The late Senator Jose Cortes Altavas, an illustrious son of the province of Capiz is of Cebuano roots. Jose was born on September 11, 1877 at Balete, Capiz. His parents were Jose Aguilar Altavas from Aragon, Spain and Andrea Rafols Cortes of Aklan. Jose's grandparents on the mother side, Adriano Cortes and Maria Rafols were of Cebuano descent.
Jose studied at the Ateneo de Manila where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree with Honors. It was in Ateneo that he met Norberto Romualdez ( the political patriarch of the Lopez-Romualdez Clan of Leyte,), Rafael Palma (a street in Cebu City is named after him), and Vicente Singson Encarnacion who later became his contemporaries in the country's political arena. Jose was known as "Emperador" in Ateneo because of his excellence in examinations and in literary contests.
Jose transferred to the University of Santo Tomas to take up law only to be interrupted by the Philippine Revolution against Spain. Altavas came to his home to be part of the revolution under the leadership of Santiago Bellosillo.
After the revolution, Jose finished his law degree and was admitted to the Bar on May 6, 1901 and set up a law office in Capiz. He then married Socorro Barrios Laserna, daughter of Juan Laserna and Soleda Barrios in 1903. The Laserna's were of Cebuano roots, the Dela Serna's, Dela Cerna and Laserna's descended from King Tupas y Parao of Cebu. The clan, bearing derivative spellings migrated to Kalibo, Aklan, Capito and other parts of Iloilo.
Jose, ran for town councilor in Capiz (now Roxas City), Capiz and was elected during the first municipal election held in 1903. Altavas was elected to the First National Assembly which held office from 1907 to 1909. In 1910, Altavas later became Governor of Capiz until 1916. Upon the passage of the Philippine Bill of 1916 or the Jones Law, where the Americans decided that our congress instead of being unicameral changed into bicameral with the creation of the Senate, he was elected being the first Senator of the 7th Senatorial District.
The 7th Senatorial District was then composed of the Provinces of Capiz and Iloilo, and in 1917 the Province of Romblon was added after it was separated from Capiz. Two senators were elected for every district. Elected with Jose Altavas in 1916 was Senator Francisco Villanueva, In 1919 elected as his co senator from the district was Jose Ma. Arroyo. Jose Ma. is the the ascendant of Atty. Miguel Arroyo, the husband of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Senator Jose Altavas called as the "Man who made Roxas" launched the political career of Manuel Acuna Roxas, a 27 year young lawyer by running for Governor of Capiz in 1919 against Conrado Barrios, a prominent lawyer whom he defeated. In the 1922 elections, Altavas carving the political destiny of Roxas, convinced him not to run for reelection but instead seek election for the 1st Congressional District of Capiz. Roxas was mentored by Altavas in the practice of law, when the former came to Capiz to bury his grandfather, Eleuterio Acuna 1917 and insisted that Roxas to stay in Capiz to practice law and joined politics. Manuel Acuna Roxas, then became President of the Republic in April 23, 1946.
It was Jose Cortes Altavas who built the Capiz Provincial Building in 1910, which was inaugurated on June 19, 1911, coinciding with the 50th Birth Anniversary of Jose Rizal. Senator Altavas died on August 21, 1952 in Roxas City, Capiz. His death did not erase his greatness, there is a town named after him. On November 13, 1917, American Governor General Francis Burton Harrison issued Executive Order No. 88 creating the Municipality of Altavas, the 32nd town of Capiz. Altavas, was inaugurated officially and renaming Jemino (a town named after a Bishop of Cebu) on December 1, 1917. In attendance were Senator Altavas and Congressman Mobo Alba of the 2nd Congressional District of Capiz. The official birth date of the town of Altavas is January 1, 1918.