Jose B. Lingad

Jose "Joe" Bulaon Lingad (; November 24, 1914 – December 16, 1980), also known by his initials JBL, was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as governor of Pampanga from 1948 to 1951 and representative of Pampanga's 1st district from 1969 to 1972. He also became commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs and subsequently secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment. He was assassinated during the martial law regime of president Ferdinand Marcos.

Early years Baptismal record of Jose B. Lingad issued at the San Agustin Parish Church on May 10, 1915. Jose Bulaon Lingad was born in the barrio of San Jose Gumi, Lubao, Pampanga on November 24, 1914, to Emigdio Lingad of Lubao and Irene Bulaon of Arayat. Lingad studied in Lubao Central Elementary School and Pampanga High School for his primary and secondary education. In college, Lingad took up law at the University of the Philippines and Philippine Law School where he passed the bar exam in 1938. At age 24, he was elected councilor of Lubao, making him one of the youngest elected officials in the country.

Military career

Career during World War II

After the Japanese invasion of the Philippines in 1941, Lingad joined the armed resistance against the Japanese in Bataan. Served as chief of staff under the command of Colonel Edwin Ramsey. He survived the Bataan Death March and later joined the guerrilla movement where he would lead the Pampanga Military District.

Political career Governor of Pampanga

In the 1947 general elections, Lingad was elected governor of Pampanga as a member of the Liberal Party at the age of 33. He also became vice-president of the League of Governors of the Philippines. Seated as governor in 1948, Lingad served a single term, being defeated to Rafael Lazatin for re-election in 1951 due to the fall-out from the Maliwalu massacre in Bacolor. This followed allegations that the paramilitary unit that perpetrated the massacre provided Lingad with protection.

After his term as governor, Lingad was still recognized as the political kingpin of Pampanga. And during the elections of 1949, Lingad nominated Diosdado Macapagal, who was then serving as second secretary of the Philippine embassy in Washington, D.C. to run for the first Congressional district of Pampanga. His assassin Sgt. Roberto Tabanero, who died in a mysterious car accident before being prosecuted, was identified as a member of the Philippine Constabulary.

In 2022, a museum dedicated to Lingad was opened at his ancestral home in Lubao, featuring some of his personal effects.

Ancestry