*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

*432. THE MORALESES OF MABALACAT

DON QUINTIN MORALES, was the first of the Moraleses to hold an important office in Mabalacat. he was elected teniente del barrio of Poblacion. His younger brother, Feliciano, is the great-grandfather of Mayor Marino "Boking" Morales". 

Morales is a top-of-mind name associated with the political history of Mabalacat. And of the Moraleses that have served Mabalacat in different capacities through the years, one name stands out,  not so  much for the quality of leadership but for his longevity of tenure—Mayor Marino "Boking" Morales whose 22 years in office makes him the longest-serving mayor of the Philippines.

But before Mayor Boking, there have been a few Morales forebears who have rendered their services to the municipality of Mabalacat, in different capacities. The Morales clan could trace its beginnings to the patriarch, Mariano Morales who married Agustina Tuazon, possibly in the 1830s. The Morales couple, known members of the town principalia,  begat four children, all boys—Quintin (b.1856/d. 31 Oct. 1928), Feliciano, Valentin and Simeon (b. 4 Jul, 1880/d.24 Oct. 1942).

Quintin, the eldest son, married Paula Guzman y Cosme (b.1851/d. 7 Mar 1943,  and during the Spanish times, became a teniente del barrio (or cabeza de barangay) of Poblacion, where he and his wife settled. Quintin is buried somewhere in the sacristy of the Divine Grace Church. Of the couple’s 5 children, the youngest, Atty. Rafael Morales (b. 24 Oct. 1893/d.1967), would also venture into politics—he was elected as consejal (councilor) for two terms, during the Commonwealth years, under the mayoralties of Dr. Jose T. Garcia (1932-35) and Jose Mendoza (1940-41).

Younger brother Valentin Morales was elected teniente mayor of Sapang Bato, also during the Spanish colonial period; the youngest, Simeon, and his descendants, did not seem to show any political ambitions.

Feliciano’s son with Juana Pantig, Miguel Morales, would bring the Morales political family tradition to a higher, more prominent profile. The U.S.T. medical graduate would rise from being a medico de sanidad (department health head) of Apalit to becoming the first elected mayor of Mabalacat after the Liberation (1948-1951). As chief executive, he was responsible for building the wooden Morales Bridge, which provided the vital link between Sta. Ines and Poblacion. Mayor Morales also organized the first hydroelectric power plant, later operated by the Tiglaos. He was at the forefront of a campaign against the rising Huk movement when he was assassinated in 1951.

But it was his grandson, Marino (son of Ignacio), who would set his name on record books for a much different and unusual accomplishment. First elected mayor in June 1995, Morales began his term while Mabalacat was still reeling from the Pinatubo aftermath. He managed to extend his term through legal technicalities, strange twists of luck and with much help from election law wiz, Atty Romulo Macalintal . Amazingly, Morales would be re-elected in 1998, 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2010 elections.

When Mabalacat became a component city, Morales  filed yet again another certificate of candidacy. He was qualified to run, he said, because the status of Mabalacat had changed from that of a town into a city. Once again, amidst protests, he won the May 2016 elections. But on August 2016,  the disqualification protest filed by losing candidate Pyra Lucas resulted in Comelec First Division’s granting of her petition.  This was finally affirmed on 30 May 2017 by Comelec en banc whch ruled that the First Division’s cancellation of Morales’ certificate of candidacy was valid.

It looks like the incredible political career of Boking Morales---which had withstood charges of corruption, vote-buying and ballot-burning, familial discords, several changes in marital partners, and most recently, inclusion in Duterte’s list of narco-politicians—is finally coming to an end, at least for now. But the pool of Moraleses waiting in the wings to take on his mantle is wide and deep. Possible successors include son Dwight ( a councilor); daughter Marjorie Morales-Sambo (she once declared her bid to unseat her father); and of course, his current wife Nina, whom he initially fielded in the 2016 mayoralty race.

Morales may be down, but not out—not yet. As this article is being written, he can still resort to a few legal remedies--a temporary restraining order is one. Besides, there is still the world-record of Hilmar Moore to beat—the mega-mayor of Richmond, Texas who served his town from 1949 until his death in 2012---an epic run of 63 years! If he does that, Mabalacat may as well be renamed as Morales City, Pampanga. 

*390. THE CASE FOR THE PRESIDENTIABLE DELA ROSA

A LEADING ACTOR TO LEAD THE COUNTRY. Rogelio de la Rosa...but is he qualified? ca. early 1960s.

The Philippine Presidency, it is said, has occupational hazards that could kill. After all, three of our presidents have died at work. Yet, then, as now—the position remains as the ultimate aspiration of all Filipino political leaders, for the immense power that the office brings and glory it represents. The 1961 Presidential Elections put to fore the qualifications of the aspirants—the first, the incumbent president Carlos P. Garcia (Nacionalista), the second—the incumbent vice president Diosdado Macapagal (Liberal), and the third, a movie star-turned-senator, Rogelio de la Rosa, an Independent. 

It was easy to deride Rogelio “Roger” de la Rosa for his being just an ”artista” , viewed in the light of the silver screen as a leading man, which he was, some twenty years ago. The son of Feliciano de la Rosa and Rosario Lim, he was born on 12 November 1916 in Barrio san Jose de Gumi in Lubao, Pampanga. His paternal grandfather , Francisco de la Rosa, was a Spanish surveyor, while his grandmother, Marciana Dariano was an Ilocana from La Union. Everyone knew too, that the 45 year old presidential bet had been at political odds with Diosdado, his own brother-in-law. (Macapagal was married to Purita, Rogelio's sister, who died during the war).

 Dela Rosa’s first and only political experience was when he ran for the Senate of the Liberal Party and won—heavily supported by fan votes. Because of his background, he was looked at as “non-intellectual” (he went to Lubao Institute and finished Liberal Arts from Far Eastern University) . His followers, however, were quick to point out that even Magsaysay was a “non-intellectual”; he, like Dela Rosa has a practical grasp of problems and disdains convoluted, belabored discussions. As for his fans, it could not be denied that they are certainly an articulate and potent force to reckon with--part of the common “masa”. 

Moreover, during the last war, when many politicians were collaborating with the Japanese-sponsored government, Dela Rosa was working as a fighter of the underground army; this he repeated when he volunteered to go to Korea to join hands with the United Nations peacekeeping forces there. As Magsaysay’s labor adviser, Dela Rosa was valued for his troubleshooting skills in resolving agrarian and rural improvement issues.

 As Senator-elect who topped the polls with 2 million votes, Dela Rosa also had an enviable record, sponsoring a law to condemn the illegal appropriation of public streams and rivers by rich fishpond owners. He was known for making on-the-spot visits to the backwoods to as a way of showing deep concern for the common tao’s problems. It is interesting to note that Dela Rosa’s campaign seal shows a salakot with a pair of bakya (wooden shoes) , underlining his pro-masa approach.

 To this day, many believe that Dela Rosa could have been an apt leader for the country in 1961 with his social and political thinking that tends towards egalitarianism. If he had not given way to Macapagal, he could have, they say, ended the heavy-handed domination of politicians, by his institution of a regime that was truly mass-based, ethical, competent and honest. Then he would have also been irrefutably—the world’s most handsome President!

*368. JULIAN MANANSALA , The Father of Philippine Nationalist Films

MASANTOL'S MOVIE MAN. Julian Manansala, director, producer, film makee, was known as "The Father of Philippine Nationalist Films" for his many movies with patriotic themes.

 The esteemed director-peliculero from Masantol who would leave a name in Philippine movie history as a foremost producer of patriotic and historical films, was born Julian Manansala on 28 January 1899, to Miguel Manansala and Leoniza Mendoza. Julian, ho also was an accomplished layer, comes from an artistic family that counts Vicente Silva Manansala as a member; the future national artist is his nephew.

 In his teens, he was quite a popular figure in his hometown, heading social clubs like “Bulaclac ning Pamacalugud  in 1913 and as an adult, “Batis ning Tula” and ‘’Panyulat Capampangan’’, a literary group. He moved to Manila for his high school education, which he finished at the National University in 1915. Manansala next pursued his Bachelor of Laws, at Escuela de Derecho, which he completed in 1919.

 After taking the bar, he opted to work in Washington D.C. as a Solicitor for Pensioners for over 200 Filipino veteran soldiers who fought for America, helping them secure their benefits and rights as provided by the Law of Pensions and Compensations. He held this post at the Bureau of Pension from 1921-28.

Upon his return to the Philippines, Manansala surprised everyone when he jumped into the fledgling Philippine movie industry bandwagon, joining pioneers Juan Nepomuceno, Atty. Vicente Salumbides, Sen. Jose Vera and Dña. Narcisa vda. De Leon. After all, he had always believed in taking risks and capitalizing on opportunities: ‘’Samantalanan me at gamitan ing guintu mung panahun, qñg pamagaral ang metung a cabiasnan a talagan cajiligan mu, ebala ing nung emu man abalu ing aliwa,uling mayap at pakinabangnan mu nung lunto cang especialista qñg metung a cabiasnan, kesa qñg abalu mu ing sabla, dapot puguit naca man dili.’’ (Grab and use your time of gold to learn one field of interest. Do not worry if you cannot learn everything—it is better to be a master of one, than to be a Jack of all trades).

 Manansala directed his first movie, ‘’Patria Amore’’ in 1929, and proved to be a masterful film make. The movie created quite a stir with its direct reference to Spanish abuses. Considered as discriminatory, the Spanish community filed a case in court, asking to stop the screening of the movie for fear of a backlash against them. The request for a restraining order was denied. From thenceforth, Manansala continued to produce a list of movies with strong nationalistic themes.

 The next year, in 1930, he completed ‘’Dimasalang’’, starring Mary Walter and kabalen, Dr. Gregorio Fernandez, who would also foray into directing. He next signed up with Banahaw Pictures Corp. as its Technical Director and megged ‘’Ang Kilabot ng mga Tulisan’’ (1932), with Dolly Garcia and Salvador Zaragosa.

Unhappy being an employee, he resigned to put up his own Liberty Cinema Corp. Manansala directed and produced ‘’Pag-ibig ng Kadete’’, headlined by the Kapampangan poet, Amado Yuson. He next shot “Mutya ng Katipunan” (1939), with favorite actress, Arsenia Francisco, whom he would use again in one of his last films, “Tawag ng Bayan’’(1940).

 His political interest was piqued when he became the Secretary-General of Manila-based ‘’Nais Capampangan’’. Later, he would also join the consolidated Nationalist Party in Manila as a committee president, for 6 years.

 When his heyday as a filmmaker was over, Manansala returned to his first love--Law. A full 26 years after his graduation, he was finally admitted to the Philippine bar on 19 November 1945, and practiced his profession. He was married to married Donata Quito, 1921, with whom he had 4 children: Antonio, Bonifacio (who would also become a very successful criminal lawyer , at times, working side-by-side with his father), Carolina and Donata.

 Manansala lived by his life credo: ‘’Ing catapatan qng sinta qng calupang cayanacan, qñg meguing cabislac na ning caldua, at qñg Indung Balen, landas neng tune ning pamagtagumpe at caligayan.’’ (Your faith in your young love, in your soul mate, and in your Motherland are the real paths to achieving personal glory and fulfillment). Manansala has certainly treaded on the right path; today, lawyer-director is known as the First Father of Philippine Nationalist Films.

*361. MANUEL ABAD SANTOS: The Fighting Mayor of Angeles

GO FIGHT! The fighting-est mayor of Angeles, Manuel Abad Santos, known for his mettle,  unflinching conviction and his will to serve, this despite a physical handicap. 1965 photo.

 Dubbed as Angeles’s fightingest mayor from the day he was elected in 1951, Manuel Abad Santos is best remembered as a town leader who stood firmly on one leg and a crutch, sticking firmly to his principle of standing up for the common good of his people.

 That, however, is no wonder for this selfless and fearless town executive, descended from illustrious Kapampangan patriots and leaders. Born on 26 March 1907 to parents Irineo Abad Santos of San Fernando and Teofila Dizon of Angeles, Manuel counts the late martyr-jurist Jose Abad Santos and the great people’s leader, Pedro Abad Santos as uncles.

 He grew up in comfortable surroundings—his family were operators of the first moviehouse in Pampanga. His primary education began at the local Angeles Elementary School, then enrolled at Pampanga High School in San Fernando for his first three years of high school. Manuel then transferred to Ateneo de Manila for his senior year. But an unfortunate incident in 1926 would leave him physically maimed for the rest of his life. While in a San Fernando entertainment place, he was caught in a gunfire started by a PC trooper who suddenly went on a shooting rampage. He lost his left leg in that carnage.

 Once recovered from his wounds, however, he went back to Ateneo and earned a pre-law degree, an Associate in Arts which he finished in 1927. Manuel, however, opted to work right after college, joining his parents in expanding their burgeoning moviehouse business by adding on two more: Cine Eden and Marte, which became well-known centers of showbiz entertainment in 50s Angeles.

 He married Leonarda Atienza of Capas, Tarlac, and their union was blessed with a large brood of 8 children: Manuel Jr., Hollanda, Immaculada, Irineo, Manolita, Antonio, Pedro and Filipinas. In later years, two of their children (Hollanda and Irineo) would be connected with the management and operation of the Angeles Telephone Co.; two boys took up medical studies (Manuel Jr. and Pedro), while another son, Antonio finished Law.

 He was already in his mid 40s when, in 1951, he joined the political fray. Running as a minority candidate, he won the mayorship of Angeles by a landslide, signalling the beginning of a long and fruitful career.

 In 1955, he replicated his monumental victory at the polls, winning a second mayoral term. This time, however,, his term was marked with bitter and contentious moments with Clark Field and local socio-civic groups.

 In 1956, the Clark commander, Col. Karl Barthelmess declared Angeles ”off limits” to military personnel, owing to intimidations allegedly made on servicemen by the local police. Accusations flew back and forth, but even with the ban hurting the local economy, the mayor could not be cowed. “Sovereignty”, he said, “could not be had for a couple of greenbacks”.

 In another separate incident, the local Jaycees took offense to a billboard put up by the Mayor which proclaimed his accomplishments. This cause a rift between the mayor and Jaycee members who also happened to be important businessmen—movers and shakers of the town’s economy.

Indeed, this mayor proved once again his pluck and mettle as “the only one-legged mayor of the Philippines and the one with the most kick inspite of his handicap”. He would continue running the affairs of the town with nationalist zeal, and for him, no other accomplishment can be greater than protecting the rights of the people to the best of his ability.

“The greatest good for the greatest number”, was the principle he lived by, maintaining that the welfare of his people is above the law. Manuel Abad Santos was succeeded by his nephew Rafael del Rosario after he finished his term in 1959.

*355. Power Couple: MAYOR RICARDO P. RODRIGUEZ AND ZENAIDA D. ANGELES, Bacolor

 ANDING , DADING & A WEDDING. Wedding picture of Ricardo P. Rodriguez, two-term mayor of Bacolor in the 1960s,  and wife Zenaida D. Angeles, both from San Vicente, Bacolor. 

The large Rodriguez Clan originally came from Zambales and Bataan, but through marriages and exigencies of work, branches of the family spilled out into Pampanga, with Rodriguezes fanning out into Bacolor and San Fernando.

 Belonging to the Bacolor branch, is one of the most well-loved mayors the town has produced—Mayor Ricardo Rodriguez, of San Vicente, Bacolor. “Anding “, as he was called, was a descendant of Don Olegario Rodriguez, who settled in Bacolor and established a long line of Rodriguezes who were noted for both their affluence and influence.

 Ricardos’s parents were Marcelo Alimurung Rodriguez and Narcisa Pineda. The Alimurungs were an ancient family of Bacolor, and members of this family too were looked at as among the town elites. The Rodriguez-Pineda family, however, was of more modest means, however, with income derived from farming, enough to sustain Ricardo and his siblings, Carmelita, Angustia, Emilia, Norberto, Ricardo, Rosario and Conrado.

 On the other hand, his wife was the accomplished Zenaida “Dading”Angeles, the daughter of Mariano Miranda de los Angeles and Sixta Cajator Dizon. They were married at the San Guillermo Church and established their residence in San Vicente, raising a large brood of 10 children: Narcisa, Wilfredo, Cecilia, Genato, Manuel, Rico, Roy, Cynthia, Jose Ma. Raymundo and Francis. Ricardo left his work as a gentlemen farmer to enter politics in the 60s.

He was elected and proved to be a popular leader, serving the town of Bacolor for two terms. He was known for his road-building as well as infrastructure projects that included a hospital during his tenure. Unfortunately, he passed away in 1969, leaving a grieving widow to fend for her father-less children.

Her elder sisters, Aurora (wife of PASUDECO planter Gerry Hizon Rodriguez, a relative of Ricardo from the San Fernando branch) and Eufrosina, (wife of prominent lawyer Ciceron Baro Angeles and son of former governor, Pablo Angeles David), however, helped and guided her in raising them all successfully. Zenaida herself would pass way in the early 90s.

 Today, a hospital put up by purpose-driven Bacoloreños, erected a hospital to honor his nameand legacy: the Ricardo P. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital.

*320. His High School Yearbook: REP. EMIGDIO A. BONDOC

One of Pampanga’s popular solons, Emigdio Aliwalas Bondoc was born in Macabebe on 22 November 1928. He started his illustrious legal and political career when he enrolled at age 18 at the Ateneo de Manila in 1946 for a pre-law course.

 In his freshman year, Emigdio made his presence felt quickly by joining various school clubs—from the Aquila Legis Fraterrnity, Social Order Club, Sodality to the Sanctuary Society. On top of that, he was elected as Vice President of his class on his very first year.

 In 1952, he earned his law degree, graduating alongside classmates like Ernesto Maceda and Cesar Bengzon. He passed the bar and joined the roll of attorneys only on 8 February 1955. In 1957, he finally joined government service as the legal adviser of the Senate financial committee.

 Even as he was making a name in Philippine politics, he found time to settle down with Margarita Puyat. Their union was blessed with two children: Dr. Anna York Cristina and Juan Pablo (Rimpy). In 1987, Bondoc became the Representative of the 3rd District of Pampanga.

When the province was redistricted into 4 congressional districts under the new Constitution, Bondoc became the representative of the 4th district of the restored House of Representatives, which covered the towns of Apalit, Candaba, Macabebe, Masantol, Minalin, San Luis, San Simon and Santo Tomas.

 As a congressman, Bondoc was named chairman of the powerful House committee on ethics which decided on the controversial case of Zamboanga solon Romeo Jalosjos and the lobby fund for the approval of the jai-alai bill. Likewise, Bondoc was designated as Vice Chairman of the House Committee on foreign affairs. 

On Nov. 25, 1997, Bondoc was riding his Nissan Patrol car en route to Manila when his driver lost control of the car after the right front tire blew. The car hit a post and the good solon was injured. Rushed to the St. Luke’s Hospital, Bondoc succumbed to his injuries at age 69.

 Bondoc’s son, Rimpy, a U.P. graduate, continued his political legacy by being elected as representative of the same district at the 12th congress. He would serve 2 terms, only to be succeeded by elder sister Dr. Anna York Bondoc-Sagum, now also on her last term of office.

*317. DR. RAFAELITA HILARIO-SORIANO: Kapampangan Scholar, Educator, Diplomat

DR. RAFAELITA HILARIO-SORIANO, Compleat woman personified. This san Fernando-born Kapampangan was an educator, a scholar, a researcher, a historian, a cultural advocate, a diplomat--excelled in all her chosen fields.

 A woman who broke barriers in her time, Dr. Rafaelita Hilario-Soriano was first and foremost, a Kapampangan erudite whose impressive background, diverse experience and love of local culture set her high above the rest, enabling her to assumer and master many roles—from an acclaimed educator, writer-historian, socio-civic leader to an ambassador to the world.

Her parentage foretold of an illustrious future: she was born in San Fernando on 2 July 1915 to Judge Zoilo J. Hilario of Bacolor and Trinidad Vasquez of Hinigiran, Negros Occidental. Hilario, an eminent zarzuelista in his hometown, would rise to become an important figure in Philippine judiciary and politics—he would become a judge of the Court of the First Instance and a congressman.

Rafaelita would grow up in the capital town with siblings Evangelina (herself, a leading light of Kapampangan language and culture) Tiburcio, Ofelia, Efrain and Ulysses. In San Fernando, Rafaelita first attended Santos Private School, and moved to Pampanga High School for her secondary studies.

Upon graduation, she went to Manila with her widowed grandmother, Dña. Adriana Sangalang vda. De Hilario, who put up a boarding school for Bacolor students. She enrolled at the Philippine Women’s University and obtained an A.B. Political Science, minor in History in 1936. She next went to U.P. for her Master’s degree in the same field of study, which she completed in 1938.

 With her brilliant academic record, she was soon swamped with teaching offers. She became an instructor at Sta. Isabel College, Holy Ghost College, and National University. In 1940, however, she was offered to organize the Liberal Arts College at the Laguna Academy in San Pablo City. She went there together with Miss Paulina Gueco (sister of the late Sen. Jose Diokno) and became the dean of the college.

Her stay in San Pablo proved to be short-lived as the next year, she won a Levi Barbour Scholarship at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Rafaelita’s supposed two year –stay in the United States was extended due to the second World War. She made use of the extra time by earning a second Master of Arts in Public Administration.

It was about this time that she decided that the insulated life of an academician was not entirely proper when her country was at war, so she packed her bags for Washington, where she took a job as a research assistant in charge of the Philippine Section, Military Intelligence Division of the War Department. She held on to this job until the war came to an end with the surrender of Japan.

 Comforted by the thought that her family in Pampanga was now safe, Rafaelita returned to Michigan to get her doctorate. She earned her Ph.D. with her well-researched thesis about the role of propaganda in the Japanese occupation in the Philippines. While completing her higher studies, Rafaelita found time to wed Dr. Jesus Soriano, a gastro-enterologist, at St. Mary’s Chapel in Ann Arbor.

 In 1948, Rafaelita—with husband and daughter Maria Elena in tow—finally set sail for the Philippines. Upon her comeback, Rafaelita became a lecturer at her alma mater, University of the Philippines, Lyceum and at Arellano University. The indefatigable Rafaelita founded the Philippine Civic Organization. She was also elected as National Vice President of the YMCA, chairman of the Political Action Committee and Director of the Philippine-Michigan Club. On the side, she also worked at the Department of Foreign Affairs, which put her already multi-facetted career on yet another path—Foreign Service.

 Rafaelita proved her mettle by being named as a Chairman of the Information, Culture, Education and Labor Activities Committee of the SEATO (Southeast Asian Nations Treaty Organization)--only the second woman to preside over an international conference. Her contribution was immediately recognized by the United Nations Association of the Philippines (UNAP).

 In 1970, she was appointed as Secretary-General of the SEATO Council of Minister’s Meeting in Manila, which she handled with utmost proficiency. This led to her being named as an Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Israel, where she was warmly received by Pres. Salman Zhazar. She thus joined a few, but elite number of early women ambassadors like Trinidad Fernandez and Pura Santillan-Castrence, who blazed the trails towards the feminization of diplomacy.

 When she retired from government service, she took up her pen to write several acclaimed books about Pampanga’s rich history: Shaft of Light (1991), Women in the Philippine Revolution (1996, editor), The Pampangos (1999). In March 2000, Rafaelita Hilario-Soriano was named as one of the 100 Filipino Women of the Millenium, a well-deserved accolade. This accomplished Kapampangan who wore many hats, assumed many roles and mastered them all, passed away on 1 January 2007.

*315. His Grade School Yearbook: PRES. NOYNOY AQUINO III

 A CHRONICLE OF HIS YOUTH. The future president of the Republic of the Philippines, as a 13 year old grade school graduate of Ateneo Grade School, Section Xavier, in 1973.

Thirty nine years ago, the future president of the Philippines graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University, just a year after the imposition of Martial Law. As seen from his grade school yearbook ("Chronicle"), Benigno Simeon Aquino III (b. 8 February 1960) seemed like any ordinary kid in the neighbourhood, on the verge of teenhood. Schoolmates remember him as a quiet, introverted boy, but as the son of Marcos’s most formidable opposition, Ninoy, he must have been cautioned to keep a low profile; the Martial Law years were undoubtedly a difficult period for the Aquinos.

As one can see, there is no listing of Noynoy’s school activities—no varsity football, no drama guild, no basketball teams, no membership in any clubs. A quick scan of his school annual revealed the young, eager faces of his batchmates who, today, are familiar names in Philippine society. There’s the late Alfie Anido who died under mysterious circumstances at the height of his fame as a movie star, the future designer Pepito Albert, as well as the future senator, Teofisto Guingona III.

Noynoy would stay on in Ateneo until his college years, earning an Economics degree in 1981 (one of his professors was Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo). He joined his exiled father with the rest of the family in the United States until he came back to the Philippines in 1983, after his father’s assassination. After working in the private sector, he plunged headlong into politics, first as as an elected member of the House of Representatives representing Tarlac in 1998 (re-elected in 2001 and 2004) and as a Senator, elected in 2007.

Following the death of his mother, Cory C. Aquino in 2009, Noynoy heeded the people’s call by joining the presidential race under the Liberal Party. He would go on to become the highest executive of the land, our country’s 15th president in June 2010, trouncing other bets like the popular Erap Estrada, Manny Villar and Gilbert Teodoro, an Aquino relative.

With his victory, Noynoy became the 3rd youngest presidential-elect of the Philippines, after Magsaysay and Marcos, and our very first bachelor-president. The quiet boy with bangs who would rather be alone, would also make history for his alma mater by becoming the first Atenean to become the President of the Republic of the Philippines.

*283. DR. MIGUEL P. MORALES, Mabalacat's 1st Post-War Mayor

THE MORALES MAYORALTY. Dr. Miguel Pantig Morales, first elected mayor of post-war Mabalacat, comes from a long line of politicos who served the town in different capacities, a tradition now being continued by grandson, Marino, current mayor of this first class municpality. Ca. 1933.

The Moraleses are well-known in Mabalacat as a long-standing political clan of the town, a tradition that was started by Quentin Tuazon Morales (b. 1856/d.1928) who became a teniente mayor of barangay Poblacion in the late 19th century. When he moved his family to Sta. Ines, he became a cabeza of that barrio. His youngest son with Paula Cosme Guzman, Atty. Rafael Morales, also was elected as consejal (councilor) in the 1930s.

Feliciano Morales, Quentin’s brother, was also a cabeza of barangay Quitanguil. But it would be his son with Juana Pantig--Dr. Miguel Morales--who would solidify the Moraleses’ reputation as a family of politicos, by being elected as the first mayor of Mabalacat, after the Liberation.

Born on 23 September 1893, Miguel was educated in Mabalacat under Maestro Bartolome Tablante and in Angeles under Maestro Pedro Manankil. For his higher education, he was sent to the Liceo de Manila and Colegio de Ntra. Señora del Rosario. While still a student, Miguel gave vent to his literary pursuits, with many of his prose and poems seeing print on “E Mañgabiran”, a widely circulated newspaper. He wrote under the pen name “M. L. Amores”. Miguel was also an active member of the social club, “Sibul ning Lugud”, which he served as Vice President.

His main ambition though was to pursue a career in medicine, and so in 1915, Miguel enrolled at the University of Santo Tomas for his medical degree which he finished in 1920. After his residency at the San Juan de Dios Hospital, he took the board exams and passed with flying colors.

The young doctor then went back home to Mabalacat to practice his profession and became an established medico-cirujano. During this time, he married his first wife, Jovita Gabriel of Betis, with whom he had five children. A second marriage to Felicidad Carlos would result in three more children.

In 1933, Dr. Morales was appointed as a Medico de Sanidad (head of the health department) of Apalit. He settled his family in Mawaque during the war years but kept his Apalit office. Though times were difficult, he offered his medical services for free, gave food to victims of the war and aided the Americans who participated in the infamous Death March. In 1945, he was finally transferred back to Mabalacat.

A grateful town elected him as its mayor in 1948, the first post-war town head so chosen by local ballot. As mayor, he was responsible for building the wooden Morales Bridge, which provided the vital link between Sta. Ines and Poblacion. Mayor Morales also organized the first hydroelectric power plant, later operated by the Tiglaos. He was at the forefront of a campaign against the rising Huk movement when he was assassinated in 1951.

Today, the Morales name lives on in the political scene with the term of Mayor Marino Morales, his grandson. For two decades now, Mayor Boking, as he is called, has been the chief executive of Mabalacat, the longest serving mayor in the Philippines. By a twist of luck and technicalities, he survived the electoral protests of chief rival Anthony Dee and the challenge posed by his estranged daughter Marjorie Morales-Sambo who ran—and lost—against him in the last election. The elevation of this first class municipality into a city will give Mayor Morales another chance to extend his term as the first city mayor of Mabalacat—that is, if his winning streak continues.

*269. Macabebe's Man for All Seasons: LEONARDO V. LILLES

LILLES OF THE FIELD. Leonardo Valdes Lilles with second wife Graciana Engracia del Rosario, was a successful agricultural engineer, landowner, businessman and town leader of Macabebe.

Engineer, politician, agriculturist, businessman, revolucionario--Leonardo Valdes Lilles is all that—a Kapampangan visionary who wore many hats and played many roles, all in the name of community service and for his beloved town, Macabebe.

He was born on 11 April 1877, the unico hijo of Remigio Lilles and Leodegaria Valdes, the second child in a brood of five that also included his sisters Felisa, Margarita, Florencia and Laurentina.

“Ando”, as he was called, went to Ateneo de Manila (1886-87) and then to San Juan de Letran for his high school. He then enrolled at the University of Sto. Tomas in 1894 to take up agriculture from 1894-96. The course was a natural choice for Ando as the Lilles family had vast farmlands from where they derived their livelihood. As the only son, Ando was expected to continue the family’s agricultural tradition that had given them wealth, comfort and status in Pampanga society.

The Revolution however, briefly intervened and Ando was quick to support the cause, one of the first Macabebes to do so. His first act was to resist Col. Blanco and to join the local revolutionary government. He was elected member of the Committee of Fund Drive (Comite Reandador de Fondos), together with Capt. Mariano Talag, Capt. Felipe Bustos, and town cabeza Cirilo Musni.

When conditions stabilized, Ando was sent off by his parents to England, where he enrolled at the University of London to finish his Agricultural Engineering (Ingeniero Agricola) course . While there, he also became an esteemed member of the “Agriculture Club” of England. Ando could have stayed in Europe but he decided to go home and pursue his career as an agriculturist. From 1905 to the late 30s, he worked an managed their landholdings in Lubao, Macabebe and Masantol. “Ing pamagtiaga yang dalarayan ning pamagwagi”(Patience is the way to success), was the motto he lived by, and slowly but surely, Ando steered his family enterprise to greater heights.

With a secure future, Ando decided to share his time and services with his fellow Macabebes. In 1911, he ran as an independent for the position of a councilor. He won a slot and became a consejal (councilor) for the next 12 years, despite not having a party affiliation. He had always ran as an independent because he could not bear to ‘play politics’.

Ando now had everything—except a family. He found true love in Olivia Limson, a kabalen, whom he married in December 1915. The couple, however, were childless. Adding to his sorrow was Olivia’s untimely death in 1919—they were just together for 4 short years. Undaunted, he devoted the next few years to public service. As a councilor of Guagua, he was one of those who donated Php100 for the salaries of teachers so that the Intermediaria Guagua (Guagua’s Intermediate School) could run and operate, under the tenure of Mayor Felipe Simpao. Ando also supported the construction of the public market and even participated in drawing up the plans.

On April 1922, Ando married for the second time to Graciana Engracia del Rosario (b. 18 December 1886) of Guagua. This time, the union produced three offsprings: Leodegaria, Remigio and Renato. (Note: Leodegaria married Rodolfo Tioseco. Their son, Leonardo, is the father of Alexis Tioseco, the noted film critic who was murdered together with his Slovenian girlfriend Nika Bohinc on 1 September 2009. Alexis is interred in Angeles City)

The best years of his followed after; he left politics to help raise his family and grow his business. He would divide his time between Manila and Macabebe, until his death on 27 February 1951. His wife, Engracia, outlived him for 12 years, passing away on 5 March 1963. Leonardo Lilles left behind a legacy of good governance and public service, guided by this precept that he subscribed in and which he evidently took to heart: “Ing catapatan o calinisan qng sablang tratus yang babie catimawan at catajimican qng tau”(Loyalty and fairness in all dealings is what gives prosperity and peace to people).

*234. Power Couple: AMB. EMILIO M. ABELLO & ELISA F. GUTIERREZ

A UNION OF SPIRITS. Emilio Abello Sr. with his Kapampangan wife, Elisa F. Gutierrez of Bacolor, were classmates at the University of the Philippines College of Law. The Abellos built a distinguished career in foreign service beginning with the appointment of Emilio as Philippine envoy to Washington in 1962.

Even before Diosdado P. Macapagal assumed the presidency in 1961, he had already figured out his diplomatic team to Washington. His choice to the premier post was no other than Emilio M. Abello Sr., who, together with his equally accomplished Kapampangan wife Elisa F. Gutierrez, would serve the government for many years, ably representing the country as official spokespersons and interpreters to Americans of Filipino views and decisions on foreign policy. Emilio would serve in his capacity as Philippine ambassador from February to September of 1962, but would remain involved in foreign service for more years.

Emilio Abello was born on 14 January 1906, the third of five children of Dr, Manuel Abello of Iloilo and Rosario Montilla of Negros. After finishing his elementary and high school studies from Isabela public schools, he was accepted at the University of the Philippines as a law student.

At the state university, he met Elisa, already a popular campus beauty, whose lineage was no less formidable. The daughter of Eduardo Gutierrez-David and Florencia Fajardo, Elisa came from a family of lawyers and patriots. Her grandfather was Manila-born Mateo Gutierrez-Ubaldo, who had been a member of the Provincial Council of Pampanga and one of the signers of the Philippine Constitution approved in Malolos in 1898. He had moved to Pampanga to escape Spanish oppression during the time of the Revolution. An uncle, Jose, became a Supreme Court Justice while father Eduardo, was one of the province’s constitutional delegates.

It was during their second year in college that Emilio and Elisa became engaged. They graduated together in 1929, with Emilio as Class Salutatorian. Elisa finished third, the only female in her class of 35, a batch that included a future senator (valedictorian Lorenzo Sumulong), diplomats (Raul Leuterio, Jacinto Borja), congressmen (Justiniano Montano, Angel Fernandez, Fortunato de Leon, Juan Pajo, Pedro Syquia) and judges (Federico Alikpala, Mateo Canonong). The two passed the bar that same year, with Emilio placing fifth.

Their careers started soon after with Emilio joining the Paredes, Buencamino and Yulo Law Office as assistant attorney. Elisa joined the law firm of his uncle, Jose Gutierrez-David, where her work often brought her around Pampanga, Nueva Ecija and Tarlac area. Within two years, Emilio and Elisa were married in Bacolor. They first kept house in Cabanatuan, where Elisa’s father served as a judge.

When Emilio joined the government service as assistant attorney in the Bureau of Justice, the Abellos moved to Manila in 1934. In 1937, he was promoted Assistant Solicitor General and in 1940, he became the youngest undersecretary of Justice at age 34. He later served as Executive Secretary to two presidents, Roxas and Quirino, and also taught law in several Manila universities.

Elisa, on the other hand, had to put her lawyering career aside to raise a family that would come to include five children, all boys: Manuel (a UP and Harvard law graduate), Emilio Jr. (a doctor), Jose Maria, Roberto and Eduardo. But she was kept busy with her involvement in many club endeavors, becoming a committee chairman of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines, Vice President of the Civic Assembly of Women in the Philippines, member of the National Federation of Women’s Clubs, President of ZONTA Club and Head of the Discipline of Spanish-European Language at the U.P. As an envoy’s wife, she had to organize social events and attend countless foreign service functions, meet her international counterparts while projecting the culture of the Philippines and that of her home province Pampanga, of which she was well-known for.

The Abellos enjoyed a long and remarkable career as top level diplomats (Amelito Mutuc replaced him as Ambassador in September 1962). After his ambassadorial stint, Emilio served as Chairman of Meralco in the early 70s and was elected assemblyman of the Interim Batasang Pambansa in 1978. The Don Emilio Abello Energy Efficiency Awards are given out yearly in his name. He passed away on 18 May 1982, while his widow carried on with her socio-civic interests and advocacies for the rest of her life.

*214. Rebel with a Cause: LUIS M. TARUC, Huk Supremo

AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. Huk Supremo Luis Taruc was a militant rebel leader who helped found the Huk movement in Central Luzon and became a leading fighter for peasant rights, agrarian and social reforms. His skirmishes with the government led to his imprisonment in the turbulent 50s.

A leading figure in the campaign for social justice, Luis Mangalus Taruc was born of peasant stock in San Luis on 21 June 1913. Just like his father before him ,he became a farmer. After high school in Tarlac, he enrolled at the University of Manila, but did not finish; he opted to become a tailor in San Miguel, Bulacan.

He was already deep into Marxism in 1935, forcing him to leave his haberdashery business to his wife so he could go full time with his pro-peasant advocacies. Influenced by Pedro Abad Santos of San Fernando, Taruc joined his Aguman ding Maldang Tala-pagobra (AMT, Union of Peasant Workers) and in 1938, the Partido Socialista. When the latter evolved into the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas, Taruc became an officer of rank.

During the 2nd World War, Taruc, together with Casto Alejandrino, Felipa Culala (Kumander Dayang-Dayang) and Bernardo Poblete (Kumander Banal of Minalin), founded the Hukbalahap movement (Hukbong Laban sa Mga Hapon) in a barrio of Concepcion, Tarlac on 29 March 1942. He was chosen to lead a 30,000-strong guerrilla group against the Japanese invaders, with order to harass and attack them at every opportunity.

When the Philippines was liberated, Taruc and his group refused to surrender, as they were not recognized by the U.S. Army as real guerilla fighters. In 1946, he ran for a seat in Congress, which he won together with 6 other Communists. Charged with terrorism, he was unseated, fled to the mountains and vowed to defy the American-supported Roxas government.

In 1948, Tarc agreed to surrendered to then Pres. Elpidio Quirino. In return, Quirino was promised to grant amnesty to all surrendering Huks and reinstate Taruc as congressman. Talks collapsed with the government accusing the Huks of violating the terms of agreement. Once more, Taruc hied off to the mountains and continued his siege.

It was only in 1954, during the term of Ramon Magsaysay, that Taruc gave himself up to Benigno Aquino Jr., then a young reporter of the Daily Mirror and a secret government emissary to the rebel leader. Taruc was brought to Manila and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. After being denied clemency by Pres. Diosdado Macapagal, he was pardoned by Pres. Ferdinand Marcos in September 1968. Finally released, Taruc continued to work for social and agrarian reforms.

Taruc’s written works include “Born of the People” (1953) and “He Who Rides the Tiger” (1967). He passed away on 4 May 2005, of heart attack at the St. Luke’s Hospital at age 91. Attempts by several Huk veteran associations to discredit him as a Hukbalahap founder have not diminished Luis Taruc’s stature among the working peasant class, remaining an icon, or even a folk hero-- in the campaign against social injustice in the trying, turbulent 50s.

*189. ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL: Political Gimmickry Rocks the Vote

VOTE ME, PLEASE! Crisogono Y. Castro, a candidate for councilor in Mabalacat, extolls his achievements for his kabalens to read, in a poem published in "Ing Cabbling" in 1934. The Municipal Mayors of Pampanga with Gov. Ceferino Joven are shown on the top picture.

Campaign fever is gripping the country as I write this, with the national and local elections scheduled to happen in May. For a month or so now, political candidates vying for office are on an aggressive campaign trail, making the rounds of the town, doing house-to-house visits, kissing babies and shaking hands just to win precious votes. Indeed, rendering oneself visible is not enough these days; one has to have a campaign gimmick, a stunt or a catchy slogan to remain top-of-mind among fickle and forgetful voters.

In my town, eager beaver candidates are breaking through the clutter using popular hit songs with lyrics modified to suit their needs. One candidate (a perennial loser in the mayoral polls) is predictably using the Korean pop – “I want nobody, nobody but you”, replacing the last word with his name. Another candidate is infusing new life to the novelty song “Ang Ganda-Ganda ng Bulaklak”, while still another opted for the 60s hit, “Jambalaya”, using a Totoy Bato sound alike as his singer.

Slogans too, abound, but I don’t find them memorable enough, and some simply overpromise: “MMS kita” (which stands for the candidate’s initials) , “Kaibigan ng Kalikasan”, “Abe-Abe tamung Isadsad ing Crusada”.

Time was when political candidates advertised their credentials not through posters and handbills, but through poems—such as this one from a councilor-wannabe from Mabalacat. In lyrical words published in a 1934 newspaper, candidate Crisogono “Nonung” Y. Castro listed down his accomplishments—from his commerce degree to his able management of the town booth in the 1933 Pampanga Carnival, the staging of Rizal Day and the Lenten Cenaculo. I do not know if these were enough to get him a seat, but on should laud him for his excellent literary effort.

Not too long ago, 3 Kapampangans were elected to the Senate by unleashing their brand of political gimmickry, which apparently worked. Ninoy’s younger brother, occasional thespian Butz Aquino had a jingle which only had his name for lyrics, but which had a catchy tune. Remember, “Butz, Butz, Butz, Butz Aquino..?”. Who can forget too, Consuelo “Jamby” Abad Santos Madrigal and her repetitive “Ja-Ja-Ja-Jamby! Ja-Ja-Ja-Jamby!”. It also helped that Jamby was endorsed by the amiable actress Judy Ann Santos—a fellow Kapampangan. Lito Lapid alluded to his screen hero imagery in his ads—Leon Guerrero—and his strategy worked well with voters (fans?) who obviously could not separate fact from fiction.

In the 1950s, part-Kapampangan Ramon Magsaysay (his grandmother was from Betis) of the Nacionalista Party, defeated incumbent Elpidio Quirino to win the presidency of the Philippines. His anti-graft platform found expression in one of the most popular campaign songs in history –“Mambo Magsaysay”, which was resurrected and re-aired by Radio Veritas to fantastic audience reception. “Mambo, mambo Magsaysay! Mambo-mambo, Magsaysay!.Our democracy will die, kung walang magbabantay!”—the song went, and its message resonated with truth and currency at the height of the 1986 People Power Revolution.

It was the turn of the Liberals to dominate the 1961 polls with the election of Diosdado Macapagal as the president of the republic, defeating the incumbent Nacionalista, Carlos P. Garcia and his Kapampangan running mate, Gil J. Puyat.The Liberal Party had came to power with the independence of the country in 1946, but were deposed by the Nacionalistas in 1953, with Magsaysay’s election.

This time, the poor boy from Lubao, won the hearts of his countrymen with a singleminded promise: “New Leadership for a New Life”, which many found sincere and believeable versus the limp “The Filipino First Team” of Garcia nd Puyat. Dadong even gave away symbolic tin plates that had the battlecry-- “Food In Every Filipino Home!”, and sure enough, when 7 million Filipino voters participated in the national polls held Nov. 14. 1961, Macapagal emerged victorious over the incumbent whom he had served as vice president in 1958, leading by a wide, insurmountable margin.

For many on the local political road, the way to a government position (or even Malacañang) is through the breadth and length of the country, through the hearts and conscience of the people. But a few experienced and streetmart politicos still maintain that that rallying the popular mandate is easy enough—if voters can’t be bought for money, then they can be had for a song!

*187. His High School Yearbook: BENIGNO A. AQUINO JR.

A TIME WE'LL TREASURE THROUGH THE YEARS. Benigno A. Aquino Jr. of Concepcion, Tarlac, graduates from San Beda College l at age 15, going on 16. This high school photo of "Benny", as he was fondly called, is reproduced from his 1948 Ecos High School Yearbook. Dated 1947-48.

A lot can be gleaned about the early years of Benigno Aquino Jr. (b. 27 Nov. 1932/ d. 21 Aug. 1983) just by leafing through his 1948 San Beda yearbook. Ninoy was but 3 years old when the family left Concepcion to settle in Ermita, Manila due to the demands of his father’s work, Benigno Sr., with the National Assembly. Later, in 1936, the family acquired their New Manila property where they once again moved.

At age 6, Ninoy was first enrolled at Saint Joseph’s School, staying there with his all-girl classmates until second grade. He transferred to Ateneo on his third grade, then located at the Intramuros, while his sisters were chauffer-driven to Holy Ghost College. Ninoy had no yaya, growing up, so he was pretty much an independent spirit, always roaming around the neighborhood, befriending shanty boys and scouring the place for news—he was even nicknamed T-V-T (for Tribune, Vanguardia and Taliba, leading dailies of the time) for reporting every community happening to the family.

During the Japanese Occupation and with the closure of the American-run Ateneo, Ninoy enrolled at La Salle. He is remembered for associating with the older boys of the school, that included Claro Recto Jr., basketball star Tito Eduque and future vice president Salvador Laurel. The Liberation of the Philippines put a temporary halt to his studies with the evacuation of the family to Concepcion, Tarlac. Once school reopened in 1946, Ninoy was sent back to Manila to resume his studies at San Beda College run by Benedictine fathers.

Ninoy had often mused about this period of his life where he “grew old too soon”. His father had been tagged as a collaborator and the family had become a virtual outcast, a rather disturbing and confusing experience for a 12 year old. Ninoy reacted by becoming a loner, immersing himself in his studies, finishing high school in just two and a half years by cross-enrolling during summer at Far Eastern University and National University. The 15-going on-16 teenager from graduated from San Beda on March 1948,

In his own assessment, he was “in the middle bracket, never brilliant, never among the 95s, but never in the 75s either.” His Kapampangan batchmates include: Jose Ayson (Angeles), Apolinar Bundalian (San Fernando), Ponciano Catacutan (Apalit), Ildefonso Dizon (Magalang), Jose Fausto Jr. (Sta. Ana) . Edward Golden (Arayat), Jose Hizon (Mexico, father of Singapore-based BBC reporter, Rico M. Hizon), Alfonso Lagman (Minalin), Benito Mercado (San Fernando), Mariano Santos, Regulo Vicente (Tarlac) and a townmate from Concepcion, Federico Pineda Jr.


Ninoy’s yearbook write-up has this to say about him:
“Political? Ask Benny . He’ll say ‘no’. How, when, and how much. Don’t overlook his intentions, for, mind you, he had a priestly inclination, until he found out that ecclesiastics and politics are two different things. He has dreams of being a missionary in the jungles of Africa, converting the natives”. Gifted with the art of rhetoric (I hope), he’ll make a good preacher, a plaza demagogue, or the opposition stormy petrel. He is such a success when it comes to ‘sales talk’, that he almost sold ‘San Sebastian’ to a by-stander interested in the lot..”

The yearbook description proved to be very prophetic, for this young Tarlaqueno soon entered the political arena, was elected governor and rose to become the youngest mayor at 22, Tarlac governor at 29 and the youngest Senator-elect at 34. In the Marcos years, just less than two decades after his graduation, Ninoy would become the harshest critic and leading threat of then president Ferdinand E. Marcos—the “opposition stormy petrel” indeed, for which he would pay a dearly. Imprisoned during Martial Law then exiled to the U.S., Ninoy was assassinated upon his return to challenge the dictator. His martyrdom spurred his widow, Corazon Aquino, and a whole nation to challenge the dictator, who was ousted in the historic 1986 People Power Revolution.

*123. A Leading Role Lost: DE LA ROSA'S PRESIDENTIAL BID

ROGELIO DE LA ROSA FOR PRESIDENT MOVEMENT. This national movement quickly gained momentum in the provinces and supporters were issued IDs such as this. It came with this pledge: "I do solemnly pledge my full support for Rogelio de la Rosa in his bid for the Presidency of the Philippines and, in furtherance thereof, I shall actively and extensively campaign, to the best of my ability, in order to bring about the fulfillment of the people's hope and desire that he be elected this coming election...as he is the new hope of our Republic".

Rogelio de la Rosa, the top matinee idol of the 1950s, could have been the country’s first actor-president, pre-dating the achievement of actor Ronald Reagan, who became America’s top leader, by 20 years. This Lubao-born personality could be said to have prepared all his life for his biggest leading role ever—that of becoming the country’s head of state in 1961!

After all, Rogelio was an early student of the proverbial school of hard knocks. To support his family, he took to the zarzuela and became a star, although he always played villain to Diosdado Macapagal, his brother-in-law, (he was married to his younger sister, Purita) who kept landing heroic roles At one point, he worked as a checker, a time-keeper and a fruit seller in Divisoria, and at age 16, he became a boxer and a Golden Gloves Champion. He excelled in public speaking and debating, and captained his high school team in various competitions in Central Luzon and Manila.

During the War, he held the rank of a Major of the guerilla forces under Edwin P. Ramsay. He later became a chairman of the Committee on Recreations at the Veteran Memorial Hospital. Pres. Ramon Magsaysay named him his adviser on the Philippine movie industry.

In 1957, under the Liberal Party ticket headed by Jose Laurel and Diosdado Macapagal, Rogelio ran and won a Senatorial slot, the first movie personality to occupy an esteemed government position. As a Senator, he advocated the nationalization of local industries such as fishing and agriculture, particularly in his province, Pampanga. He also co-authored a bill that would lead to the creation of the Board of Censors.

This matinee idol had such a compelling presence and magnetic appeal that in the next presidential elections, a ‘Rogelio de la Rosa For President Movement’ was initiated by thousands of supporters. Touted as the “NEW HOPE of our Republic”, de la Rosa responded to the challenge and expressed his bid for the presidency to the delight of his fans and followers.

He could have easily won the 1961 presidential race but he withdrew from the election shortly before the election day, but the real reasons have not always been clear. One version from his Senate biography stated that Rogelio felt that the only way to ensure his rival's defeat was to withdraw, so that his drastic action would call attention to the political corruption of Pres. Garcia. A more popular reason was that his former brother-in-law, Diosdado P. Macapagal, was also in the race for presidency. It was said that Macapagal convinced him to discontinue his bid, so that votes will not be split between them. He gallantly withdrew, and the rest, as they say is history. Macapagal became the country’s 9th president by thwarting the re-election try of Carlos P. Garcia.

Rogelio ran again for the Senate in 1963 but was defeated, and would not be elected to public office again. Instead, he became a respected diplomat, becoming the Philippine Ambassador to Cambodia in 1965, and later, to the Netherlands, Poland, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia. In his foreign assignments, he made sure to promote Philippine arts and culture until his retirement from the diplomatic corps in the 1980s.

Today, it has become very common for movie stars to use their career as a springboard to politics. Before Eddie Ilarde, Ramon Revilla Sr., Bong Revilla, Jinggoy Lapid (elected senators) and Joseph Estrada (elected President), there was the dashing Rogelio de la Rosa of Lubao, a Kapampangan, who paved the road for them, in their quest for stardom in the government.

(*NOTE: Feature titles with asterisks represent other writings of the author that appeared in other publications and are not included in the original book, "Views from the Pampang & Other Scenes")