Magnolia Rodriguez Welborn Antonino (néeWelborn; December 14, 1915 – July 22, 2010) was a Senator of the Philippines. The daughter of George Welborn and Hipolita Rodriguez, she was married to Gaudencio Antonino, also a senator.
Early life
Magnolia Welborn was born in Balaoan, La Union, on December 14, 1915, to George Welborn and Hipolita Rodriguez.[2] Her parents were unmarried until December 1919; George was an American.[3]
Antonino completed combined normal courses from the Philippine Normal School in 1934. She started as a home economics teacher, then became principal at the Balaoan Elementary School, and later worked as a teacher in Misamis Occidental and Misamis Oriental.[2]
Political career
Antonino was elected in the House of Representatives as an independent candidate for the first district of La Union in 1965. She ran and won as senator in lieu of her husband who died in a helicopter crash on the eve of the 1967 Senate election.[5][6][7] After her election, her senatorial eligibility was contested at the Senate Electoral Tribunal in 1971 by outgoing senator Camilo Osías, who unsuccessfully contended that Antonino was a United States citizen, when in fact her parents were unmarried at her birth, thereby she had the same Philippine citizenship as her mother. After witnesses, including Rodriguez, her mother, testified and other evidence was presented, the tribunal ruled in August 1971 that Antonino qualified as a senator and dismissed Osías's protest.[3] She served until the closure of Congress in 1972 following the declaration of martial law by President Ferdinand Marcos.
During her term as senator from 1968 to 1972, Antonino worked for the passage of laws including Republic Act 6124 (providing for the fixing of the maximum selling prices of essential articles or commodities and creating the Price Control Council); RA 6235 (prohibiting explosives and flammables, corrosive or poisonous substances or material in passenger aircraft and regulating the loading thereof in cargo aircraft); and RA 6395 which consolidated and revised the charter of the National Power Corporation.[2]
She also helped enact laws that benefited women and children, farmers through increased production of rice and corn, and people from the government and education sectors.[2]
Antonino was treasurer of the Antonino Construction Enterprises (1946–1953); secretary-treasurer, then manager, Western Mindanao Lumber Co.; general manager, G. E. Antonio, Inc., treasurer, Polytechnic Colleges of the Philippines; director, Philippine Commercial and Industrial Bank, and Luzon Cement Corporation.[2] She was an officer and member of various social and civic organizations, including Inner Wheel Club of Manila, YWCA, Manila Girl Scouts Council, Philippine Band of Mercy, and Philippine Garden Club.[2]
^ abc"Antonino scion ends Villareal reign in southern Ecija". Philstar (The Philippine STAR). 27 May 2004. Retrieved 2 October 2024. Antonino... is the youngest of four children of Gaudencio and Magnolia. Gaudencio was senator from 1961 to 1967... He died in a helicopter crash a day before the elections and was replaced by Magnolia who won... One of the congressman-elect's brothers, Adelbert, was congressman for two terms of South Cotabato and mayor for two terms of General Santos City. His wife, Lualhati, also became congressman of South Cotabato. Their daughter, Darlene, has just been re-elected congressman of South Cotabato following a landslide victory.
^Bionat, Marvin (1998). How to Win (or Lose) in Philippine Elections: The Dynamics of Winning or Losing in Philippine Electoral Contests. Anvil Publishing Inc.