Salvador Roman Hidalgo Laurel KGCR[2] (Tagalog pronunciation: [laʊˈɾɛl], November 18, 1928 – January 27, 2004), also known as Doy Laurel, was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the Vice President of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992 under President Corazon Aquino and briefly served as the last Prime Minister from February 25 to March 25, 1986, when the position was abolished.

He was a major leader of the United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO), the political party that helped topple the regime of President Ferdinand Marcos with the 1986 People Power Revolution.

His grandfather, Sotero Remoquillo Laurel, was a delegate to the Malolos Congress in 1899 and interior secretary in the first Philippine revolutionary government under President Emilio Aguinaldo.

The officials who accompanied him were former Speaker of the National Assembly Benigno Aquino Sr., former Minister of Education Camilo Osias and his wife, and General Mateo Capinpin.

It began a long and perilous overland journey to Tuguegarao, where a Japanese navy plane would fly the group to Japan via Formosa (now Taiwan) and Shanghai, China.

[5] The prolonged confinement allowed 15-year-old Salvador, both romantic and impressionable, to pursue his passion for writing poetry and prose while satisfying his love for reading.

Yet, the moments he treasured most during his stay in Nara were the morning walks in the park with his father, José, who shared his views on life during their conversations.

[5] Christmas 1945 was the bleakest one for the Laurel family; their Peñafrancia home was looted and emptied of its furniture, while the former president was placed in solitary confinement in Sugamo Prison in Japan.

Without waiting for the bar examination results, he left for Connecticut to study at Yale University, his father's alma mater, where he earned his Master of Laws degree in 1952.

Like his father in an earlier day, he came to us in the vital formative years of his intellectual development, and remained to earn his master of laws degree (LLM) and doctorate in juridical science (J.S.D.)

His deepest loyalty and devotion is to his own country, but he is aware of a larger interdependent world.Laurel later married Celia Díaz (May 29, 1928 - July 12, 2021) in 1950, a society debutante.

Troubled by the discovery that 94% of cases filed by indigent individuals in the fiscal office were dismissed due to lack of counsel, he founded the Citizen's Legal Aid Society of the Philippines (CLASP) in 1967.

Laurel actively campaigned nationwide, rallying lawyers to join his mission to provide justice for people experiencing poverty.

For his advocacy and dedication as the "Defender of the Defenseless," Laurel was recognized as "Lawyer of the Year 1967" by the Justice and Court Reporters Association (JUCRA).

[13] As chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice, Laurel reported on the Administration of Justice in Central Luzon (1969); the State of the Philippine Penal Institution and Penology (1969); the Criminal Jurisdiction Provisions of the RP-US Military Bases Agreement (1969); the Dissident Problem in Central Luzon (1971); and Violations of Civil Liberties in the case of the "Golden Buddha" (1971).

He strongly advocated for the resumption of friendly ties with the PRC and the adoption of the One-China Policy, which eventually became the official stand of the Philippines.

[needs context] During martial law, Laurel engaged in fiery speeches that exhorted the people not to be afraid and to join him in the fight to restore democracy.

[14] Through his leadership, he succeeded in organizing the United Nationalist Democratic Organization (UNIDO), drawing within its ambit leaders such as Cesar Climaco, Soc Rodrigo, Gerardo Roxas, Dominador Aytona, Eva Estrada Kalaw, Rene Espina, Mamintal Tamano, Domocao Alonto and his nephew Abul Khayr, Raul Gonzalez, Homobono Adaza and Abe Sarmiento and all significant political parties who were opposed to the dictatorship.

[year needed] During the UNIDO national convention at the Araneta Coliseum on June 12, 1985, nearly 25,000 delegates attended and proclaimed him the party standard-bearer in the snap election against President Ferdinand E. Marcos.

Finally, Laurel said he would agree to run as her vice president provided she ran under the UNIDO banner, but Cory refused.

As secretary of foreign affairs from February 1986 to September 1987, Vice President Laurel represented the Philippines in various international conferences attended by the heads of state.

He resigned from the Cabinet as secretary of foreign affairs on September 8, 1987, citing "fundamental differences on moral principles" with President Corazon Aquino.

A few months later, Laurel was charged with graft before the Sandiganbayan (political antigraft court) for misappropriating funds to construct the controversial ₱1.165-billion Centennial Expo in the Clark Freeport Zone in Angeles City.

[22] Following his retirement from public service in 1999, Laurel devoted much of his time to law practice, international consultancy, free legal aid, and writing books.