Guevara, Pedro, 1879-1938

Pedro Guevara (February 23, 1879 – January 19, 1938), was a Filipino soldier, lawyer, legislator, and Spanish writer. He served as Resident Commissioner of the Philippines to the U.S. Congress from 1923 to 1936.

Born in Santa Cruz in the Laguna Province of the Spanish Philippines, he attended local schools before being sent to attend Ateneo Municipal de Manila, and then Colegio de San Juan de Letran. Guevara earned a liberal arts degree at the latter school in 1896, finishing at the head of his class. When the 1896 revolution broke out, Guevara fought the Spanish and earned the rank of lieutenant colonel for his service, including helping to lead Filipino forces in the Battle of Mabitac. In the Philippine-American War, he joined the insurrectionaries who opposed U.S. occupation forces, serving as aide and private secretary to General Juan Cailles, commander of Philippine rebels in Laguna Province. After the war ended, Guevara joined the Philippine constabulary, a paramilitary unit that maintained peace. After five years of service, Guevara returned to civilian life and, in a pattern reminiscent of others who later became Resident Commissioners, worked as a journalist. He became chief editor of Soberanía Nacional (National Sovereignty), a newspaper that championed Philippine independence, and also served as city editor for four other newspapers. During this time, Guevara studied at La Jurisprudencia, a Manila law school, and passed the bar in 1909.

Guevara's political career began in 1907, when he was elected as municipal councillor in San Felipe Neri, Rizal Province. Two years later he won election to the Philippine assembly, representing Laguna Province, and he was re-elected in 1912 to a second term. In 1916, under the provisions of the Jones Act, he was elected to the first of two terms in the Philippine senate, representing a district that included Manila and the provinces of Rizal, Laguna, and Bataan. He served in the senate until his election as Resident Commissioner. The Filipino legislature elected Guevara as Resident Commissioner on February 17, 1923. He won re-election in 1925, 1929, 1932, and 1934 and served continuously until the position was reorganized under the Commonwealth of the Philippines in 1935. Like his predecessors, he played the part of diplomat rather than legislator, in some measure because House Rules prevented him from holding a committee assignment or voting on final legislation on the floor. But he also seemed quite comfortable working the press and serving as a public advocate.

During his time in Washington, Guevara worked tirelessly for the approval of the Tydings–McDuffie Act which would establish the Commonwealth of the Philippines and eventually its independence in 10 years. Later, he served as delegate of Laguna during the Constitutional Convention of 1934 which framed the 1935 Philippine Constitution. His term ended on February 14, 1936, when a successor qualified in accordance with the newly established Commonwealth of the Philippines was selected. Upon retirement, Pedro Guevara resumed his law practice. He died of a heart attack in Manila and was buried at the Manila North Cemetery.