Rene Espina
Rene Espina (December 26, 1929 – September 13, 2019) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as Governor of Cebu from 1963 to 1969 and as a senator from 1970 to 1973. He also briefly headed the Department of Public Works, Transportation, and Communications from November 1968 to September 1969 under President Ferdinand Marcos.
Espina was born in Cebu City to Rafael Espina and Tarcela Gandiongco. He earned a law degree from the University of Southern Philippines and became a lawyer in 1955. He married Rufinita Remollo and they had three children, including Erik Miguel Espina, a Cebu City councilor.
He started his political career with the Liberal Party but joined the Nacionalista Party in 1967. As governor, he helped plan the Mactan Bridge and oversaw its completion. He left the cabinet to run for the Senate in 1969 and won a seat in the 7th Congress.
As a senator, he authored the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972, the Philippines’ first major anti-drug law. Espina also worked as a columnist for the Manila Bulletin. In 2019, 110 farmers were installed on a 150-hectare property he owned in Negros Oriental. He died in Cebu City on September 13, 2019, at age 89 after an infection related to dialysis.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 17:15 (CET).