Vicente Ilustre

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Vicente Ilustre" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (June 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Vicente Encarnacion Ilustre
Ilustre depicted in a publication of Philippine Education, published April 1917
Senator of the Philippines from the 5th District
In office 16 October 1916 – 3 June 1919 Serving with Manuel Quezon
Preceded by	position established
Succeeded by	Antero Soriano
Personal details
Born	(1869-09-06)6 September 1869 Taal, Batangas, Captaincy General of the Philippines
Died	27 September 1928(1928-09-27) (aged 59) Manila, Philippine Islands
Political party	Independent

Vicente Encarnacion Ilustre was a Filipino lawyer, diplomat and politician.

While serving as president of the Committee for Mindanao and Sulu, Ilustre authored the Philippine Commission Act No. 2408, which affected the colonization of Mindanao during the American occupation.^[1]: 57

Ilustre was born in Taal, Batangas on 6 September 1869.^[2] He earned his bachelor's degree from the Ateneo Municipal de Manila.^[3] He then pursued his higher education in Spain, where received his doctorate in law from the Universidad Central de Madrid and became associated with members of the Propaganda Movement such as Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar and Mariano Ponce.^[2]

During the Philippine-American War, he served as a representative of the Philippine revolutionary government to the United States, albeit based in Hong Kong.^[2] Ilustre also served as president of the examining board of candidates for the practice of Law in 1909. In 1910, he subsequently became president of the Philippine Bar Association.^[3] During the American occupation, he was appointed by Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison to the Philippine Commission, serving as president of the Committee for Mindanao and Sulu from 1913 to 1916.^[2][3] Upon the establishment of the Philippine Senate in 1916 he was elected as a Senator from the 5th District, comprising Batangas, Cavite, Mindoro and Tayabas, and served until 1919.^[4] He served on the Committee on Rules, the Committee on Relations with the Sovereign Government, and the Committee on Justice.

Philippine Commission Act No. 2408, authored by Ilustre, is an early example of Filipino legislation aimed at the colonization of Mindanao. The act, titled "An Act Providing a Temporary Form of Government for the Territory known as the Department of Mindanao and Sulu," was passed on July 23, 1914. The Preamble indicates that Filipinos reacted to American threats by developing laws modeled after American practices to unify the archipelago. It reflects the idea that Christian Filipinos would improve the Muslims and non-Christians of Mindanao and Sulu, mirroring the American colonial mission in the early 1900s.^[1]: 57-58

The Muslim regions of the archipelago were organized by Philippine Commission Act No. 787 from 1903 until 1914. Ilustre’s Act recognized the role of tribal leaders, called datus, who operated under a district governor and received a government stipend. Datus handled justice for Muslims and Pagans, while cases involving Christians were managed by a higher court.^[1]: 59

Ilustre was married to Rita Marella Villavicencio and died on 27 September 1928.^[2]

• Philippine Commission Act No. 2408, available from the Supreme Court E-Library