"They have personal lives of respectability and dignity, defense of the honor and territorial integrity of the Philippines, significant service to the welfare of rule of law and the democratic way of life."
"They have personal lives of respectability and dignity, defense of the honor and territorial integrity of the Philippines, significant service to the welfare of rule of law and the democratic way of life."The former Union of Soviet Socialist Republic, the forerunner of today's Russian Federation, has a great title for men and women who had rendered exemplary service to Mother Russia. It called them Heroes of the Republic. I remembered that bit of history during last month's remembrance of the national heroes of the Philippines. Those Filipinos also deserve to be called Heroes of the Republic.
Through the centuries, the Philippines has not been wanting in heroes, but the title Heroes of the Republic can properly be bestowed only upon Filipinos who did heroic things for their country in furtherance and in the wake of the establishment of the First Philippine Republic following the success of the war of independence against Spain. The readers of this column doubtless will differ in their perceptions of who among their countrymen deserve to be bestowed the title of Heroes of the Republic. But they are bound to have these attributes in common: personal lives of respectability and dignity, defense of the honor and territorial integrity of the Philippines, significant service to the welfare of rule of law and the democratic way of life.
For purposes of this year's celebration of National Heroes Day I am limiting myself to modern-day heroic Filipinos, that is, heroic Filipinos who came, and have come, after Jose Rizal and the other great men and women of the Revolution against Spain. The following are my choices of latter-day Heroes of the Republic.
At the top of my list of Heroes of the Republic are Jesus G. Villamor and Fernando Basa of the Commonwealth's fledgling air force. Though outnumbered and outgunned, those brave aviators took to the skies in 1941 and did battle with the mighty Japanese air force. Their acts of intrepid bravery deserve more than the naming of Philippine Air Force bases after them.
Also at the top of my list is Jose Abad Santos, President Manuel Quezon's Secretary of Justice. Secretary Abad Santos did not have to die; he could easily have cooperated with the invading force of the Japanese Empire, as most of the top Commonwealth political leaders did. But Mr. Abad Santos refused to turn his back on the rightful Philippine government, telling his despairing son, "Not everyone is given the opportunity to die for his country." His severed head and his body were never recovered. Another member of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) who in my view merits the title Hero of the Republic is no one other than the soldier who in time became the nation's thirteenth President, Fidel V. Ramos (FVR). Fresh from the Philippine Military Academy and the US's West Point, Lt. Ramos was off to Korea to fight the invading North Koreans as part of the PEFKOR (Philippine Expeditionary Force to Korea). More than three decades later, in February 1986, he would, at great personal risk, turn against the dictatorship of his powerful cousin Ferdinand Marcos and lead the way to the restoration of democracy in this country.
The brutal assassination of former Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. from exile in thr US, was the first step along the road to the FVR-led EDSA Revolution of two and a half years later. Ninoy Aquino had been warned that he would be killed if he attempted to return home. He did not have to die; he could simply have cooperated with President Marcos. But he was convinced that there would be no change, and Mr. Marcos would remain in office, if he were not present in the Philippines. Ninoy Aquino was right. His assassination marked the beginning of the end of the long Marcos dictatorship.
Another military man who is in my list of Heroes of the Republic is Col. Antonio Sotelo of the PAF. On the critical third day of the four-day EDSA Revolution, when the Revolution's outcome was still in doubt, Col. Sotelo led his helicopter wing in a defection to the FVR-led rebel's side. The defection's impact on the rebels, the EDSA masses and Malacañang was electric. Col. Sotelo's action is said to have been the Revolution's turning point.
A Filipino does not have to be a military person to deserve the title Hero of the Republic. It is sufficient that he or she was—or is—a person of impeccable character, performed his or her civilian duties in an exemplary manner and made an outstanding contribution to the concept of service to country. Two individuals who, in my view, fit this description are Cesar E. A. Virata and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Antonio Carpio.
Mr. Virata, still hale and hearty in his eighties, is in my book the best Secretary of Finance that this Republic has ever had. As a public servant in the past, and as a private person today, President Emilio Aguinaldo's grandson is accurately described by three adjectives beginning with the letter 's'—sound, stable and steady. Of Mr. Virata it can be said that he left the Department of Finance a far better place than when he found it. He is the template against which all succeeding Secretaries of Finance have been measured.
Last but by no means least in this list of Heroes of the Republic is the current Senior Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. Justice Antonio T. Carpio has earned the title of Hero of the Republic through his scholarly study of this country's claim to the West Philippine Sea, his membership of the legal panel that argued the claim before the Permanent Court of Arbitration and his fierce advocacy of the claim in the face of the passive attitude of the Duterte administration. Having earned the administration's displeasure, he may not get to be appointed Chief Justice before his retirement next month. Should that be the case, he will become one of the best almost-Chief Justices that this country had.