Serge Osmeña

Sergio Osmeña III
Sergio Osmeña III leading a budget hearing of the Senate of the Philippines in October 2013
Senator of the Philippines
In office June 30, 2010 – June 30, 2016
In office June 30, 1995 – June 30, 2007
Chair of the Senate Banks, Financial Institutions and Currencies Committee
In office July 26, 2010 – June 30, 2016
Preceded by	Francis Escudero
Succeeded by	Francis Escudero
Chair of the Senate Energy Committee
In office July 26, 2010 – June 30, 2016
Preceded by	Gregorio Honasan
Succeeded by	Win Gatchalian
Personal details
Born	(1943-12-13) December 13, 1943 (age 81) PDP–Laban (2001–2009) Liberal (1998–2001) Lakas–NUCD (1992–1997) NUCD (until 1992)
Relations	Maria Angela Barretto ​ ​ (m. 1966; div. 1985)​ Bettina Mejia Lopez
Children	6
Residence(s)	Cebu City, Cebu Makati, Metro Manila
Alma mater	University of San Carlos University of the Philippines Los Baños Harvard University Georgetown University
Occupation	Politician

Sergio "Serge" de la Rama Osmeña III (Tagalog pronunciation:

Early life

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Osmeña was born in

Prior to the declaration of Martial Law in the Philippines, Osmeña held business positions including:

• Assistant to president, Essel Incorporated (1967 to 1972)
• Assistant to president, Cebu Autobus Company (1967 to 1972)
• Assistant to president, De La Rama Steamship Co., Inc. (1966 to 1972)
• General Manager, LRO (Lourdes de la Rama Osmeña) Farms / Hacienda Doña Pepang (1968 to 1972)
• Chairman, Cebu Contracting Company (1968 to 1972)

As a son of Marcos' political rival, Osmeña was imprisoned in 1972. In November 1974, he embarked on a hunger strike along with his cellmate,

While in exile at the United States, Osmeña served as the Director for Movement for a Free Philippines. He was also the founding director of the Justice for Aquino Justice for All (JAJA) Movement.

After the removal of Marcos, Osmeña returned to the Philippines and held positions in business and government corporations in the 1990s:

• Director, Pacific CATV, Incorporated (1994 to 1995)
• Director, Telecommunications Holdings Corporation (1994 to 1995)
• Chairman, Intervest Group (1994 to 1995)
• Director, Micrologic Systems, Inc. (1994 to 1995)
• Director, Philippine National Bank (1992 to 1995)
• Director, San Miguel Corporation (1993 to 1995)

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He served as Secretary General of the

In 1995, Osmeña was invited by

Running independent again in 2010 (although adopted by the Liberal Party[3] and the Partido ng Masang Pilipino), Osmeña refused to participate in the sorties of his adoptive parties and opted instead to campaign all by himself. He graced radio programs and television interviews.

Running on a shoe-string budget, Osmeña did not have the volume of posters and billboards of his opponents. He had television advertisements that to him would be more effective and more prudent to reach the electorate. Osmeña placed tenth and became a senator again for the third time.

He ran again in 2016 & 2019 as an independent but failed to make a Senate comeback losing in both elections.

On April 4, 2025, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) upheld the perpetual disqualification of Osmeña from holding public office for failing to submit his Statement of Campaign Expenses (SOCE) for his 2010 and 2016 senatorial campaigns.^[4]

This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately. Find sources: "Serge Osmeña" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Osmeña is married to Bettina Lopez (daughter of former Congressman Alberto Lopez of Iloilo and Chona Mejia Lopez). He has six children.

Serge Osmeña came from a family of senators. His grandfather Sergio Sr. served during the American colonial period. His father Sergio Jr. served in the 1960s. His cousin, John Henry served in the Senate from 1971 to 1972, 1987–1992, 1992–1995 and 1998–2004. His maternal grandfather, Esteban de la Rama of Negros Occidental was also a senator.

His nephew, John Gregory,served as Provincial Vice Governor of Cebu and his younger brother Tomas III is the Congressman of

He is the chairman of the Aquaworld Corporation, which he held since 1992. While serving his initial term as senator he held a concurrent position as board director of San Miguel Brewery (HK), Ltd.

He was a member of the Philippine Jaycees, where he served as a senator in 1994. He founded Pundok Sugbuanon while he lived in Los Angeles from 1990 to 1992. He is one of the Directors of the ABS-CBN Bayan Microfinance Foundation, held since 1999, and the Lorenzo Tañada Foundation, held since 1998.

Serge Osmeña is a farmer and businessman by training and was educated at Harvard, Georgetown, and the University of the Philippines.

Raised a Visayan, Osmeña speaks Cebuano and Hiligaynon as mother languages although his first language is Tagalog.

Osmeña was portrayed by Richard Gomez in the 1995 film Eskapo.