ANTERO
S. SORIANO (1886-1929)
GOVERNOR of Cavite at the age of 26,
senator at 34, and representative of Cavity’s lone district at 39 – that was
the political record of Antero S. Soprano of Tanza, Cavite, whose most “bitter
political rival,” General Emilio Aguinaldo, paid him a visit when he was ill in
a hospital. Former senator Emiliano Tria Tirona, with whom Soriano had clashed
many times in the past, said upon the latter’s death in June 1929: “For many
years, he (Soriano) was my political enemy: but in the last: few years he was my
best friend.”
In
almost two decades (1912-1929) Soriano was the political kingpin of Cavite. He
never suffered any political defeat. Twice elected governor (1912-1920), he ran
for senator at the end of his second gubernatorial term and for the next six years
he along with Senate President Manuel L. Quezon, represented the fifth
senatorial district comprising Cavite, Tayabas (now Quezon), Batangas, Mindoro,
and Marinduque. Belonging to the same political party, the Nacionalista Party,
Quezon and Soriano developed a warm and steadfast friendship. They were
together in the Philippine Independence Mission to the United States in 1922.
In America, Soriano was designated by Quezon to investigate the Press Bureau in
Washington, D.C.
The
Quezon-Soriano tandem was unchallenged in the Senate. But Quezon believed that
one leader was enough for the Upper House, and so when Representative-elect
Augusto Reyes of Cavite died before the opening of the House of Representatives
in 1925, he prevailed upon Soriano to run in the special election for the
vacant position in Cavite. With his own political charisma, enhanced by
Quezon’s active support of his candidacy, Soriano was elected representative of
Cavite with an overwhelming majority.
Born
on January 3, 1886, to a middle class couple of Tanza, Adriano Soriano and
Aurea Sosa, Antero finished the segunda
ensenanza at the Liceo de Manila. He then took up law at the Escuela de
Derecho and passed the bar on September 30, 1907. After serving for several
years as lawyer of the Manila Railroad Company, he plunged into Cavite politics
and immediately became the idol of the masses. Soriano was nearing the end of
his term in the House of Representatives when death suddenly put a halt to his
remarkable political career. “The Nacionalista Party has lost one of its
strongest leaders and the country a devoted and loyal public servant,” said
Quezon on his colleague’s death. Then he added, “My heart is broken; I mourn
one of the best friends I ever had.”
(Sources (1) Norma S. Vargas, “Antero S. Soriano,
1886-1929,”Prominent Caviteños in
Philippine History. Manila, 1941; and (2) Biodata furnished by Governor
Remulla’s office.)