*449. Unsolved: THE JOVENS OF BACOLOR DOUBLE MURDER CASE, 23 April 1946

FATHER AND SON Edilberto and Ricardo, died in an 1946 ambush in Bacolor, allegedly committed
by the governor's body guards. The double murder remains unsolved, Photos: June TiglaoTuazon.

Seventy seven years ago, one of the most horrifying killings in Pampanga’s crime history happened in Bacolor, resulting in the deaths of members of  one the town’s most prominent families: 62 year old EDILBERTO JOVEN and his son RICARDO, age 24. Edilberto’s brother, FRANCISCO, 55, lived to tell the tale of this brutal murder, that has remained unsolved to this day, and that a cover-up was made to protect the masterminds.

The elder Joven, an Ateneo graduate, was a pharmaceutical chemist by profession. His father was Francisco Casas Joven, brother of Ceferino C. Joven, the first Civil Governor of Pampanga in 1901. In 1906, he married Margarita Palma, who died in 1919 and left him with 5 children. That same year, he was elected mayor of Bacolor, and was elected for a 2^nd term in 1922. By then, he had taken a second wife, Elena Samia, with whom her had 4 children; Ricardo or Carding, a law student,  was the eldest and only son from that union.

 After his mayoral stint, he worked for the Bureau of Internal Revenue as a drug inspector from 1924 to 1928. On the side, he joined groups like Recreativa Filantrofica, Ding Aficionados Bacolod and Ing Parnasung Capampangan for social and literary pursuits.

 In 1931, Joven re-joined politics by becoming the Provincial Board secretary, and 2 years later, during the term of Governor Pablo Angeles-David, Joven was named Assistant Director of the Pampanga Carnival of 1933 by the governor himself. His return to the political arena and party loyalty shift could have caused his untimely death and that of his son Carding.

 Joven has had a brush with violence before. In 1915,  a seemingly-sick cousin, Angel Joven, armed with a pocket knife, assaulted him while crossing the street, inflicting serious bodily injuries.

 But that fateful event in 1946 was different, as it was deadlier, and many believed, to be politically motivated for it coincided with the national elections. Joven, by 1945, was the President of the newly-formed Pampanga Democratic Alliance,  a leftist party that counts the National Peasants Union of the Hukbalahap, the Committee of Labor Organizations of the local Communist Party and the Filipino Blue Eagle Guerrillas as members, threw their support behind incumbent Sergio Osmeña’s presidential bid.

 On the distaff side was Pablo Angeles David who cast his lot on Senate Pres. Manuel Roxas of the Liberal Party. David had the unfortunate experience of being kidnapped twice by the Hukbalahaps in 1944 and 1945, by HMB Commander Silvestre Liwanag or “Kumander Bie”, that caused him so much suffering. Though he came back alive, the Japanese Kempeitai, seized him, believing he was now working for the HMB. His arrest would profoundly affect his wife Concepcion’s health, who died on Christmas Eve, 1944. It is no wonder then that as acting post-war Pampanga governor,  he took a hard stance against the Hukbalahap/HMB, driving them to the mountains and the hinterlands though intense pacification operations.

 As the Police Report recounted that on 23 April 1946, about 9:15 p.m., shots were heard coming from the direction of barrio Tinajero. When officers responded to the scene, they saw a parked jeep behind the Bacolor Elementary School. Searching further, they found the bodies of Edilberto, his son Ricardo, and Francisco, sprawled on afield some 100 meters away from the jeep. Miraculously, Francisco was alive, but barely, and he was rushed to the hospital where he was able to give a statement to the authorities, led by a certain Sgt. Pineda and the Chief of Police.

 In his account, Francisco  said that “on their way home just a few paces from the gate of Bacolor Elementary School, 3 masked men and armed with Thompson asked them to turn back their jeep where they came from. They made them walk about 100 yards into the rice fields where they were shot.” There appeared to be no motive for the killing, as the police stated at that time—2 days after the shooting--and the assailants remained unidentified.

 In October, 6 months after the killing, a certain Sgt. Ricardo Ocampo, an investigator of the 11^th Military Police Co., stationed in Lubao surfaced, with a signed affidavit attesting to his knowledge of the crime and the perpetrators behind it. He identified the killers as bodyguards of the present governor, Pablo Angeles David. In his explosive revelation, he said that a day after the murder, he met with Eliong and asked him about the murder case.

 Eliong alleged to have boasted that together with Nanding, and their companion bodyguards, carried out the plan, and that he shot the father-and-son Jovens with the submachine gun that caused their instant deaths. He shot the wounded Francisco again after noticing he was feigning his death. He said he wanted to shoot all of them on their heads, but Nanding was rushing to leave the scene, so Eliong was not able to do so.

 A few days after, Ocampo said he met with Nanding in San Fernando, who was en route to Manila. Ocampo confronted him about the Joven killings, pretending to praise him for his actions. At this, Nanding told him he already knew who Ocampo’s source was—the looselipped Eliong. Nanding admitted the killing, then afterwards, exacted from Ocampo the promise to keep secret their conversations.

At the military headquarters, Ocampo saw Nanding again who approached him and advised him to tell the Gov. Angeles the source of his version of the story so that the governor himself would know what to do with Eliong.

 After talking to the other bodyguards, Ocampo came to discover and conclude that Eliong and Nanding wanted to take credit for the Joven killings, that was allegedly ordered by the governor himself. Thus, by eliminating the opposition, victory would be assured for Roxas and Liberal Party candidates in Bacolor.

Sgt. Ocampo also managed to trick Lt. Ildefonso Paredes, Detachment Commander of the 111^th Military Police Co., into admitting his role in the plot, by bragging about being far better than the commander, having solved the case by himself.

 To this, Lt. Paredes allegedly retorted: “You don’t think that I know what happened? Do you believe my boys? I told you you could rely on them.” As a proof of his connivance, Lt. Paredes said that he did not go directly to the scene of the crime when summoned, but drove around different barrios to give the bodyguards more time to escape.

 Ocampo ended his narrative with a recommendation to confiscate the Thompson guns of the Gov. Angeles, fire them, have the shells examined by ballistic experts, and then compare them with the bullet shells found at the murder scene. He is certain that the tests will prove that one of the governor’s Thompsons was used in the commission of the crime.

 Despite these damning revelations pointing to the direct involvement of the governor, his bodyguards, and the collusion of the police, Sgt. Ocampo’s affidavit seemed to have been conveniently ignored. The investigation did not prosper, no arrests were ever made, and the double murder of the Jovens of Bacolor remains a cold case to this day, leaving a Joven descendant to observe: “When people in power are involved, expect a cover up. Politics then, as now, has not changed.”

 (MANY THANKS to June Joven Tiglao and Nona Joven Lim, for the photos, materials and additional information).

Ninu't Ninu Qng Kapampangan, 1936

*437. PAULINE C. LIEB: Wartime Philippines’ “Joan of Arc”

LIEB AND LET DIE. Filipino-American freedom fighter, she joined the resistance movement and fought side-by-side with male soldiers. She was captured in the foothills of Montalban in 1944. 

In 1960, a Filipino-American couple moved into a quiet Angeles neighborhood, then still a town. They were seemingly an ordinary couple—Mr. Eugene Lieb, an engineer, had just accepted a job at Clark Air Base while his wife, a Manileña, appeared to be a typical mother hen to their two daughters. 

But little did their neighbors know, that the life of Pauline C. Lieb was anything but typical. For in their midst was a war heroine, whose largely forgotten role as an underground guerrilla fighter needs to be retold, for hers is a story of love, struggle and survival.

Pauline was the daughter of Paz Canovas, of Spanish-Filipino descent, and Edward Costigan, an American. Costigan had arrived in the Philippines in 1898 where he quickly found work as a manager of a cold storage facility in Manila.

Pauline was born on 6 June 1917, and grew up speaking Spanish and English in a multi-cultural household. As a young girl growing up in Manila, the pretty Pauline was squired by handsome swains, that counted the tall and handsome Lubeño, Regidor dela Rosa—who would go on to become the matinee idol, Rogelio dela Rosa. Another admirer was said to be the scion of the La Tondeña Distillery.

The onset of World War II would put on hold the lives of millions of Filipinos—and that of the Costigans would be affected most profoundly. At the height of the war years, Pauline did what she thought was right for her country and joined the underground resistance movement, prodded by Tom Myers, an American shipping magnate who organized the guerrilla group.  She took up arms, and under  Capt. Myers,  became part of the combat forces which attacked and ambushed Japanese enemy soldiers.

The Japanese military began putting the heat on the American and Filipino guerrilla fighters (Huks)  and waged campaigns to purge them out from the mountains. It was in this way that Pauline and Capt. Myers were captured in the hills of Montalban, Rizal sometime in 1944. The American was beheaded, while Pauline was whisked off and imprisoned at the Bilibid Prison in Manila. A fellow prisoner was Claire Phillips, aka Clara Fuentes, a Filipino-American spy who would write about her war experience in the book, “Manila Espionage”.  ( Her life story later was turned into a Hollywood movie entitled, “I Was an American Spy” in 1951.)

Fortunately, Pauline escaped imminent doom and was freed from incarceration with the bloody liberation of the Philippines. She was sent to the United States to recuperate, and after the dust had settled and the rebuilding of the nation went underway, the Costigans started life anew. Eventually,  Pauline found employment as a cashier at the reconstructed Manila Hotel, the country’s premiere hotel. It was here that she would meet a dashing American military personnel from Ohio, Eugene L. Lieb, who was first assigned to the Port of Manila after the war. 

After a short courtship, they got married in Catholic ceremonies in Malate and settled in the new suburb of Makati. Mr. Lieb, a civil engineer, was later tapped to head the Roads and Grounds services division at Clark Air Base in Angeles, Pampanga. This necessitated the Liebs’ move to Angeles in 1960.

Here, in a Balibago neighborhood, the Liebs would raise their two daughters: Pacita (now Vizcarra) and Mary Ann (now del Rosario), now based in the U.S.  Pauline would live a long life, passing away on 24 February 2009, at age 91 in her adopted city of Angeles. A U.S. newspaper got wind of Pauline’s wartime exploits after her death and an account of her life and times saw print on a Los Angeles daily which dubbed her as “Joan of Arc” of World War II, a fitting appellation for a freedom fighter who heeded to the calling of her inner voice-- to  put country first, before herself.

CREDITS: Photo and information provided by Mr. Benjamin Canovas, a relative of Pauline Canovas Costigan Lieb. 

*435. Maestro IRINEO L. MIRANDA, Dean of Philippine Cartoonists

DRAWING FROM EXPERIENCE. Acclaimed artist, painter, water colorist, caricaturist, art director and illustrator, Maestro Irineo Lintag Miranda of San Fernando.

The most accomplished artist who made a lasting mark in the field of cartooning and illustration was born in San Fernando to couple Catalino Miranda and Eustaquia Lintag on 15 Dec. 1896.  Irineo L. Miranda was so talented in drawing that at age 19--while still a student at the U.P. School of Fine Arts-- he was hired as an assistant illustrator with the Bureau of Printing.

A year after graduation, Miranda started worked at the Pacific Commercial Company where he designed product labels and created illustrations for advertisements—thus becoming one of country’s first agency art directors. His involvement in mass media art was looked at as just an extension of an artist’s activity, thus, outputs such as cartoon art were not regarded in the same breadth as painting. Even so, his alma mater believed in his talents; in 1918, Miranda was appointed to the Fine Arts faculty of the state university. The newly named professor taught decorative painting, cartooning and commercial design, an academic career that would last until 1961.

He flourished at the U.P., surrounded by his young, creative students whom he would address as “Ineng” and “Itoy”, as they presented their works for evaluation. He would critique each piece in English, delivered with humor and with a marked Pampango accent. He would count, among his students, future National Artists Carlos “Botong” Francisco, Cesar Legaspi and his favorite student who helped out in his illustrations, Carlos Valino Jr.

Meanwhile, he would move to Brown and Roosedel Advertising Co. in 1920, and chartered a different course from his peers like Dominador Castañeda and Fernando Amorsolo by illustrating the covers for Graphic, El Debate and Liwayway Magazines, dabbling in caricatures and working with watercolors. He was known for his theatrical style in painting, emphasizing lighting effects for example, and characterization of faces. His clients in the 1920s-30s included the Pampanga governor, Sotero Baluyot, Jorge Vargas Sr., Alfonso Ongpin and Lope K. Santos.

During the war years, the artist continued mentoring students, but resumed illustrating and painting with renewed vigor after the turbulent 40s. A 1953 jeep accident unfortunately sidelined him from painting for years—he fractured his armbone that led to a series of operations, incapacitating him temporarily.

Maestro Irineo Miranda first settled his family in front of the the Bellas Artes at R.Hidalgo St. He would sometimes use his daughter, Irinea, as his model for his paintings and sketches. Other models included Nena Saguil, Abdulmari Imao and the future senator Santanina Rasul who sat for him for the 1951 painting, “Tausug Princess”, which now hangs at the National Gallery of Art. Other well-known works include “Sampaguita Vendor” (1931, U.P. Filipiniana Collection) and “Portrait of Fabian dela Rosa” (1937 watercolor).

The maestro’s wife died young and the artist would never marry again. To while away his leisure hours, he would go and watch movies, which were one of his consuming passions. But he would always be devoted to his art. The acclaimed “Dean of Philippine Cartoonists” died of a heart attack on 21 Mar. 1964.

SOURCE: IRINEO MIRANDA 1896-1964, (c) 1972 Zone-D-Art Publications

420. REMEMBERING HOLY ANGEL ACADEMY’S HIGH SCHOOL DAYS OF 1941

DAY OF ALL DAYS. The town motorcade is one of the highlights of the pre-war High School Day celebrations of Holy Angel Academy, with thematic floats created by different classes taking centerstage on Angeles roads.1940s.Personal collection.

The stirrings of an imminent global war were already being felt in Europe in 1941, as Germany’s assaults continued all over Europe and in Africa. London had been bombed, and the U.S. had also been girding for war in the Pacific with the appointment of Admiral Husband Kimmel as Commander of the US Navy. News of the impending spread of the escalating war made the front-page of newspapers every day.

But to students of Holy Angel Academy in Angeles, the war--in 1941--seemed far, far away. Since its founding in 1934, Holy Angel Academy had grown to become a premiere school in the province, with a reputation for accessible, quality education, known for a perfect balance of academics and activities. At least, for now, the war was no cause for worry,

That year’s edition of Holy Angel’s High School Days was truly special, as a new high school building had just been completed in the sprawling campus. The week-long event from 18-23 February was packed with many activities that would be hailed and talked about by local papers for days.

The kick-off event began on February 18, Tuesday, with an English operetta, “The Magic Ruby”, staged for the public by students. The stage décor, the costumes, and the performance of the actors earned rave reviews, but the highly-anticipated Wednesday parade got even more enthusiastic media responses. Each high school class fielded a carroza (float) that visualized a relevant theme.

A reporter from Pamitic, a local paper, gushes: “ Ding carroza mipapatlu la casanting…Quing iquit cu queting parade, aburi queng dili ing macabansag “POWER”, uling masanting yang tutu sasabian. Queting carru, lerawan de ding qñg cuartu añu, ing TRES CAIDA na ning Apung Guinu. Qñg lugal ning Apung Guinu, binili reng mamusan qñg cruz ning Democracia. Iting tragedia ning Democracia tatañgalan nang Juan de la Cruz at Uncle Sam cabang ding bansang-upaya macapadirit la qñg Democraciang misubsub. Ila ding Judios?” (The floats are beautiful…In what I have seen in the parade, the one that I like most was the one that had for its theme-“POWER. The float was made by seniors  in the manner of the “Third Fall of Christ”. In place of his cross,  Christ is made to hold the Cross of Democracy.  Juan de la Cruz and Uncle Sam stare at this tragic scene, while powerful countries surround the “fall of democracy. Do they represent the Jews?)

Also joining the parade of floats was Miss Holy Angel Academy, Maria Narciso, who was met with resounding applause from people who lined up the road to watch the colorful proceedings. “Cabud iquit me,  aguiang emu uculan, macapacpac ca. Ing jinjin na bague na ning cayang lagu!”.  (Once you see her, you will instinctively clap. Her demure manner fit her beauty!)

Day 3 ( 20 Feb.) was Field Day, in which calisthenics demonstrations, folk dances and games were held on the school grounds. Notable was the “Bailes de Ayer”, choreographed by Miss Aranda and danced by the high school seniors, which included the reigning Miss HAA, Maria Narciso and Miss 4^th Year, Clara Setzer. “Iting terac da, e ca marine”, the same reporter noted,  “apaquilimpu mu qñg masanting diling folk dance king America at Europa” (You'll be proud of their dance;  it can stand alongside the best folk dances of America and Europe) .  As for the games, ”Spot the Spot” drew the most participation and enjoyment.

On Friday, 21 February, different high schools from Pampanga vied for the governor’s tropy—Copa Baluyut—in the military exercise competitions. Adding excitement to the contest was the presence of the Philippine Army Band which thrilled the audience with various march music. Five officials from Camp Del Pilar and Camp Olivas judged the drill contest that was hotly contested by Guagua Institute and Stotsenburg Institute. In the end, the cadets from Guagua Institute won the coveted Sotero Baluyut Trophy. The host contingent from Holy Angel did not win, but their bevy of corps sponsors were adjudged the most beautiful.

Saturday saw the return of HAA alumni in a grand homecoming, and the re-staging of “The Magic Ruby” in the evening that was open to the general public. The High School Days drew to a close with an exciting basketball tournament highlight. The  school was jampacked with students and Angeleños who watched  the nationally-ranked U.S.T. college team play against an elite MICAA (Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association) selection.

In just 10 months, the Japanese would attack Pearl Harbor, and then invadethe Philippines on 8 December.  World War II would take away much from Pampanga, but not the memories of that year’s Holy Angel’s High School Day—six special days that are still fondly remembered by oldtimers and alumni who witnessed these and all—“ding mangasanting nang pepalto ning Holy Angel..”.

SOURCE:
Ing Pamitic, local weekly Kapampangan newspaper, February 1941 issues.

419. REV. FR. SIXTO M. MANALOTO: A Story of a Generous Soul

THE BENEVOLENT REVEREND. Rev. Fr. Sixto M. Manaloto, long-time cura parocco of San Bartolome Parish, Magalang, Pampanga. Signed photo given to Fr. Maximino Manuguid of Mabalacat. 1915.

The big-hearted Kapampangan religious with a reputation for his boundless generosity and his enduring passion to serve God and people was born Sixto Malino Manaloto on  6 July 1891 in Capas, Tarlac. Though Tarlac-born, Fr. Manaloto would make a lasting impression on Magaleños, serving their parish for an unprecedented period of nearly 30 years.

The young Sixto found God’s calling early in life, and at the age of 14, entered the Seminario de San Francisco Javier (the name given by the Jesuits, upon their return to the Philippines, to Colegio de San José) in 1905. In the beginning of the school year 1911-1912, Manaloto, along with seminarians Pedro Guevara, Felix Martin, Emilio de la Cruz and  Santiago Talavera, were admitted to San Carlos Seminary on Arzobispado Street beside the San Ignacio Church.

Hardly had he settled for a month in San Carlos when he and his fellow Carlistas were ordered to move back to San Francisco Javier as the Jesuit administration of San Carlos lapsed on 17 August 1911.  San Carlos would later be merged with San Francisco Javier Seminary on Padre Faura St., until the latter’s closure in 1913.

That same year, San Carlos Seminary was transferred by Manila Archbishop Jeremiah James Harty to a building in Mandaluyong, and would be put in the charge of the Paules (Vincentians) . It was here that Manaloto finished his studies in Sacred Theology and Philosophy. On 8 December 1915, feast of the Immaculate Conception, Sixto Manaloto was ordained into priesthood by Archbishop Harty himself.

Fresh from his ordination, the young prelate was sent off to Pangasinan to undertake his first assignments in the municipalities of Agno and Bani. Then , he hied off to his home province to minister in Victoria, Tarlac, and then secured assignments in Pampanga—first in Sta. Ana, and then, in 1923, in Magalang, succeeding Fr. Felipe Romero. There,  he would remain until his death.

As cura parocco of the San Bartolome Parish, Fr. Manaloto, he is known for his major restoration works on the ancient church, including the replacement of the supporting wooden columns of the lateral aisles with sturdier concrete cement posts.

He also opened a parochial school that served the youths of Magalang. Likewise, the good father sent poor, but deserving students to Manila, many of whom eventually returned as professionals and became leaders of the community. Fr. Manaloto also took  to raising foster children, a few of whom were his own nephews.  He lived to celebrate his sacerdotal silver jubilee of his ordination, with a big “boda de plata” party held in Magalang on 18 December 1940.

He died on 30 March 1952 at age 61, after serving his beloved adopted town for 29 years and 7 days. A commemorative plaque can be found in the church, which pays tribute to this magnanimous man of God and his selfless contribution to the spiritual upliftment of Magalang and its people.

*416.PAMITIC, A PAMPANGA PAPER SHEDS LIGHT ON THE FLUORESCENT INVENTION CONTROVERSY

COOL LIGHTS. The Meralco Tower all lit up for the annual carnival. The invention of neon and fluorescent lamps, which were more efficient than ordinary incandescent bulbs, is often attributed to Filipino Agapito Flores, whose story has since been debunked. A 1940  feature in a Kapampangan daily may shed new light on this Flores controversy.

For decades, the name of Agapito Flores, of Guiguinto, Bulacan has been associated with the invention of the first fluorescent lamp. This Agapito was said to have worked first as a machine shop apprentice, then relocated to Tondo where he took up a vocational course to become an electrician. Allegedly, Flores was granted patent in France for a fluorescent bulb which the giant General Electric Company bought for millions.

However, no records exist of such transactions involving a Filipino by that name, and there are also major discrepancies with regards to the timeline of his supposed breakthrough invention in lighting.

There were several pre-cursors of the modern-day fluorescent lamp . As early as 1856, German Heinrich Geissler performed several experiments in arc tube type lamps. This was followed in 1895 by Daniel Moore of New Jersey (first commercial arc tube), Peter Cooper Hewitt  ( patented the first low pressure mercury vapor lamp in 1901--the very first prototype of today's modern fluorescent lights), Edmund Germer (improved  the fluorescent lamp in 1927), and George E. Inman (builder of a prototype fluorescent lights fit for public use, 1934)

Obviously then, there was not just one, but many inventors of the fluorescent lamp, at various stages of its development.  Many of the patents granted them were bought by General Electric to control their use and stifle competition.

But did a Filipino really contribute to the invention of fluorescent lighting? Why is there no solid evidence about Agapito Flores that caused his story to be debunked? Yet, National scientist Dr. Benito Vergara of the Philippine Science Heritage Center, recalls that "As far as I could learn, a certain Flores presented the idea of fluorescent light to Manuel Quezon when he became president.”

A 1940 front page news from “Ing Pamitic”  a local Pampanga daily may shed some light on the issue:

FILIPINU YA PALA. Marajil eyu balu qng Filipinu ya pala in mecatuclas (inventor) caring sulung gamitin ñgeni a palaguan dang neon Light at Fluorescent Light. Deting tauli ila deng maputi salang gagamitan dana deng caraclan. Iting Filipinung inventor ya I Dr. Gabriel Del Pilar Flores a maqui dayang capitna Castila at capitna Filipinu, dapot ciudadanu Filipinu.

Ing Dr. Gabriel del Pilar Flores megaral ya king Universidad ning Sorbona, Paris, Francia. Iting Universidad metung ya karing maragul dili queti qñg yatu at metung neman caring cabalitan. Ding dacal a estudiantes a manibat caring mialiuang bansa a magaral Europa lasa carin la pupunta lalung-lalu na ring manibat caring balen ning Sur America.

Iting balita mebasa qñg metung caring bilang na ning Milwaukee Journal, America. Queta pang banua na ning 1932 geua ing amanuan dang marimlang sulu. Dapot nung e quetang 1937 ya micalat a pañgagamit qñg comerciong picabaluan a Neon Light.  Queting mesabing banua, qñg Exposicion Paris, ing bulalag qñg meto sicluban a Torre Eiffel, manibat lalam angga qñg taluctuc na micatcatanan ya caring bayung sulung geua na ning calaji tamu.

(HE IS A FILIPINO. Perhaps you don't know that a Filipino invented the widely-used lights today known as neon light and fluorescent light. The last are the ones that emit white lights used by most. This Filipino inventor is Dr. Gabriel del Pilar Flores, with both Spanish and Filipino blood, but who consider himself Filipino.

Dr. Gabriel del Pilar Flores studied at the University of Sorbonne, Paris, France. This university is one of the biggest and most renown in the world. Most students who study in Europe often enter this university, especially those who come from South American countries.

This news is based on one of the issues of Milwaukee Journal, America. It was in 1932 that this so-called “cool light” was invented. But it was in 1937 that the commercial use of neon lights became widespread. In the said year, at the Paris Exposition, the Eiffel Tower was shown to the whole world, arrayed from  bottom to top, with these new lights invented by our fellowman.)

This short article thus reveals that indeed, there was a Flores involved in the invention of the fluorescent bulb—Not Agapito---but Dr. Gabriel del Pilar Flores.  This Dr. Flores could have been the same Flores that received a French patent, as France was where he went for advanced studies. Or, he could have been a member of the team at General Electric in Britain that helped fine-tune the light bulbs. One can also check on his Sorbonne school records, or retrieve the old issue of Milwaukee Journal to find out more details about his role in the development of the product.

It has been a long time coming for this Filipino to reclaim his rightful place in the pantheon of the world’s greatest inventors. It took a local Pampanga paper to make us see the light.