Manuel Collantes

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Manuel G. Collantes
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
January 14, 1984 – June 30, 1984
PresidentFerdinand Marcos
Preceded byCarlos P. Romulo
Succeeded byArturo Tolentino
Mambabatas Pambansa (Assemblyman) from Batangas
In office
June 5, 1984 – March 25, 1986
Personal details
Born(1917-08-20)August 20, 1917
Tanauan, Batangas, Philippine Islands
DiedMay 28, 2009(2009-05-28) (aged 91)
Philippines
Resting placeMadrigal Mausoleum, Ayala Alabang, Muntinlupa
PartyKBL
SpouseConsuelo Madrigal

Manuel G. Collantes (August 20, 1917[1] – May 28, 2009) was a Filipino diplomat, lawyer and businessman. He served as the country's acting Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1984.[2]

Early life and education

Collantes was raised in Tanauan, Batangas.[2] He received his law degree from Far Eastern University in 1940, and passed the bar exam later that same year.[2]

Career

He began his career by working as an assistant attorney at the Claro M. Recto law office for a short period.[2] He also taught diplomacy and international law, as well as parliamentary practice at Far Eastern University.[2]

Collantes held a variety of positions with the Department of Foreign Affairs during his career as a diplomat. These included Aide-de-Camp to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs to Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and legal assistant secretary.[2]

Collantes was appointed acting Minister for Foreign Affairs for a short period in 1984 during the government of President Ferdinand Marcos.[2]

Assemblyman (1984–1986)

In 1984, he was elected as an assemblyman for the province of Batangas.[2] On July 30, 1984, Collantes, despite being a party member of Marcos's Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, voted against the reelection of Prime Minister Cesar Virata, which is credited as the first time a ruling party member voted against a party position.[3] By October, Collantes participated in a call by business leaders such as Jaime Ongpin to hold a rally against the Marcos government, in which they expressed solidarity with the "parliament of the streets".[4]

"We can safeguard our independence and ensure our redemption from difficulties only through self-reliance and hard work, based on an ideology that is truly our own. This ideology provides the foundation for national unity. It is based on the pillars of nationalism and identity, unity, social justice, barangay (grassroot) participatory democracy, self-reliance, freedom of belief, and internationalism and adherence to the ideals of the United Nations.

— Excerpt from Collantes' Independence Day message, June 1984[5]

Post-EDSA activities

Collantes' tenure as Batangas assemblyman for the Regular Batasang Pambansa ended upon the parliament's abolition after the People Power Revolution in February 1986.

In July 1986, Collantes participated in a coup attempt led by Arturo Tolentino at the Manila Hotel against the Corazon Aquino administration, being named Tolentino's "foreign affairs minister".[6][7] A year later, Collantes ran for congressman of Batangas' third district, but was defeated by Milagros "Lally" Laurel-Trinidad after he placed second in the vote tally; the only town where he had more votes than Laurel was Balete. However, he earned more votes than former Batangas governor Antonio Leviste.[8]

Collantes was a member of the board of directors of the United Pulp and Paper Company, Inc. (UPPCI) until his death in 2009.[2] In 1999, UPPCI established a second paper mill, then the largest in the Philippines, as a joint project between Phinma and the Thailand-based Siam Cement Group; by 2004, Phinma divested some of its operations and sold UPPCI to Siam Cement.[9][10]

Personal life

Collantes met his wife, Consuelo Madrigal, in Washington, D.C. in 1949 while he was working as the second secretary and consul at the Embassy of the Philippines in Washington, D.C.[2] The couple married in the 1970s.[2] Former Senator Jamby Madrigal is his niece through his wife.[2]

Manuel Collantes died of cardiopulmonary arrest on May 28, 2009, at the age of 91.[2] His body lay in state at their family home in Forbes Park, Makati.[2] He was buried at the Madrigal Mausoleum in Ayala Alabang, Muntinlupa, following a funeral mass.[2]

References

  1. D.H. Soriano (1981). The Philippines Who's who. p. 113.
  2. "Manuel Collantes is dead; 91". Philippine Daily Inquirer. May 29, 2009. Archived from the original on June 1, 2009. Retrieved June 14, 2009.
  3. UPI (July 31, 1984). "Philippine Premier Is Re-elected". The New York Times. p. 5. Retrieved September 2, 2026.
  4. Reed, Jack (October 6, 2026). "Marcos reverses opposition to anti-government rally". United Press International. Manila, Philippines. Retrieved September 2, 2026.
  5. Collantes, Manuel (June 10, 1984). "'We have weathered the storm'". The Straits Times. p. 16. My countrymen, we have weathered the worst of the storm and have survived the threats to our national identity.
  6. "Editorial: The Marcosists Make A Move". National Midweek. August 6, 1986. p. 1. The losers in all this are Arturo Tolentino, Rafael Recto and the other civilian officials who took part in the attempted coup.
  7. Francia, Luis H. (August 6, 1986). "The Use of Farce". National Midweek. pp. 3–6. [...] Manuel Collantes, named by Tolentino as his Minister of Foreign Affairs, declared: 'For me the revolution ended as soon as room service stopped.' Which was on Monday, July 7.
  8. "Collantes protests; Trinidad leads polls". Manila Standard. Vol. 1, no. 93. Tanauan, Batangas. May 14, 1987. p. 3. Retrieved September 2, 2026.
  9. Dela Cruz, Rose (February 17, 2008). "A paper mill that recycles everything". Philstar.com. Retrieved September 2, 2026.
  10. Kositchothana, Bunsung (March 1, 1996). "Thailand: Accord with Malaysia Resolves Gas Delivery Issue". Bangkok Post. Bangkok. p. 21. Retrieved September 2, 2026. Siam Cement Group, which yesterday [February 29] signed a joint venture agreement with a Philippine company, Phinma Group, to invest in a fourth project for kraft paper production, plans to invest in cement or gypsum board manufacturing in the future.