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About Antonio de las Alas

About the author: Antonio de las Alas. (October 14, 1898 — October 5, 1983).

Studied Law at the University of Indiana and Master of Law at Yale University, finishing with highest honors Representative, 9th Philippine Legislature, Batangas (1st District) from 1931 to 1933; 8th Philippine Legislature, Batangas (1st District) from 1928 to 1930; 7th Philippine Legislature, Batangas (1st District) from 1925 to 1927; 6th Philippine Legislature, Batangas (1st District) from 1922 to 1925; Speaker pro Tempore, House of Representatives from 1923 to 1929 and from 1931 to 1933; Secretary of Finance and Secretary of Public Works and Communications, Quezon administration; Cabinet Commissioner of Finance, Philippine Executive Commission; Minister of Finance, Laurel administration; Senator from 1941 to 1946.

Delegate to the 1934 and 1971 Constitutional Conventions; Three-term president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce; President, Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation and National Olympic Committee of the Philippines from 1956 to 1968; Four-term president of the Philippine Columbian Association; President, Great Pacific Life Assurance Corp. from 1956 to 1969; Chairman, House of Investments from 1959 to 1983; Chairman, Rizal Development Bank from 1960 to 1963 Chairman, Great Pacific Life Assurance Corp. from 1969 to 1983.

Additional information from the Taal, Batangas website:

Antonio De Las Alas was a hardworking, honest, sincere Taaleño of many eminent honors. Gifted with a high level of intelligence, he obtained his L.L.B. from Indiana University and his L.L.M. (cum laude) from Yale University. In 1920, Governor General Francis Burton Harrison appointed him Chief of the Executive Bureau. Shortly thereafter, he became Secretary of Interior and Acting Secretary of Justice. He served eleven years in Congress and rose to Speaker of the House of Representatives. The Governor General Theodore Roosevelt appointed him Secretary of Public Works and Communications. Antonio De Las Alas initiated the development of hydraulic power in the Philippines, facilitated in the establishment of irrigation systems, and was especially active in the construction of roads and bridges. As Secretary of Finance, he was able to increase the income from taxes through a more honest and efficient system. As chairman of the National Economic Council, he created the NARIC to study and solve the rice crisis. He was also made Chairman of the National Development Company, where he developed business enterprises that private entrepreneurs were unable to undertake, one project being the establishment of a textile mill.

After thirty years of public service, he went into private business and joined various large commercial enterprises. In 1941, he became Senator of the Philippines, was the Minister of Finance of Laurel, and was one of the members which negotiated the Laurel Langley Trade Pact in 1954. For twelve years, Antonio De Las Alas dedicated himself to the quality of health, physique, and sportsmanship among youths as the President of the Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation and the National Olympic Committee.

– See more at: http://www.taal.ph/history-culture/notable-taalenos/antonio-de-las-alas/#sthash.mtNb4DBN.dpuf

About the diary: De las Alas, Antonio. The Iwahig Journal, compiled and edited by Remedios de las Alas-Kendall. Manila: privately printed, 1986. The entries are posted here with the permission of Ching Montinola, daughter of the author.

The Philippine Diary Project is grateful to Aira Espino for her invaluable assistance in encoding the entries of this diary.

3 thoughts on “About Antonio de las Alas”

  1. Hi I am doing some research PAAF and Sports History in genetal. Are there available documents by by Antonio de las Alas specifically when he eas PAAF president from 1956 to 1968?

  2. I am doing research on PAAF and Philippine Sports History. Just like to ask if there still available documents on Antonio de las Alas considering he was president of PAAF from 1956 to 1968?

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