THE VIEW FROM RIZAL
Dr. Jun Ynares
The month of August is associated by most Filipinos with the “Buwan ng Wika.” It is also the time when the nation remembers the first president of the Philippine Commonwealth and the man considered to be the father of the Philippine national language.
President Manuel Luis Quezon must have had mixed feelings about Rizaleños, particularly of Antipoleños. After all, it was a Rizaleño-Antipoleño who was his constant “pain in the neck” when he served as chief executive of the country under American regime. The late Juan Sumulong was a fiery orator and had stood as the leader of the opposition against President Quezon.
In 1941, he ran against President Quezon in the presidential election. Juan Sumulong, however, fell ill before election day and was unable to finish the race. Despite the political differences, we believe the two gentlemen held each other in the highest regard. After all, both were revolutionaries and were the epitome of patriotism.
We remember President Quezon also for his leadership at a time of major adversity.
Forced to flee the country during the enemy occupation in World War II, he kept Filipinos’ hopes alive that the day of Liberation would finally come. In a way, we take inspiration from that kind of leadership. From the local government sector vantage point, we see that it is hope that serves as our countrymen’s source of energy as they face the uncertainties of each day.
President Quezon knew that words have power – especially if those words come from a people’s source of hope. He knew how to use that power.
Proof if that is this famous quote from that famous son of Southern Luzon:
“I want our people to be like a Molave tree, strong and resilient, standing on the hillsides, unafraid of the rising tide, lighting and the storm, confident of its strength.”
In a way, he walked the talk. After all, he himself was like that Molave tree. Historians recall that President Quezon was sick with the debilitating tuberculosis at the time when foreign invaders ruled the land.
There were not too many medicines against the tubercle bacilli at the time. That disease – which primarily affected the lungs like COVID 19 – sapped every strength out of a patient’s body. It must have been a major struggle for the president to inspire his countrymen from his sickbed.
And, he did stoke the fire of hope in them with both words and example. For some five years, our suffering countrymen patiently waited for the day of their Liberation.
Ironically, President Quezon did not live to see that day of Liberation. He died from the disease in August 1, 1944, one year and two weeks before the foreign invaders officially surrendered.
Our elders used to tell us that President Quezon did not have an easy time in exile. Aside from being burdened with a debilitating illness, he had to deal with internal politics. One instance was when his vice president, the late former President Sergio Osmeña, Sr., raised the that regarding the expiration of President Quezon’s term.
His war time tenure was supposed to have ended in 1943. Osmeña may have sensed that President Quezon had not made any move to step down. It is said that Osmeña brought the issue to the attention of the United States Secretary of Justice who took his side and said that – based on the law – President Quezon should relinquish his post at the end of his term.
President Quezon must have been both hurt and angered by that move. After all, he had a government-in-exile to run and a war-torn nation to inspire. Then, came that challenge from his vice president.
Accounts of that particular moment in Philippine history say the President Quezon eventually relented and agreed to retire.
That was also a proud moment in Philippine history. It is said that then Vice President Osmeña likewise stepped back and asked President Quezon to stay in office until the end of the war. It was then considered an act of true statesmanship. It was a moment when the saying “country first before politics” was displayed to the fullest by the leaders of our country.
That moment was also a testimonial to the inspiring leadership and personality of President Quezon. For his political adversaries to recognize that he was the man of the hour and that nation needed his leadership at that time was proof that his words were powerful.
They must have remembered President Quezon saying:
“My loyalty to my party ends where my loyalty to my country begins.”
There is a saying that history repeats itself.
Well, that is one moment in Philippine history which we hope would repeat itself: that time when the political adversaries of the country’s chief executive chose to exercise statesmanship and put the country’s interest over and above their own.
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