Jovito Reyes Salonga, KGCR (Tagalog pronunciation: [hoˈvito sɐˈlɔŋga]; June 22, 1920 – March 10, 2016) also called "Ka Jovy," was a Filipino politician and lawyer, as well as a leading opposition leader during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos from the declaration of martial law in 1972 until the People Power Revolution in 1986, which removed Marcos from power.

On June 11, 1942, he was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor by the Japanese and incarcerated at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa, but was pardoned on the Foundation Day of Japan (Kigen Setsu) in 1943.

In February 1948, he married Lydia Busuego in Cambridge, Massachusetts who gave birth to their first son, Esteban Fernando Salonga, among other children.

Salonga helped build the party from the grassroots, largely with the support of disgruntled young people who responded to the issues he raised, particularly the entrenchment of the political ruling class and their families in seats of governments, a major cause of disenchantment among the masses.

He also composed a seminal article, published and editorialized in various papers, on the Philippines' territorial claim to North Borneo (Sabah).

In June 1962, President Macapagal filed the Philippine petition against Malaysia's alleged illegal expropriation of North Borneo.

Despite limited financial resources and the victory of NP candidate Marcos as president, Salonga was elected senator, garnering the most votes.

[citation needed] Subsequently, Marcos' appeals to the Supreme Court and Senate Electoral Tribunal were overturned, granting a final victory to Salonga and Aquino.

After his release from military custody, he was offered a visiting scholarship at Yale, where he engaged in the revision of his book on international law.

[citation needed] The imposition of martial law in September 1972 was the catalyst that radicalized hundreds of oppositionists and the pretext to arrest and imprison many of them, including moderate ones.

In October 1980, after the bombing of the Philippine International Convention Center, Marcos again ordered Salonga's arrest; this time he was detained at Fort Bonifacio without any formal charges and investigation.

Jovito and Lydia Salonga lived in self-exile in Hawaii, then moved to Encino, California, where he was visited by many opposition leaders, including Ninoy Aquino.

The assassination of Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. in August 1983 prompted Salonga to return to the Philippines on January 21, 1985, to help resuscitate his party and unite democratic opposition.

The commission also petitioned to expropriate several real estate properties and several of the nation's largest corporations that the Philippine government claim were bought through blackmail or money the Marcos family allegedly plundered from the Treasury.

He was subsequently elected as Senate President due to his colleagues' respect for his long standing career as lawyer, lawmaker and defender of human rights.

In April 1990, he was conferred a Doctor of Laws degree, honoris causa, by the University of the Philippines "for his brilliant career as "an eminent political figure... for his unwavering, courageous stand against injustice, oppression, and dictatorship ... and for his sterling personal qualities of decency, humility, industry and moderation".

Salonga, despite limited means, won three senatorial elections, garnering the largest number of votes under three different administrations: that of Diosdado Macapagal, Ferdinand Marcos and Corazon Aquino.

[citation needed] In September 1991, Salonga personally organized the group of 12 senators called "The Magnificent Twelve" in rejecting the R.P.-U.S.

[citation needed] After his retirement from government service, he continued work in public service through Kilosbayan (People Action), a forum for raising political consciousness and citizens' participation in governance; the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Foundation (Heroes' Memorial), a private entity that honors the nation's martyrs and heroes for their sacrifices during martial law; and Bantay Katarungan (Sentinel of Justice), an organization that seeks to improve the administration of justice in the Philippines through the systematic monitoring of courts and quasi-judicial agencies by selected students from leading law schools.

Salonga resigned after their crime and implication in the hazing death of University of the Philippines, Diliman student, 20-year-old Cris Mendez.

The NBI issued subpoenas to the Sigma Rho fraternity, but none of its members admitted responsibility for the brutal murder or shed light on the truth.

Their lawyer Tony Meer, a fellow member concocted a rouse to distract the public and stated: "I don't think its fair to us.

[12] Meanwhile, the media, historians, and experts, including columnist and Sigma Kappa Pi Alumni President Jarius Bondoc praised Salonga for doing the right thing by rejecting this syndicate.

He teaches regularly at the Lyceum of the Philippines where he holds the Jose P. Laurel Chair on Law, Government and Public Policy.

[citation needed] Salonga wrote President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to warn her that the May 14, 2007, elections could turn out to be as "violent and fraudulent" as the Marcos-era polls.

Salonga claimed that a raw deal was done against "Nicole" and the judicial process by Judge Benjamin Pozon and the Court of Appeals under pressure from George W. Bush's government.

He was honored for "the exemplary integrity and substance of his long public career in service to democracy and good government in the Philippines".