Marcelo Adduru

Marcelo Adduru (June 18, 1894 – January 30, 1972) was a Filipino politician and guerrilla leader.

Early life and education Adduru was born in Tuguegarao, Cagayan on June 18, 1894 to Jocobo and Esperanza Adduru. His father died when Marcelo was a child. Adduru attended high school in Tuguegarao before receiving a government scholarship to attend the UP College of Forestry in Los Baños, Laguna, graduating in 1918. He then studied law at the University of the Philippines and graduated in 1923 before being admitted to law practice later that year. Before entering politics, he worked as a botanist, when he was elected governor of Cagayan as a candidate of the Nacionalista Party.

When the provincial capital of Tuguegarao fell to the Japanese forces on December 12, 1941, Adduru and several provincial officials evacuated which opposed the Japanese-installed governor, Nicanor Carag. Adduru worked with Praeger in establishing a functioning government that had its own judicial and monetary system. Due to Japanese attacks, Adduru later transferred his headquarters to Rizal, Cagayan and later to Magabubong, a barrio of Kabugao, Apayao.

In December 1942, he was subjected to an attempt by Emilio Aguinaldo to convince him and another renegade governor, Roque Ablan of Ilocos Norte, to surrender to the Japanese. Adduru was captured by the Japanese twice in two separate occasions in 1943 and 1944 but managed to escape both times and participated in the liberation of northern Luzon in March 1945. when he became chairman of the board of directors of the National Land Settlement and Development Corporation and later general manager of the same firm from 1951 to 1953. In 1953, he became governor of the Agricultural Credit and Financing Administration. He was then elected governor of Cagayan from 1955 to 1959.

Personal life Adduru was married to Candida Gonzales and had two children.

Death and legacy Adduru died on January 30, 1972. The regional headquarters of the Philippine National Police in Cagayan Valley is named after him.