and was 1965-1969 Vice - Mayor of the city. Subsequently, he was in December 1969 a member of the House of Representatives and represented there until December 1971 the 2nd electoral district of Cebu. For his political achievements, he was elected in 1970 one of the ten outstanding young men in the country ( Ten Outstanding Young Men ( TOYM ) ).

At a meeting of the Partido Liberal ng Pilipinas on the Plaza Miranda in Manila, he was seriously injured during the Senate campaign on August 21, 1971 by two grenades on both legs, but nevertheless soon after elected a member of the Senate. As the year after President Ferdinand Marcos on September 21, 1972 declared martial law, and the Senate was resolved by going into exile in the United States.

After the assassination of the former Senator Benigno " Ninoy " Aquino on August 21, 1983, he was one of the first politicians who returned from exile to the Philippines to fight the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos.

Senator and Member of Parliament after the fall of Marcos

After his overthrow during the People Power Revolution ( EDSA I), he was in early 1986 acting mayor of Cebu City.

In June 1987 he was again a member of the Senate and was one of this until June 1995.

As a Senator, he represented often dissent and became particularly against a proposed term extension of President Fidel Ramos. In addition, he was standing behind the intended studies from numerous irregularer and unautherized transactions of the government as in the case of Petroscam, Philippine Airlines and the Philippine Ports Authority, which led to the resignation of corrupt government officials.

In addition, he was responsible for some legislative initiatives such as the Municipal Telephone Act ( Republic Act 6849 ), got by each municipality a phone line, the Mini - Hydroelectric Program ( RA 7156 ), which non-conventional electricity promoted in rural areas, the Public Telecommunications Act of 1995 (RA 7925 ), the Philippine Postal Corporation Act (RA 7354 ), the Electric Power Crisis Act (RA 7648 ) and the Build Operate Law (RA 7718 ). Finally, due to its legislative initiative, which was signed in 1992 by President Ramos RA 7638, the Department of Energy ( Department of Energy) created.

After retiring from the Senate, he was between June 1995 and June 1998 was member of the House of Representatives and represented in this the third electoral district of Cebu.

Between June 1998 and June 2004, he was again Senator and was the Senator with the longest total membership of the Senate. He was also chairman of the Finance Committee and entered as such for the annual implementation of the General Appropriations Act, a Senate. As Chairman of the Energy Committee, he led the adoption of four important bills in the energy sector: the SBN 1712 - Creation of the National Transmission Company, the SBN 1621 - Amending Section 5 of RA 7638 or the Department of Energy Law, the SBN 1943 - Amending Certain Provisions of EO 172 (Energy Regulatory Board as Amended by RA 8479 ) and SBN 2000 - An Act to Modernize and Reform the Power Industry. These draft laws were finally adopted in the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2000 ( RA 9136 ).

In addition, was John Henry Osmeña from 1999 to 2000 and President of the Senate pro tempore and as such was representative of the Senate President in his absence or illness.

His son John Gregory Osmeña, Jr. is also politically active and was, among other Vice Governor of Cebu.