View source for José Ozámiz

{{Short description|José Ozámiz: first governor of Misamis Occidental, WWII hero}}
{{family name hatnote|Ozámiz|Fortich|lang=Spanish}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_suffix    =
| name                = José Ozámiz
| image               = Profile Pics - Senator Jose Fortich-Ozamiz large.jpg
| width               =
| caption             =
| office              = Chairman of the [[Games and Amusements Board]]
| term_start          = 1943
| term_end            = 1944
| predecessor         =
| successor           =
| office1             = [[Senate of the Philippines|Senator of the Philippines]]
| 1namedata1          = '''''Died before taking office'''''
| office2             = Member of the [[National Assembly of the Philippines|National Assembly]] from [[Misamis Occidental]]'s [[Misamis Occidental's at-large congressional district|at-large]] district
| predecessor2        = Himself
| successor2          = ''District abolished'' (Next held by Eugenio Stuart del Rosario and Rufino Abadíez)
| office3             = Member of the [[House of Representatives of the Philippines|House of Representatives]] from [[Misamis Occidental]]'s [[Misamis Occidental's at-large congressional district|at-large]] district
| term_start3         = June 2, 1931
| term_end3           = September 16, 1935
| predecessor3        = ''District established
| successor3          = Himself
| birth_name          = José Ozámiz y Fortich
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1898|5|5}}
| birth_place         = [[Jimenez, Misamis Occidental|Jimenez, Misamis]], [[Captaincy General of the Philippines]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|1944|2|11|1898|5|5}}
| death_place         = [[Manila]], [[Commonwealth of the Philippines]]
| residence           =
| alma_mater          = [[Ateneo de Manila University|Ateneo de Manila]] ([[Bachelor of Laws|LL.B]])
| profession          = Lawyer
| party               = [[Nacionalista Party|Nacionalista]]
| religion            =
| spouse              = Lourdes Hyndman
| children            =
| office4             = Governor of [[Misamis Occidental]]
| president           = [[Jose P. Laurel]]
| term_start4         = 1928
| term_end4           = 1931
| termstart2          = September 16, 1935
| termend2            = December 30, 1941
| honorific_prefix    = [[The Honourable|The Honorable]]
}}
'''José Ozámiz y Fortich''' (May 5, 1898 – August 30, 1944) was a [[Spanish Filipino]] lawyer and politician from [[Misamis Occidental]].
==Early life==
Ozámiz was born on May 5, 1898, in house near the “old bridge” in [[Aloran]] to Jenaro Ozámiz from [[Basque Country (greater region)|Basque Country]], Spain and Basilisa Fortich, a [[Filipino mestizo]] of [[ethnic Spaniards in the Philippines|Spanish]] and [[cebuano people|Cebuano]] ancestry. Jenaro left Spain at age sixteen and came to Aloran, then ended up at the [[Jimenez, Misamis Occidental|Municipality of Jimenez]] and engaged in the business of [[abacá]] and [[copra]] trading which made him very rich, acquiring through the years {{convert|3.55|km2|abbr=on}} in tile province and {{convert|10|km2|abbr=on}} ranch in [[Bukidnon]]. José spoke his first languages [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Cebuano language|Cebuano]], [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] and [[English language|English]] when Philippines came under [[United States|American]] rule.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ozamis.com/JoseOzamiz.htm|title=City of Ozamis (Ozamiz) : Senator Jose Ozamiz - The forgotten Hero|publisher=Old website of the City of Ozamiz|access-date=16 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010502013052/http://ozamis.com/JoseOzamiz.htm|archive-date=2 May 2001|url-status=dead}}</ref>
He was the oldest and the only son among ten children. His sisters are Pacita, Consuelo, Carmen, Pilar, Remedios, Nieves, Mercedes, Paulita, and Lourdes. Three of Jose's sisters Consuelo, Carmen and Nieves remained distinct and never got married. Two entered politics: one was Consuelo, who was a councilor for six terms in Jimenez and Remedios who became a Congresswoman of [[Bukidnon's at-large congressional district|Bukidnon]]. Remedios’ son, [[Carlos Fortich]] became a politician also by becoming a governor of Bukidnon.
In 1904, the Ozámiz family transferred to a big house in Jimenez, where they engage themselves in the copra business and ship them off to other islands in the Philippines.
==Legal career==
Ozámiz graduated from [[Ateneo de Manila University|Ateneo de Manila]] and became a lawyer on September 27, 1921. Actively practiced law, he was a counsel of big companies in [[Manila]], like Madrigal Shipping and Dela Rama Steamship, both owned by senators.<ref name="philstar" />
==Political career==
Ozámiz was appointed as [[Misamis Occidental]]'s first provincial governor and served from 1928 to 1931. He was later elected as representative of the [[Misamis Occidental's at-large congressional district|Lone District of Misamis Occidental]] from 1931 to 1941. He was a delegate to the 1935 Constitutional Convention that resulted in the creation of the [[1935 Constitution of the Philippines|1935 Constitution for the Philippine Commonwealth Government]]. In [[1941 Philippine Senate elections|1941]], he was elected to the Philippine Senate. However, he did not serve his term as senator due to [[Imperial Japan]] invading in the Philippines during [[World War II]] and he was executed before he could assume office.
==World War II==
[[File:Sen. Jose Ozamiz Historical Maker.jpg|170px|thumb|right|Historical marker of Jose Ozamiz at the Aloran Town Plaza]]
When the Japanese occupied the country during World War II, Ozámiz was among those who accepted a post in the Japanese government with the blessings of the guerrilla movement who saw that his position would allow him to move discreetly.<ref name=Keats>Keats, J., 1963, They Fought Alone, New York: J.B. Lippincott Company</ref>{{rp|208–209}} He became chairperson of the Games and Amusement Board. Then in May 1943, he came to Mindanao to contact Fertig. He came by boat accompanied by Jose Maria and Pelong Campos of Aloran. During his arrival in Mindanao, he met Fertig and Parson, both major leaders of the guerrilla movement.
On his way home, Ozámiz's family was under house arrest. He went back to Manila in February 1944. He was arrested by Japanese [[Kenpeitai|Kempetai]] on February 11 on his wife's birthday. He was condemned to be executed. A Filipino nicknamed "makapili" played a part in his downfall along with twenty-nine other fellow Filipino who also got arrested at the same time. They were the core of the guerilla movement in Manila. On the same day, he was beheaded at the [[Manila North Cemetery]], alongside 29 guerilla members, by the Japanese during their occupation of the Philippines during World War II for his involvement in the Resistance Movement.<ref name="philstar">{{cite news|url=https://www.philstar.com/the-freeman/opinion/2014/10/16/1380838/senator-jose-fortich-ozamiz|title=Senator Jose Fortich Ozamiz|first=Clarence Paul|last=Oaminal|date=October 16, 2014|accessdate=July 27, 2022|publisher=The Freeman|website=Philstar.com}}</ref>
==Legacy==
* The city of [[Ozamiz]] (which used to be called Misamis) in the province of [[Misamis Occidental]] was posthumously named in his honor.
* Then Nailon Primary School of Nailon, [[Tudela, Misamis Occidental]] was renamed after him, which is now Ozamiz Elementary School in Camarin, Cabol-anonan, [[Tudela, Misamis Occidental]] (Barangay Cabol-anonan was once part of Barangay Nailon).
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.ozamizcity.com/JoseOzamiz.htm Biography page of Senator José Ozámiz at the OzamizCity.com website]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozamiz, Jose}}
[[Category:1898 births]]
[[Category:1944 deaths]]
[[Category:Governors of Misamis Occidental]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Misamis Occidental]]
[[Category:Senators of the 1st Congress of the Commonwealth of the Philippines]]
[[Category:Nacionalista Party politicians]]
[[Category:Executed politicians]]
[[Category:Filipino people of Spanish descent]]
[[Category:Filipino people of Basque descent]]
[[Category:Filipino people of Catalan descent]]
[[Category:Cebuano people]]
[[Category:Visayan people]]
[[Category:People from Misamis Occidental]]
[[Category:Executed Filipino people]]
[[Category:People executed by Japanese occupation forces]]
[[Category:People executed by Japan by decapitation]]
[[Category:Members of the Philippine Legislature]]
[[Category:Members of the National Assembly of the Philippines]]
[[Category:Misamis Occidental]]