José B. Lingad

Jose B. "Joe" Lingad (November 24, 1914 – December 16, 1980) was a Filipino lawyer, World War II veteran and politician who was elected provincial governor and Congressman from Pampanga. He also became commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (Philippines), Bureau of Customs Commissioner and subsequently secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment.

Early life and education
Jose Bulaon Lingad was born in Lubao, Pampanga on November 24, 1914. He took up law at the University of the Philippines and the Philippine Law School and passed the bar exam in 1938. At age 24, he was elected Councilor of Lubao, making him one of the youngest elected officials in the country. By the time he was elected Governor of Pampanga, he was still at a young age of 33 years old.

Career during World War II
After the Japanese invasion of the Philippines in 1941, Lingad joined the armed resistance against the Japanese in Bataan. He survived the Bataan Death March and later joined the guerrilla movement.

Political career
In the 1947 general elections, Lingad was elected governor of Pampanga as a member of the Liberal Party at the age of 33. He also became vice-president of the League of Governors of the Philippines. Seated as governor in 1948, Lingad served a single term, being defeated for re-election in 1951 due to the fall-out from the Maliwalu massacre. Had Lingad stayed on as governor though, he would have been appointed by President Elpidio Quirino to lead the Department of National Defense due to his stellar accomplishments at the time.

After his term as governor, Lingad was still recognized as the political kingpin of Pampanga. And during the elections of 1949, Lingad nominated Diosdado Macapagal, who was then serving as second secretary of the Philippine embassy in Washington, D.C. to run for the 1st Congressional District of Pampanga.

With the help and guidance of governor Lingad, Diosdado Macapagal would start his political career that would make him president of the Philippines one day. As they were childhood friends in the town of Lubao, Pampanga.

In 1969, Lingad was elected as Congressman of the 1st district of Pampanga.

Cabinet Official
When his Protege Diosdado Macapagal was elected president in 1961, Lingad joined the Macapagal administration, first as Commissioner of Internal Revenue, then Commissioner of Customs and, ultimately Secretary of Labor.

Congressional career
In 1969, Lingad was elected to the House of Representatives under the Liberal Party banner representing the 1st District of Pampanga, the same seat Macapagal had won 20 years earlier. Lingad served in the 7th Congress from 1969 to 1972. Previously perceived as holding right-wing political views, Lingad shifted to the left while in Congress, supporting farmers' rights and dialogue with the leftist insurgency. Lingad's congressional career was abbreviated with the abolition of Congress following the declaration of martial law by Marcos in 1972. Lingad, a member of the political opposition against Marcos, was among the first political figures to be arrested and imprisoned on the day martial law was declared.

Lingad was released from prison after three months and he retired to his Pampanga farm. He was called out of retirement by the opposition leader Benigno Aquino, Jr., who urged him to run for Pampanga governor in the January 1980 local elections as a candidate of the anti-Marcos opposition. Lingad was defeated by Estelito Mendoza, but he raised charges of fraud which led to the staging of a new election for governor.

Assassination and Legacy
On December 16, 1980, Lingad was shot His assassin, who died in a vehicular accident before being prosecuted, was identified as a member of the Philippine Constabulary. National leaders from all sides of the political spectrum attended his wake. \ On November 25, 1989, RA No. 6780 entitled "An Act of Changing the Name of the Central Luzon General Hospital located in the municipality of San Fernando, province of Pampanga, to Jose B. Lingad Memorial Regional Hospital" was one of bills signed by then President Corazon C. Aquino. On that day the hospital was formally recognized as Jose B. Lingad Memorial Regional Hospital.