José Avelino

Senate He participated in the 8th Philippine Legislature from 1928 to 1931 representing the Philippines's 9th senatorial district of Leyte and Samar. He then participated in the 9th Philippine Legislature from 1931 to 1934. Avelino is known as the "father of the Philippine Workmen’s Compensation Law" which he authored during his term in Senate. The bill focused on creating a contingency insurance fund for workers as a way to protect them from economic problems. Avelino also founded the first labor union in Eastern Visayas, Gremio Obrero de Stevedores.

He was a part of the passage of the Social Security System and pushed for the establishment of public high schools in every province in the Philippines. Doroquez claims that Avelino was misquoted as "corrupt" by Celso Cabrera, a news reporter who did not speak Spanish. Calbayog, his birthplace, became a city due to Avelino (as president of the Senate) when he merged three contiguous municipalities (Oquendo, Calbayog and Tinambacan) into the 19th city of the Philippines on July 15, 1948—the date President Elpidio Quirino signed Republic Act No. 328.

Later life, death, and legacy After his loss in the 1949 elections, he held a post as an ambassador to President Elpidio Quirino, and subsequently returned to practicing law. He died on July 21, 1986, at the age of 95. Honoring his 129th birthday, the Presidential Palace declared August 5, 2019 as a special non-working day in Samar. On social media, the city information office wrote: "The people of Calbayog acknowledge him as The Father of Calbayog City. Together with Congressman Agripino Escareal, he pushed for the creation of the City of Calbayog".