Marcelo Adduru

Marcelo Adduru (June 18, 1894 – January 30, 1972)^[1] was a Filipino politician and guerrilla leader.

The Honorable Marcelo Adduru
Portrait
5th Secretary of Labor
In office July 12, 1945 – May 28, 1946
President	Sergio Osmeña
Preceded by	Mariano Eraña
Succeeded by	Pedro Magsalin
Governor of Cagayan
In office 1941–1945
Preceded by	Servando Liban
Succeeded by	Baldomero Perez
In office 1955–1959
Preceded by	Jose Carag
Succeeded by	Felipe Garduque
Member of the Philippine House of Representatives from Cagayan's 1st district
In office June 2, 1931 – June 2, 1934
Preceded by	Vicente Formoso
Succeeded by	Nicanor Carag
In office September 16, 1935 – December 30, 1938
Preceded by	Nicanor Carag
Succeeded by	Conrado Singson
Personal details
Born	(1894-06-18)June 18, 1894 Tuguegarao, Cagayan, Captaincy General of the Philippines
Died	January 30, 1972(1972-01-30) (aged 77)
Political party	Nacionalista
Alma mater	University of the Philippines
Occupation	Politician

Early life and education

Adduru was born in Tuguegarao, Cagayan on June 18, 1894. He graduated from the University of the Philippines, where he studied forestry, liberal arts, and law. Before entering politics, he worked as a botanist.^[1]

Pre-war politics

In 1931, Adduru was elected to the House of Representatives of the Philippines representing the 1st District of Cagayan. He served until 1934 and after a hiatus, was elected to the same seat under the Philippine Commonwealth from 1938 to 1941,^[2] when he was elected governor of Cagayan as a candidate of the Nacionalista Party.^[1]

Wartime governor

At the outbreak of the Pacific War in 1941, Adduru organized the Cagayan Force, a local defense force composed of teachers, reservists and units of the Philippine Constabulary to fight the Japanese. On January 13, 1942, he along with Captain Ralph Praeger of the Provisional Apayao Force led an attack on Tuguegarao that left 200 Japanese dead in what became the first major success by the US Army following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Adduru then led another attack on Aparri while he and his guerrilla forces operated in Cagayan and Apayao. On June 6, 1942, he was commissioned with the rank of Major in the US Army's Cagayan-Apayao Force,^[1] which was formed from the merger of Adduru's Cagayan Force, the 14th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Army and Praeger's 26th Cavalry, Troop C under the Philippine Scouts.^[3]

At the same time, Adduru established a rebel government in Cagayan based in Tuao^{[4]: 112–113 [5]: 299–302} which opposed the Japanese-installed governor, Nicanor Carag.^[6] Adduru worked with Praeger in establishing a functioning government that had its own judicial and monetary system.^[7]

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.^[8] 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.^[1]

Post-war politics

After the war ended, Adduru was appointed in 1945 as Secretary of Labor, serving until 1946.^[9] In 1949, he was appointed as chairman of the Cagayan Currency Board, which sought to redeem emergency circulating notes that were issued during the war.^[10] He was then elected governor of Cagayan from 1955 to 1959.^[1]

Death and legacy

Adduru died on January 30, 1972. The regional headquarters of the Philippine National Police in Cagayan Valley is named after him.^[1]