Digging for historical dirt in old files is an interesting as seeing long-declared extinct animal species for the first time. The discovery of rare facts does not only shed a new twist to the conventional knowledge we have, but they also provide us with a better appreciation of the involvement of Davao leaders in the part.
The name Gaudencio E. Antonino may not a ring bell to the present generation. To old-timers, the landmark that reminds him and his wife, Magnolia Welborn, is the long-standing edifice, now rented to a Chinese trader, right across Magsaysay Park, the Antwel Building.
In the 1952 Davao Culture and Progress, Antonino went on to become senator in 1961, was listed as a director of the Davao Auto Calesa Operators Association (DACOA). He was joined in the Board by Ambrosio S. Yuvienco, Agustin Osorio, Eustaquio Arieta, and Alfredo Aledia.
The executive officers of the group include Dr. Crisogono Lopez, as president; Juan B. Mercao, vice-president; Asher H. Murillo, secretary-treasurer; and Roque Yulo, auditor and public relations officer. Overall, excluding the directors and officers, the organization had 52 members.
Born in Jaen, Nueva Ecija, on February 9, 1909, Antonino obtained his civil engineering degree at the University of the Philippines. He landed 7th in the board exams. Professionally, he started work as assistant engineer in the Bureau of Public Works (1933-36).
When war broke out, he was enlisted as second lieutenant of 101st Engineer Battalion, served the United States Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE), and later with the as first lieutenant with the United States Armed Forces in the Philippines (USAFIP).
After the liberation, he ventured in logging such that in 1954, the Business Writers’ Association of the Philippines (BWAP) honoured him as the “Lumberman of the Year.” The same union accorded gave him a separate award for his contribution to export and production.
On September 19, 1957, President Carlos P. Garcia appointed him as member of the Incentives Committee. He was at the time president of the Producers and Exporters Association and the following year was installed a member of the Board of Trustees of the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM).
As ad interim member of the Monetary Board, he was credited for telling the Central Bank officials and members of the Presidential Committee on Administration Performance Efficiency (PCAPE) in 1959 of the plan to secure the services of Lloyds of London to check the malpractice of over-shipping and undervaluing of exports.
Before he became a senator, Antonino, a former president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce, was a business executive. He was president of Western Mindanao Lumber Co., Inc. and G.E. Antonino, Incorporated; and chair of the Board of Directors of Industrial Mutual Fund Inc., Munoz Motors, Inc., Apayao Mining and Oil Co., Inc., and United Finance Corp.. He was also director of Bataan Pulp and Paper Mill Co., Reinsurance Co. of the Orient Music Corp. of the Philippines, Philippine Engineers Syndicate, and Rico Finance Corp.
In 1961, he was elected to the Senate and became the chairman of the Committee on Public Works and Communications and National Defense and Security; he served two terms.
Antonino is remembered for his fearless opposition to the congressional allowances which spawned a national controversy. As a result, the bill appropriating gargantuan allowances to congressmen was vetoed in 1965. Two years later, he died while campaigning, when his helicopter crashed. His wife, Magnolia, substituted for him a day before the elections and won.
As a fiscalizer, Antonino was an independent as he was brave to tread uncharted political territories. Upon his recommendation chairman of the Senate committee on public works, President Diosdado Macapagal cancelled the P8-million road sign contract, deemed as irregular. By doing that, the senator said the government would save P7 million.
In 1963, he divulged the anomaly in the Civil Aeronautics Administration, which involved the negotiated purchase for P190,000 of insulating transformers. On the side, he crossed legislative swords with Sen. Alejandro Almendras, another Davao senator, on certain issues.
Angered by the failure of the Commission on Appointments to confirm a protégé, he moved to depose Senate President Ferdinand Marcos after the Senate. And for the Senate failing to pass the general appropriations and the public works bills, he demanded Marcos’ resignation.
When there was a plan to reorganize the Senate, Antonino, as part of the Liberal Party ‘four rebels’ that included Camilo Osias, Raul Manglapus, and Manuel Manahan, supported the status quo but still resigned from their chairmanships. His continuing political rift with public works secretary Brigido Valencia, a migrant in Davao, and Almendras resulted in his resignation as LP vice-president for Mindanao and chairman of the Davao provincial committee.
In 1965, Antonino, who had a heart ailment, stood on the floor and warned that any move toward reorganize the Senate on the simple reason that Marcos was to be involved in the reopening of the Stonehill investigation would reflect badly on the senators. Later, he yielded to the reorganization of the upper chamber.
The Antonino couple used to own investments in logging, education, buildings, and commercial lots in Davao City. They later moved to Gen. Santos City where they established political authority and opened new business ventures. They were blessed with five children, two of whom became successful politicians.
