José Abueva
Encyclopedia
Dr. José Veloso Abueva is former president of the University of the Philippines
University of the Philippines
The ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...

. A Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) awardee for political science in 1962, he has devoted much of his career in academic circles. He has been faculty member of the UP College of Public Administration and visiting professor at Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...

, City University of New York
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...

 and Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

. He has also worked with the United Nations University
United Nations University
The United Nations University is an academic arm of the United Nations established in 1973, which serves purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. The UNU undertakes research into the pressing global problems of human survival, development and welfare that are the concern of...

 in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

. He is now professor emeritus of political science and public administration at UP. Professor Abueva's service to the nation includes stints as secretary of the 1971 Constitutional Convention, executive director of the Legislative-Executive Local Government Reform Commission and Chairman of the Legislative-Executive Council that drew up the conversion program for former military bases. Professor Abueva has written a number of books, including "Focus in the Barrio: The Foundation of the Philippine Community Development Program" and "Ang Filipino sa Siglo 21." Among the publications he has edited is the 20-volume "PAMANA: The UP Anthology of Filipino Socio-Political Thought since 1872."

Abueva is a Filipino
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....

 educator and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

. He was the president of the University of the Philippines
University of the Philippines
The ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...

 from 1987 to 1993. He is currently the President of Kalayaan College as well as U.P. Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Public Administration. He also chairs the advisory board of the Citizens Movement for a Free Philippines. He was elected by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...

 as chairman of the consultative constitutional commission in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. He is a strong supporter of federalism
Federalism
Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and...

 and parliamentary government  for the Philippines.

He forms the team of analysts of Pulse Asia
Pulse Asia
Pulse Asia, Inc. is a public opinion polling body in the Philippines. It was launched by professional academics recognized as experts in their respective fields of study. It monitors salient socio-economic, political and cultural issues in the minds of the Filipino public.-Profile:According to its...

, a public opinion
Public opinion
Public opinion is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs held by the adult population. Public opinion can also be defined as the complex collection of opinions of many different people and the sum of all their views....

 polling
Opinion poll
An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...

 body in the Philippines.

Biography and career

Dr. Abueva was born in Tuburan, Cebu on May 25, 1928 to Teodoro Lloren Abueva, a former Bohol congressman and Purificacion (Nena)Veloso, head of Bohol's Women’s Club and women's suffrage campaign. His father was a friend and contemporary of former Philippine President Manuel Roxas
Manuel Roxas
Manuel Acuña Roxas was the first president of the independent Third Republic of the Philippines and fifth president overall. He served as president from the granting of independence in 1946 until his abrupt death in 1948...

 and Ambassador Narciso Ramos. He was a member of the underground Provincial Board of Bohol, while his wife headed the Women's Auxiliary Service. He ended his career as a Congressman in 1934. Both of Abueva's parents were executed by the Japanese occupation army serving their country.

As a young boy of 16 during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, he had to search for his parents who were taken by the Japanese
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...

, eventually finding them dead.

Dr. Abueva has six other brothers and sisters: Teodoro (Teddy), Jr., now based in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, USA; Purificacion (Neny - dec.), married to Atty. Ramon Binamira (dec.) of Tagbilaran City
Tagbilaran City
Tagbilaran City is a 2nd class component city in the island province of Bohol, Philippines and serves as its capital. Tagbilaran lies on the southwestern part of the province, and has a total land area of 32.7 km², with about 13 km of coastline...

; Napoleon Abueva
Napoleón Abueva
Napoleón Isabelo Veloso-Abueva , more popularly known as Napoleón Abueva, is a Filipino artist. He is a sculptor given the distinction as the Philippines' National Artist for Sculpture. He is also entitled as the "Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture"...

 (Billy), Philippines National Artist for sculpture; Amelia (Inday) Martinez, now living in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

; Teresita (Ching) Floro, now living in Sydney, Australia; and Antonio (Tony), a landscape artist who met a tragic fate aboard Princess of the Orient; his body has not been found.

After the war, the orphaned Abueva children pulled together to take care of each other, growing into fine adults. Jose studied at the University of the Philippines and then the University of Michigan before eventually becoming a professor at his alma mater in the Philippines.

He earned his A.B. (Arts-Law, cum laude) at U.P. and his Master of Public Administration (MPA) and Ph.D in political science at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...

. In 1968, he received the Distinguished Scholar Award of U.P. He was Visiting Professor at the City University of New York
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...

 (1966–1967) and Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

 (1969–1970). He also worked with the Ford Foundation
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....

 (1973–1977), and with the United Nations University in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, 1977-1987. He served as Secretary of the 1971 Constitutional Convention and as Chairman of the Legislative-Executive Military Bases Council under President Corazon C. Aquino. He heads the research and advisory panel of the Citizens’ Movement for a Federal Philippines.

Dr. Abueva served as President of the University of the Philippines
University of the Philippines
The ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...

 in 1987-1993. He introduced the Socialized Tuition Fee Assistance Program (STFAP) in 1987. Dr. Abueva also institutionalized a Filipino language policy within the university.

He is currently the President of Kalayaan College as well as U.P. Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Public Administration.

He is author, co-author, or editor of several books published in the Philippines and abroad, including Focus on the Barrio; Ramon Magsaysay - A Political Biography; The Philippines Into the 21st Century; Filipino Nationalism; Leadership and Authority in Asia; Political and Administrative Development; Development Administration in Asia; and New Challenges for Development and Modernization.

Dr. Abueva is married to Mrs. Ma Socorro Encarnacion Abueva from Surigao and Manila. Their children are Lanelle, Jobert, Rosanna and Jonas

Significant contributions to Philippine governance

Dr. Abueva, who was also an elected delegate to the 1971 Constitutional Convention, has been a staunch advocate for constitutional reforms particularly the shift to a unicameral parliamentary government and the march towards federalism in the Philippines.

He chaired the Consultative Commission formed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2005. The commission came up with a draft constitution that called for unicameral parliament with both a president and a prime minister.

To Dr. Abueva, the adoption of a federal form of government will address the country's woes. According to him: “Countries under the federal system are more productive, are able to accelerate their development and the people are more resourceful. Under the present system we have not solved our problems." Abueva said the present political set-up does not fit the country's archipelagic nature and diverse cultures.

On September 4, 2007, the Presidential Task Force on Education under the Office of the President
Office of the President
Office of the President can refer to:* the Executive Office of the President of the United States* the Office of the President of Croatia* the Office of the President of Kenya* the Office of the President of Uganda...

  named Bienvenido Nebres
Bienvenido Nebres
Father Bienvenido F. Nebres, S.J. is a Filipino scientist, mathematician, and Jesuit who was the longest-serving university President of the Ateneo de Manila University. He succeeded Fr. Joaquin G. Bernas, S.J. in 1993, and served as University President until 1 June 2011...

, chairman. Nebres will be joined by 4 others—Angeles University Foundation President Emmanuel Angeles, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Donald Dy, Asian Institute of Management
Asian Institute of Management
The Asian Institute of Management, or simply AIM, is a graduate school of business and a center of business and management research. It is one of the few business schools in Asia to be internationally accredited with the AACSB. It was established in partnership with Harvard Business School and uses...

 Professor Victor Limlingan, and former University of the Philippines
University of the Philippines
The ' is the national university of the Philippines. Founded in 1908 through Act No...

 president Jose Abueva. The 5 with Education Secretary Jesli Lapus, Romulo Neri
Romulo Neri
Romulo Neri is a Filipino politician and former Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority , acting secretary of Department of Budget and Management , chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education and President of Social Security System under former President Gloria...

, and Augusto Syjuco, complete the task force
Task force
A task force is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology...

. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...

 signed Executive Order 635 on August 24 creating a presidential task force to assess, plan and monitor the entire educational system.

Quotes

  • "There were many reasons (for the proposal to scrap the 2007 polls). That is just one of them." (referring to popularity)
  • "Our electoral system may not be reformed at that time (2007). This would raise questions on the credibility of the elections."
  • "I respect his (Ramos) opinion but I am standing with the commission's recommendation. He is entitled to his opinions but we should look at the substantive proposals."

Additional readings


External links

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