Lorenzo Martinez "Ka Tanny" Tañada Sr. CCLH (Tagalog: [tɐˈɲada], born Lorenzo Tañada y Martínez; August 10, 1898 – May 28, 1992) was a Filipino statesman, lawyer, human and civil rights defender, and national athlete. He is often referred to as the "Grand Old Man of Philippine Politics."
He served as the Solicitor General for two terms. Following his election in 1947 where he placed 1st with the highest number of votes among the Senate candidates, he then had a sterling career as the longest-serving senator in Philippine Senate History being elected to four consecutive terms from 1947 until 1971, for a total of 24 straight years in the senate. He was a fierce nationalist and principled politician. A staunch opposition to martial law under Ferdinand Marcos, he marched and led rallies in the Parliament of the Streets. He is also equally renowned for his efforts to stop the continued presence of US military bases in the Philippines through the Anti-Bases Coalition (ABC).
Senator Tañada was the chairman of the Justice for Aquino, Justice for All (JAJA) movement that sought to oust Marcos after the assassination of former Sen. Ninoy Aquino. Senator Tañada was also a co-founder of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) with Joker Arroyo and José W. Diokno. FLAG is the largest group of human rights lawyers nationwide. They spearheaded the nationalist cause in the 1970s and 1980s as an agreement in the 1960s with Larry Henares and others.
He was also the founding chairman of a merged party called Bayan that opposed Marcos in the 1978 elections, and he founded the Nuclear-Free Philippines Coalition or NFPC, which successfully prevented the opening of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant under the Marcos administration.
In his youth, he was also a national football team goalkeeper and was part of the Philippine national team that bagged silver medals at the 1923 and 1925 Far Eastern Championship Games, the precursor to the famous Asian Games.
He is the father of former Philippine Senator Wigberto Tañada and the grandfather of former Deputy Speaker Erin Tañada.
Source: Wikipedia
Photo courtesy of National Library of the Philippines
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