For the station of Manila LRT, see Abad Santos LRT Station

Abad Santos LRT Station

Abad Santos LRT Station is a station on the Manila LRT Yellow Line . Like all other LRT-1 stations, Abad Santos station is above-ground. The station serves Tondo and Sta. Cruz both in Manila and is located on Rizal Avenue...

.

For the university campus of Arellano University

Arellano University

Arellano University is a private, nonsectarian university located in Manila, Philippines, established in 1938 by Florentino Cayco, Sr. as the Arellano Law College which was later known as Arellano Colleges...

, see Arellano University – Jose Abad Santos Campus

José Abad Santos y Basco (February 19, 1886 – May 2, 1942) was the fifth Chief Justice

Chief Justice of the Philippines

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines presides over the Supreme Court of the Philippines and is the highest judicial officer of the government of the Philippines...

 of the Supreme Court

Supreme Court of the Philippines

The Supreme Court of the Philippines is the Philippines' highest judicial court, as well as the court of last resort. The court consists of 14 Associate Justices and 1 Chief Justice...

 of 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...

 and served as Acting President of the Philippines 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...

. He was executed by Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese forces during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines

Japanese occupation of the Philippines

The Japanese occupation of the Philippines was the period in the history of the Philippines between 1942 and 1945, when the Empire of Japan occupied the previously American-controlled Philippines during World War II....

, He is the grandfather of Senator Jamby Madrigal

Jamby Madrigal

Maria Ana Consuelo Madrigal-Valade , better known as Jamby Madrigal, is a politician in the Philippines. She was elected during the 2004 general elections as a Senator...

.
Abad Santos was born in City of San Fernando, Pampanga

Pampanga

Pampanga is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the City of San Fernando, Pampanga. Pampanga is bordered by the provinces of Bataan and Zambales to the west, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija to the north, and Bulacan to the southeast...

 to Vicente Abad Santos and Toribia Basco. His brother, Pedro

Pedro Abad Santos

Pedro Abad Santos was a Filipino doctor, lawyer, Marxist and politician who later became a leader of the first of two Philippine communist rebellions from the 1930s to the 1950s.-Early years:...

, would eventually emerge as a leading socialist leader during the Commonwealth era. In 1904, he was sent to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 as a government pensionado. He finished a pre-law course at the Santa Clara College

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University is a private, not-for-profit, Jesuit-affiliated university located in Santa Clara, California, United States. Chartered by the state of California and accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, it operates in collaboration with the Society of Jesus , whose...

 in Santa Clara, California

Santa Clara, California

Santa Clara , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and was named after the mission. The Mission and Mission Gardens are located on the...

; his Bachelor of Laws at Northwestern University

Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

 in Evanston, Illinois

Evanston, Illinois

Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...

; and his Masters of Laws at George Washington University

George Washington University

The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...

 in 1909. Admitted to the Philippine Bar in 1911, he served as Assistant Attorney at the Bureau of Justice from 1913 to 1917 .

In 1919, Abad Santos would become instrumental in laying the legal groundwork as well as drafting the by-laws and constitution of the Philippine Women's University

Philippine Women's University

The Philippine Women's University is a non-sectarian academic institution for men and women in the Philippines, founded in 1919 as the Philippine Women's College by Filipino women who envisioned a school that would prepare young women for leadership and service...

, the country's and Asia's first private non-sectarian institution for higher learning for women. A staunch Methodist, Abad Santos was a member of the Central United Methodist Church

Central United Methodist Church

Central United Methodist Church may refer to:in the Philippines* Central United Methodist Church in the United States* Central United Methodist Church , listed on the NRHP in Michigan...

 on Kalaw Street in Manila then known as the Central Methodist Episcopal Church.

He was later appointed the first Filipino corporate lawyer of the Philippine National Bank

Philippine National Bank

The Philippine National Bank is one of the largest banks in the Philippines, ranking fourth in terms of assets...

, Manila Railroad Company and other government corporations. He returned to the Department of Justice where he became Attorney-General, Undersecretary of Justice then Secretary of Justice from 1921 to 1923. In July 1923, he resigned as Secretary of Justice together with other department secretaries as a result of the controversy between Governor-General Leonard Wood

Leonard Wood

Leonard Wood was a physician who served as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Military Governor of Cuba and Governor General of the Philippines. Early in his military career, he received the Medal of Honor. Wood also holds officer service #2 in the Regular Army...

 and Filipino leaders.

Abad Santos then served as Chief Counsel of the President of the Philippine Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. In 1926 he went to the United States as head of the Philippine Educational Mission. He was again appointed Secretary of Justice in 1928 and re-appointed on July 1, 1931. In 1932, he became an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. He became its Chief Justice

Chief Justice of the Philippines

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines presides over the Supreme Court of the Philippines and is the highest judicial officer of the government of the Philippines...

 on December 24, 1941. As part of the emergency reorganization of the Commonwealth government, Abad Santos, in his capacity as Chief Justice, was given the responsibilities previously handled by the Secretary of Justice (the position of Secretary of Justice was abolished for the duration of the war). Abad Santos accompanied the Commonwealth government to Corregidor, where on December 30, 1941, he administered the oath of office to President Quezon and Vice-President Osmeña for the second term they'd been elected to in November of that year. He also undertook, with Manuel Roxas, the supervision of the destruction of Commonwealth government currency to prevent its falling into enemy hands.
When President Manuel L. Quezon

Manuel L. Quezon

Manuel Luis Quezón y Molina served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 to 1944. He was the first Filipino to head a government of the Philippines...

 left for the United States via Australia, Chief Justice Abad Santos was given the choice to leave with him. But the latter preferred to remain in the Philippines and carry on his work and stay with his family. President Quezon appointed him Acting President with full authority to act in the name of, and on behalf, of the President of the Philippines

President of the Philippines

The President of the Philippines is the head of state and head of government of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines...

 in areas unoccupied by the Japanese. On April 11, 1942, he and his son José, Jr. were captured by the Japanese while traveling by automobile in Carcar, Cebu. He identified himself as the chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. Abad Santos and his son were then taken to a concentration camp.

When asked to cooperate with the Japanese, he refused to do so. Although he had nothing to do with military operations, they imputed to him the destruction of the bridges and other public works in Cebu.

The Japanese High Command took him and his son to Parang, Cotabato (now in Maguindanao

Maguindanao

Maguindanao is a province of the Philippines located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao . Its capital is Shariff Aguak. It borders Lanao del Sur to the north, Cotabato to the east, and Sultan Kudarat to the south....

) in April 1942. The next day they were brought to Malabang, Lanao, and after three days confinement at the constabulary barracks, Chief Justice Abad Santos was called to Japanese headquarters. Before he was shot to death, he was able to talk to his son José, Jr. His last parting words to his son were "Do not cry, Pepito, show to these people that you are brave. It is an honor to die for one's country. Not everybody has that chance." He was executed at 2:00 p.m., on May 2, 1942. The date is often reported as May 7, but as former Supreme Court Justice Ramón C. Aquino, Abad Santos' biographer put it, "At first it was thought that Abad Santos had been killed on May 7, 1942. This was the date given by Pepito himself during his testimony at the trials of Generals Hayashi and Kawaguchi. But on the basis of Fukui's testimony supported by notations in his diary, the date of Abad Santos' execution was definitely ascertained to be at two o'clock on the afternoon of May 2, 1942." (p. 215)