
<figure class="image-550">
<img src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources-29/jovito-salonga.webp" loading="lazy" alt="Black and white photograph of Senator Jovito Salonga wearing glasses and speaking at a press conference microphone." />
<figcaption>
Senator Jovito Salonga (center) speaks at a press briefing in 1966.
</figcaption>
</figure>

<h2>
From Pasig to the Pinnacle of Law
</h2>
<p>
Born into deep poverty in Pasig on <time datetime="1920-06-22">June 22, 1920</time>, Salonga was the youngest of five sons of a Presbyterian pastor, Esteban Salonga, and a market vendor, Bernardita Reyes. To help support his family, a young Salonga worked as a street peddler—shining shoes and selling newspapers—before finding work as a proofreader in his eldest brother's publishing firm to pay his way through the <a href="/kauswagan/articles/1188/today-in-philippine-history-june-18-1908-the-university-of-the-philippines-was-established" class="news_link">University of the Philippines</a> College of Law.
<p>
</p>
When World War II erupted, his studies were abruptly cut short. Salonga joined the underground anti-Japanese resistance. In April 1942, he was captured, brutally tortured by the Kempeitai (Japanese Military Police) in front of his aging father, and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor at the New Bilibid Prison. He was released in 1943 via a holiday pardon, immediately returning to his legal studies under chaotic wartime conditions.
</p>
<p>
In 1944, Salonga took the Philippine Bar Examination without even completing his formal degree. He achieved legendary status by topping the bar exam, tying for first place with another future titan of Philippine democracy, <a href="/articles/3131/today-in-filipino-history-february-26-1922-jose-diokno-was-born-in-ermita-manila" class="news_link">Jose W. Diokno</a>, with an extraordinary score of 95.3%. Following the war, he earned a Master of Laws from Harvard University and a Doctorate in Jurisprudence from Yale University. Though offered a prestigious teaching position at Yale, he chose to return home to help rebuild his battered nation.
</p>

<h2>
The "Nation's Fiscalizer" and the Plaza Miranda Blast
</h2>
<p>
Salonga entered politics in 1961, winning a seat in Congress representing Rizal. By 1965, he ran for the Senate and emerged as the topnotcher (the candidate with the highest number of votes nationwide)—a feat he would uniquely repeat across three separate decades (1965, 1971, and 1987) under three completely different presidential administrations.
</p>
<p>
Because of his relentless exposure of state corruption and his vocal opposition to the Ferdinand Marcos administration, the Philippines Free Press dubbed him the "Nation's Fiscalizer."
</p>
<p>
On August 21, 1971, tragedy struck. While on stage at the Liberal Party's proclamation rally at Plaza Miranda in Manila, two fragmentation grenades were thrown onto the platform. The blast killed nine people and severely wounded the political opposition. Salonga was the most critically injured survivor; doctors initially believed he would not make it. He survived, but paid a staggering physical price:
</p>
<ul class="k-list">
<li>
He was left completely blind in his left eye.
</li>
<li>
He lost hearing in his right ear.
</li>
<li>
More than a hundred tiny pieces of shrapnel remained permanently embedded in his body for the rest of his life.
</li>
</ul>
<p>
Remarkably, just months later, while still heavily bandaged and recovering in his hospital bed, the Filipino electorate voted him into the Senate once again, topping the national polls.
</p>


<ol class="timeline-container">
<li class="timeline-item">
<div class="timeline-content">
<h3 class="timeline-title">
Wartime Captivity & Torture
</h3>
<div class="timeline-date">
<time datetime="1942-04">April 1942</time>
</div>
<p class="timeline-text">
Captured by Japanese military forces for anti-fascist resistance activities and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor.
</p>
</div>
</li>

<li class="timeline-item">
<div class="timeline-content">
<h3 class="timeline-title">
The Legendary Bar Exam Tie
</h3>
<div class="timeline-date">
<time datetime="1944-08">August 1944</time>
</div>
<p class="timeline-text">
Tops the Philippine Bar Exam with a score of 95.3%, tying perfectly with his lifelong peer Jose W. Diokno.
</p>
</div>
</li>

<li class="timeline-item">
<div class="timeline-content">
<h3 class="timeline-title">
First Senate Victory
</h3>
<div class="timeline-date">
<time datetime="1965-11">November 1965</time>
</div>
<p class="timeline-text">
Elected to the Philippine Senate for the first time, topping the national consensus with limited financial backing.
</p>
</div>
</li>

<li class="timeline-item">
<div class="timeline-content">
<h3 class="timeline-title">
The Plaza Miranda Bombing
</h3>
<div class="timeline-date">
<time datetime="1971-08-21">August 21, 1971</time>
</div>
<p class="timeline-text">
Survives a devastating assassination attempt at a political rally, sustaining permanent physical injuries.
</p>
</div>
</li>

<li class="timeline-item">
<div class="timeline-content">
<h3 class="timeline-title">
Martial Law Arrest & Exile
</h3>
<div class="timeline-date">
<time datetime="1980-10">October 1980</time>
</div>
</div>
<p class="timeline-text">
Arrested without formal charges following the declaration of Martial Law; later permitted to go into exile in the United States.
</p>
</div>
</li>

<li class="timeline-item">
<div class="timeline-content">
<h3 class="timeline-title">
Chairs the PCGG
</h3>
<div class="timeline-date">
<time datetime="1986-02">February 1986</time>
</div>
<p class="timeline-text">
Appointed by President <a href="/kauswagan/articles/897/today-in-philippine-history-january-25-1933-cory-aquino-was-born-in-manila" class="news_link">Corazon Aquino</a> as the inaugural chair of the Presidential Commission on Good Government to track and recover billions in ill-gotten wealth.
</p>
</div>
</li>

<li class="timeline-item">
<div class="timeline-content">
<h3 class="timeline-title">
The Historical Bases Vote
</h3>
<div class="timeline-date">
<time datetime="1991-09-16">September 16, 1991</time>
</div>
<p class="timeline-text">
As Senate President, casts the historic tie-breaking vote to reject the RP-US Bases Treaty, ending nearly five centuries of foreign military presence.
</p>
</div>
</li>

<li class="timeline-item">
<div class="timeline-content">
<h3 class="timeline-title">
Ramon Magsaysay Award
</h3>
<div class="timeline-date">
<time datetime="2007-08">August 2007</time>
</div>
<p class="timeline-text">
Honored with Asia's Nobel Prize equivalent for his uncompromising integrity, legal scholarship, and public service.
</p>
</div>
</li>
</ol>



Jovito Salonga: The Best President We Never Had

Discover the incredible life of Jovito Salonga. From surviving the Plaza Miranda blast to ending US military bases, explore his impact on Philippine democracy.

June 22, 1920: Jovito Salonga was born in Pasig