He was appointed by the Japanese forces to serve as governor of the province of Cebu during World War II.
In addition, he had visited Japan previously on an educational exchange program when he was a law student at the University of the Philippines.
Due to the instability in politics at the time, scholars had difficulty determining the administrations of war-time governors Abellana, Leyson, and Jose Delgado, who was the Cebu City mayor before the coming of the Japanese forces.
[4][10] There are several accounts that explained his death, one of which was that he was held as hostage by the Japanese army in their retreat towards the northern part of Cebu and then he was executed.
Another account claimed that together with Paulino Gullas and other Cebuano officials, he was taken by the Japanese to the Babag Ridge area and died when Americans bombed the cave in which they were hiding.