José Avelino

José Dira Avelino Sr. was the first president of the Senate of the Third Republic of the Philippines and the second president of the Liberal Party. Born in Calbayog, Avelino started as a municipal councilor of the city and served as a representative of Samar from 1922 to 1928. He earned a law degree and was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 1934. He served as Secretary of Labor and later as Secretary of Public Works and Communications in the late 1930s under President Manuel L. Quezon. He served as Senate President pro tempore to President Quezon prior to the establishment of the Commonwealth and was eventually elected as the president of the Senate in 1946. He unsuccessfully ran in the 1949 Philippine presidential election. Avelino died on July 21, 1986, at the age of 95.