JOSE S. ESCALER (1885-1927) Industrialist, Lawyer and Educator Escaler was born in Sulipan, Apalit, Pampanga on 19 January 1885. He was the eldest of the six children of a wealthy couple, Manuel Escaler and Sabina Sioco. After his early education in his hometown, Jose enrolled at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran for his segunda enseñanza which he finished at the top of his class in 1897. After the revolution, he pursued a degree in Bachelor of Arts at the Liceo de Manila, graduating in 1903. Two years after, he finished his Bachelor of Laws from the Escuela de Derecho. Rafael Palma was once his teacher in the Law school. Escaler went to the United States and enrolled at the Yale University. His studies at Yale was cut short because he was obliged to see his father who was ill in the Philippines. He passed by Europe on his way to the country. In Europe, he took up graduate courses in law and economics at Oxford. Before returning to the Philippines in 1909, Escaler had toured France, Germany, and Italy. Back in Manila, Escaler took the Bar Examinations, which he successfully passed. A full-fledged lawyer, Escaler apprenticed in the law office of an American lawyer, WM. Kincaid, and at the same time involved himself in organizations like Philippine Columbian Association and the Club Filipino. He served the government in various positions, first as law clerk in the Philippine Assembly on 2 January 1913 but resigned in July 1914 to serve as city attorney of Manila. It was during his term as city attorney when he opened with Salas a law office on Cabildo Street in Intramuros. On June 26, 1915, Jose married Aurora Ocampo, a cousin of Revolutionary General Maximino Hizon. They had seven children: Ernesto, Alicia, Elisa, Jose Jr., Federico, Viviana, and Manuel, who would later become successful in their respective fields. On 19 June 1916, he was named first assistant director of the Bureau of Education. From January 15, 1917 to December 15, 1919, he was undersecretary of Justice Victorino Mapa. Since 1911, Escaler had been a known figure in the University of the Philippines as a member of its board of regents. He was also a professorial lecturer in comparative jurisprudence in the College of Law. When UP President Ignacio Villamor took his leave, Escaler served as acting president from 28 December 1918 to June 14, 1919. He was also involved in various civic organizations like the Philippine Council of Hygiene, the Philippine Orphanage Association and the Sixth Philippine Agricultural Congress. A known advocate for an economically progressive Philippines, he entered in industrial business. He became vice-president of Philippine Oil Products and the Chamber of Agriculture. He served as director of the Germinal Cigar Factory and the Cooperative Agricola and Malayan Trading. One who believed that development of agriculture must not lagged behind industrial progress of a country, Escaler helped establish the Pampanga Sugar Development Company and was its general manager from 1924 to 1926.
In 1926, he toured Europe with the hope to regain his failing health to no avail. By January 1927, he was back in where he died of cardiac arrest on February 17 that same year. References: Manuel, E. Arsenio. Dictionary of Philippine Biography Volume 1. Quezon City: Filipiniana, 1955. Quirino, Carlos. Who’s who in Philippine History. Manila: Tahanan Books, 1995.
