Casimiro del Rosario on Stamps

Casimiro V. del Rosario (June 13, 1896-September 15, 1982) is a foremost Filipino physicist, meteorologist, and astronomer.

Dr. del Rosario is known for his researches on ultraviolet light of different wavelengths, effect of radioactive radiation on Euglena, high voltage electrical discharges in a vacuum, and many others. His works have been published in international journals such as the American Physics Review and the Journal of Franklin Institute.

He is the co-founder of the Bartol Research Foundation in Philadelphia, an institution which did pioneering researches in physics.

Dr. del Rosario was the recipient of a Presidential Award in 1965 for his contributions to physics. He was made Director of the Philippine Weather Bureau for 11 years, and the first vice-chairman of the National Science Development Board in 1958. He was conferred as a National Scientist in 1984.

Dr. Casimiro del Rosario was born on June 13, 1896 in Bantayan, Cebu to Pantaleon del Rosario, a farmer who had served once as the town’s justice of the peace and Benita Villacin. For his elementary education, he attended the Mandaue primary school and the Cebu intermediate school. Thereafter, he studied at the Cebu high school and, upon graduating, enrolled at the University of the Philippines, taking up chemical engineering. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1918, and began teaching at the university the following year. Later, he went to the United States to study physics at Yale University, where he was given a Sterling fellowship, and from which he obtained a master’s degree in physics. He also became a member of the Sigma Xi. Together with other scientists, he established the Bartol Research Foundation in Philadelphia, whose main objective was to essay serious researches on nuclear physics. He worked there for several years.

Meanwhile, he pursued postgraduates studies at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was granted a fellowship on cancer research. In 1932, he finally acquired his doctorate in physics. Upon his return to the Philippines, he resumed his teaching career at the University of the Philippines. Later, he headed the university’s department of physics. He was designated director of the Weather Bureau in 1946, and served in this position for about 12 years. During his term, he headed at one time the National Committee of the International Geophysical Year. Subsequently, he was named chairman of the division of physical sciences of the National Research Council of the Philippines. He also served as president of Regional Association V, encompassing the Western Pacific area, of the World Meteorological Organization.

Dr. Del Rosario traveled to the United States, at one time, to observe several atomic energy centers and absorb the latest development in the field of nuclear energy. He joined other Filipino scientists in representing the country at the world’s first conference on nuclear energy and its peaceful utilization, which was held in Geneva, Switzerland in 1955.

In 1965, he was given the presidential award for his outstanding accomplishments in physics and meteorology. He was likewise conferred the UP alumni award. When his term as director of the Weather Bureau ended, he was named the first vice-chairman of the National Science and Development Board. A member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, he gained recognition, not only for himself but for his country as well, for his in-depth researches on such subjects as “ultra-violet light and its different wavelengths,” “radioactive radiation and its effects on euglena,” “high voltage electrical discharges in high vacuum,” and others. His articles were published in various local and international scientific publications.

In July 1982, during the nationwide Science and Technology Week, Del Rosario, along with Drs. Geminiano de Ocampo and Gregorio Velasquez, was invested as National Scientist by President Ferdinand Marcos. However, he did not have much time left to savor this personal great triumph. On September 15 of the same year, he passed away, and was buried in Cebu the next day. He left behind his wife, Esperanza Ouano, and family.

In April 1983, as a fitting tribute to him, the National Academy of Science and Technology, of which he had been a member since 1979, and the PAGASA, sponsored and held the Casimiro del Rosario Memorial lecture on meteorology at the UP Research Center.

Marcelo H. del Pilar on Stamps

Marcelo Hilario del Pilar y Gatmaitan (August 30, 1850 – July 4, 1896) was a Filipino writer, journalist, and revolutionary leader of the Philippine Revolution and one of the leading Ilustrado propagandist of the Philippine War of Independence.

He served as editor of the vernacular section of the Diariong Tagalog (Tagalog Newspaper), the first Philippine bilingual newspaper, in 1882. From 1890 to around 1895, he edited and published the newspaper La Solidaridad (Solidarity), mainly through his 150 essays and 66 editorials published under the nom de plume Plaridel.

Del Pilar's militant and progressive outlook was derived from the classic enlightenment tradition of the French philosophes and the scientific empiricism of the European bourgeoisie. Part of this outlook was transmitted by freemasonry, to which del Pilar subscribed.

Considered the Father of Philippine Masonry, del Pilar spearheaded the secret organization of Masonic lodges in the Philippines as a means of strengthening the Propaganda Movement. He was made a freemason in Spain in 1889, one of the first Filipinos initiated into the mysteries of freemasonry in Europe. He co-founded Lodge Revoluccion in Barcelona and revived Lodge Solidaridad 53 when it floundered into stormy seas where he became its Worshipful Master and with Rizal as the orator. He was crowned 33° by the Gran Oriente Español.

Organized in his memory, Samahang Plaridel is a fellowship of journalists and other communicators that aims to propagate Marcelo H. del Pilar’s ideals.

This fellowship fosters within its capacity, mutual help, cooperation, and assistance among its members; dedicated to the journalistic standards of accuracy and truth, and in promoting these standards in the practice of journalism. Plaridel’s ideology of truth, fairness and impartiality is anchored on democratic principles, as these are the bastions of a society acceptable to all Filipinos.

The stamp was issued on September 23, 1963.

Gregoria de Jesus on Stamps

Gregorio de Jesus was the first female member of the Katipunan. She was also the wife of Andres Bonifacio and took care of safekeeping all the necessary documents of the Katipunan and orienting new members of the movement. She also made the first Katipunan flag.

Gregoria de Jesús (15 May 1875 – 15 March 1943), also known as Aling Oriang,[1] was the founder and vice-president of the women's chapter of the Katipunan of the Philippines.[2] She was also the custodian of the documents and seal of the Katipunan. She married Andrés Bonifacio, the supremo of the Katipunan, and played a major role in the Philippine Revolution. She has one son from Andrés Bonifacio and five children from Julio Nakpil.

Gregoria de Jesús was born in the city of Caloocan, in what is now the province Rizal, to a Catholic middle-class family. Her father, Nicolás de Jesús, was a carpenter who later served as a gobernadorcillo. As a young girl, she was an exceptional student and a silver medal recipient in an examination organized by the governor general and parish priest. When she became a secondary school student, she was induced by her parents to stay home and look after her younger sister and the family's farm, since both of her older brothers moved to Manila to continue their education.

When Gregoria de Jesús was only 18 years old, Andrés Bonifacio fell in love with her and wanted to marry her. He revealed his intentions to her parents, but her father refused and was against their marriage because Andrés was a Freemason. After almost six months, she had fallen in love with him. She revealed that to her father and asked for his approval on their marriage and the father agreed.

In March 1893, she married Andrés at Binondo Church. A week later, they were married again in the presence of the Katipuneros, who did not approve of their marriage in a Catholic church. On the evening of the same day, the women’s chapter of the Katipunan was formed, and she was appointed its vice-president and the custodian of the Katipunan documents. She was designated the code name "Lakambini" (Tagalog for goddess or Muse) and swore to remain loyal to the Katipunan's holy purposes. The Spanish police usually came unannounced, and Gregoria used to gather all the documents and drive her car all night and return only when it is safe.

A year later, she returned to her family's house, because she was pregnant. She gave birth to their only son, who she christened Andrés, after her husband. Two months later, during the Holy Week of 1896, Gregoria and her husband returned to Manila to find their house destroyed by a fire. The couple were forced to live in friends' and family houses, but had to move quickly from house to house. A few months later, their child, Andrés, died of smallpox.

On 19 August 1896, the Katipunan was exposed and its secrets were revealed by Teodoro Patino, a disgruntled member. The Spanish forces reacted quickly to halt the revolution. Many Filipinos were arrested, jailed, and shot, but Andrés and Gregoria were hiding. The Spanish government was able to tighten its surveillance over the Katipunan. The remaining Katipuneros gathered and planned an attack on a Spanish gunpowder storehouse. With an army of almost 800, the Katipuneros were successful in their first attack, and were encouraged to advance to Manila, but Spanish reinforcements arrived, routing the Katipuneros. Hundreds of the Katipuneros were killed and captured. Furthermore, an inner conflict between Andrés and Emilio Aguinaldo, another leader of the Katipunan, had weakened them. On 8 May 1897, Andrés was captured by Aguinaldo's officers, and was sentenced to death.

Julio Nakpil, a commander of the Katipunan troops in northern Philippines. The two fell in love, and were married in a Catholic church on 10 December 1898 in Manila. After the end of the Philippine Revolution and after peace was restored in the Philippines, Gregoria lived with her husband and eight children in a house with a well-known Filipino philanthropist, Dr. Ariston Bautista, and his wife, Petrona Nakpil. The doctor took good care of her and her children and helped raise them and educate them.

De Jesús died in 1943 during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines.

The stamp was issued in March 28, 1978.

Mateo Capinpin on Stamps

A born soldier Gen. Mateo M. Capinpin was already a member of the Boy's Battalion organization at age ten. As a professional soldier, he belonged to the Company "I" of the 4th Infantry, the Pride of Fort Mckinley (now known as Fort Bonifacio). He commanded the 21st division of the U.S. Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) and received the general's star even before the start of World War II.

Brig. Gen. Capinpin, a war time commander of the Philippine Army's famed 21st Division, was born in Morong Rizal on April 22, 1887. He grew up and took his elementary & secondary education in Laguna High School. After graduating from High School in 1906, at the age of 19, he joined and was enlisted in the Philippine Scouts where he started as a Private and was honorably discharged as a Major. During his itinerary with the Philippine Scouts from 1906 to 1918, Capinpin was acclaimed to be the only one who knew his Company Roster by heart. Stories have it that at night, he could call from the roll even without lights. As the youngest First Sergeant, he was only 24 when he was given his strips. He was noted to be a strict disciplinarian and that he had the reputation of being the "meanest" non-commissioned officer.

From the Philippine Scouts, Capinpin joined the Philippine National Guards as First Lieutenant in 1918 with the corresponding rank of Major in the United States Army. The following year, he returned to the Philippine Scouts. Promoted in the Permanent rank of Captain in 1920, Gen. Capinpin was sent to the United States to attend the Officers Courses at Fort Benning Infantry School in Georgia. While a Captain in the 45th Infantry, PS, he commanded the same company for over 20 years. His Company "I" was famous as Exhibition and Demonstration Company for five years in carnivals and elsewhere and held championship for athletics for a longer period.

He was given command of the PA 21st Division with the rank of Colonel when the Philippines was under the Commonwealth regime in 1934. War caught up with him in Lingayen, Pangasinan.

Forced to be in Bataan when the Japanese Forces invaded the country, Capinpin earned honors for the orderly retreat he conducted during his commands trip from Pangasinan to Bataan.

He was captured by the Japanese when Bataan fell. Undaunted, Capinpin forcibly joined the Bataan "DEATH MARCH" which began at daylight of April 10, 1942. Together with the haggard and terrified troops, they herded into groups of 500 to 1,000. Thousands wept while others stood stiffly, with blank, rigid stares. About 12,000 American soldiers, 65,000 Filipino soldiers, 6,000 Filipino civilian employees, and 10,000 Filipino refugees forced to join the trek. More than 600 Americans and 8,000 Filipino soldiers died along the way. On the 65-mile trek from Marivelez, Bataan, Capinpin and others were bayoneted, beaten and hauled off to Camp O'Donnell, a concentration Camp in Capas, Tarlac where the prisoners of war were confined. Documented stories of their confinement described their ordeal as "grim" and "nightmarish." Released in the latter part of 1942, Capinpin briefly served in the puppet government upon the invitation of Jose P. Laurel, the occupation president.

During his service with the puppet government, Capinpin saw in his position a strong cover for his guerilla activities. He planned out to rejoin the underground when he and other officials were dispatched to Baguio. The end of the last war found him in Japan.

Among the commendations he received, topped by the distinguished Service Cross, were telegraphed praises from General Douglas Mac Arthur, then commander-in-chief of all U.S Armed Forces in the Far East, Colonel Clark and the late General Vicente Lim.

Brig. Gen. Capinpin was the Armed Forces of the Philippines Adjutant General when he retired from the military service on April 30, 1948. He was then the Superintendent of the Far East Military Academy in Highway 54, Quezon City. His last public appearance was on December 16, 1958 during the convocation at the FEMA. At the age of 71, on December 28, 1958, he died of heart attack while spending holidays at his residence in Binan, Laguna.

Brigadier General Capinpin was survived by his wife, Mrs. Trinidad F. Vda. de Capinpin, and three children; Emmanuel, Ernesto and Alita.

The Stamp was issued on October 15, 1987.

Emilio F. Aguinaldo on Stamps

Gen. Emilio F. Aguinaldo was the first president of the Philippine Republic. A wealthy native of Wl Viejo, Cavite, Aguinaldo later donated his mansion to the Philippine government to preserve the monument to Philippine nationalism.

Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy (March 22, 1869 – February 6, 1964) was a Filipino general, politician, and independence leader. He played an instrumental role in Philippines' struggle for independence, essentially in the Philippine Revolution against Spain, as well as in the Philippine-American War that resisted American occupation.

Aguinaldo is considered to be the country's first and the youngest Philippine President, and though the Philippine government failed to obtain any foreign recognition during that time, it is now considered Southeast Asia's first republic.

The seventh of eight children of Carlos Aguinaldo and Trinidad Famy, Emilio was born into a Chinese-mestizo family on March 22, 1869 in Cavite Viejo (now Kawit), Cavite province. Aside from his father being gobernadorcillo (municipal mayor) of the town, his family, as members of the Chinese-mestizo minority, enjoyed a rather comfortable life.

As a young boy, Miniong received basic education from his great-aunt and later attended the town's elementary school. In 1880, he took up his secondary course education at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran. Following the death of his father on his third year, Aguinaldo quit school and retured home to help his widowed mother with their farm.

At the age of 17, Emilio was elected cabeza de barangay (village headman) of Binakayan, the most progressive barrio of Cavite El Viejo. He held this position for eight years. While at that, he also engaged himself in inter-island shipping, travelling to as far south as the Sulu Archipelago. In 1893, the Maura Law was passed to reorganize town governments with the aim of making them more effective and autonomous, changing the designation of town head from gobernadorcillo to capitan municipal effective 1895. On January 1, 1895, 26-year-old Aguinaldo was elected town head, becoming the first person to hold the title of capitan municipal of Cavite Viejo.

In 1896, Aguinaldo fell in love and married Hilaria Del Rosario of Imus, Cavite. They had five children (Miguel, Carmen, Emilio Jr., Maria and Cristina). In 1930, nine years after his wife's death, Aguinaldo married his second wife Maria Agoncillo, niece of Don Felipe Agoncillo, a pioneer Filipino diplomat.

The stamp above was issued on January 3, 1969.

Gen. Mateo Capinpin on Stamps click here

Teodora M. Alonso on Stamps

Teodora M. Alonso , the mother of Dr. Jose Rizal was a highly educated woman for her time and was Rizal's first teacher. She shared her son's suffering as an enemy of Spain. She lived to see the day her son was executed by firing squad in Bagumbayan field now known as Luneta.

Teodora was the second child of Lorenzo Alonso and Brijida de Quintos. Lorenzo was a capitan-municipal of Biñan, Laguna, a representative in the Spanish Cortes, a Knight of the Order of Isabela the Catholic and a surveyor by profession. Brijida de Quintos was an educated housewife who attended to her family's needs. In accordance to the decree issued by Governor-General Narciso Claveria in 1849, their family adopted the surname "Realonda." Coming from an able family, Teodora had her formal education at the Colegio de Santa Rosa in Manila. Just like her mother, she was well-educated and highly cultured, and had knowledge in literature and mathematics.

When Teodora turned 20 years old, she married Francisco Mercado who was a native of Biñan, Laguna. The two resided in Calamba where they engaged in agriculture. They achieved prosperity because of their industry, not to mention Teodora's efficiency at managing both the farm and the family's finances. She even set up her own textile business, a sugar and flour mill, and a small store at the ground floor of their house.

Teodora and Francisco had eleven children: Saturnina, Paciano, Narcisa, Olympia, Lucia, Maria, Jose, Concepcion, Josefa, Trinidad and Soledad. It was said that she suffered the most when she gave birth to Jose. All their children were sent to respected colleges in Manila, but Jose was the only child sent to Europe. He was inspired to take up medicine - specifically ophthalmology - in order to treat Teodora's failing eyesight.

As the mother of a perceived enemy of the Spanish authorities, Teodora was often made a target. She was imprisoned for two and a half years on trumped-up charges of poisoning her brother's wife, but was finally acquitted and released after being defended by two of Manila's most famous lawyers. She was made to walk fifty kilometers to Sta. Cruz, Laguna, for failing to use her "Hispanicized" surname, Realonda de Rizal, instead of Alonzo. Her family was ejected from their lands in Calamba as a result of a land conflict between Dominicans and the Filipino tenants. The family moved to Manila, but the Spanish persecution still followed.

Teodora joined Rizal in Hong Kong in 1891 and kept a house in Dapitan where her son was in exile. She returned to Manila to visit her husband and made an appeal to the governor-general, but this was in vain.

After Rizal was declared the national hero of the Philippines, the legislature offered her a lifetime pension as a token of gratitude. She politely refused, saying, "My family has never been patriotic for the money. If the government has plenty of funds and does not know what to do with them, it's better to reduce the taxes."

She died in Manila on 16 August 1911.

The stamp above was issued on November 8, 1974.

Felipe Agoncillo on Stamps

Felipe Agoncillo was an outstanding figure in Philippine diplomacy. He served on the Consultation Board of the Spanish Governor General but was later exiled to Jolo on charges that he was a filibuster, a suspect of revolutionary activities. He escaped and returned to Manila to join the revolution. He later served in several diplomatic posts for the Philippine Commonwealth and the Republic.

Agoncillo was born on May 26, 1859 in Taal, Batangas to Ramon Agoncillo and Gregoria Encarnacion. At an early age, his parents already noticed his brilliant mind. He enrolled at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila where he was a consistent honor high school student and later transferred to the Universidad de Santo Tomás where he obtained his law degree in 1879 with an excellent grade. He was granted a Licentiate in urisprudence with the highest honors. He returned to Taal to manage his family's properties after a year studying in Manila because his parents had both died.

Agoncillo was already a judge and at the age of 30 when he was married to Marcela Mariño, a daughter of a reputed family in the same town. Six daughters were born to them: Lorenza (Enchang), Gregoria (Goring), Eugenia (Nene), Marcela (Celing)—named after her mother because they thought she will be their last child, Adela, who died at the age of three and the youngest Maria (Maring), who was their last child to survive and died on July 6, 1995.

While in Taal, Agoncillo continued his legal services and gave charity to poor and oppressed Filipinos. He was so generous that he posted an inscription outside his office: "Free legal services to the poor anytime."

Having heard by the parish priest of his activities and for preaching patriotic ideas, he was accused as anti patriotic, anti religious and was described as filibustero or subversive. He was later recommended to the governor-general for deportation.

Forewarned by the plans of the governor-general, he sailed directly to Yokohama, Japan but briefly stayed and went to Hong Kong where he joined other Filipino exiles who found asylum when the revolution broke out in 1896. They temporarily sojourned at Morrison Hill Road in Wanchai and later became a refuge for exiled Filipino patriots.

When the signing of the Pact of Biak-na-Bato concluded, Gen. Aguinaldo joined to them. They initiated meetings in the Agoncillo residence on the months of April and March 1898 and Gen. Luna was one in the attendance.

After the signing of the truce, Agoncillo spearheaded the Central Revolutionary Committee and organized the propaganda office for General Aguinaldo's revolutionary government.

The Philippine Revolutionary Government commissioned Agoncillo as Minister Plenipotentiary to negotiate treaties with foreign governments. Agoncillo and Jose "Sixto" Lopez was sent to Washington, D.C., United States to lobby foreign entities that Filipinos are well civilized people and capable of maintaining stable government and to secure recognition of Philippine independence but US President William McKinley did not receive them. To gather sympathy to the Philippine cause, they addressed the American Episcopalian bishops.

After being ignored by the US president, Agoncillo proceeded to Paris, France to present the Philippine cause at the peace conference convened between Spain and the US, where a meeting was to be held to discuss Cuba and the Philippines. Agoncillo tried to submit a memorandum but again failed. The people behind the meeting did not want to have any official dealings with him. On December 10, 1898, the treaty was successfully signed. Subsequently, Agoncillo's diplomatic activity incurred sum of money that he had used up all his savings going from one country to another presenting the case of the Philippines that he had even sacrificed his wife's jewelry.

Two days after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, Agoncillo returned to the United States and endeavored to block ratification of the treaty by the US. Although this was signed by the commissioners, it was not yet approved by the Senate of the United States. He filed a State memorandum to express that Filipinos must be recognized by the United States.

Agoncillo's conclusion about the treaty was that it was not binding on the Philippine government. In the memorandum, he clearly stated the reasons why Spain had no right to transfer the Philippines to the United States and that when the treaty was signed, Spain no longer held the Filipinos. At that time, many Americans were also against the treaty, so they established the Anti-Imperialist League which opposed making the Philippines a colony of the United States. Afterwards, on February 4, 1899, the Philippine–American War began; this turned on approval of the treaty of Paris.

On August 29, 1900, he met with Gustave Moynier, an original member of the Committee of Five and ICRC President. Agoncillo sought recognition of the Filipino Red Cross Society as well as the application of the First Geneva Convention during the Philippine–American War.

When hostilities ended between Filipinos and Americans, he returned to Hong Kong and rejoined the exiled junta. Later, on July 15, 1901, after American rule was firmly established in Manila,he went back to the Philippines as a poor man and lived in his house in Malate, Manila together with his family.

While in Manila, he resumed his law practice and other business. He took the bar exam in 1905 and passed with a perfect score of 100 percent, an achievement which has remained unmatched until today. His examination papers have been preserved in the Filipiniana section of the Philippine Library and Museum.

In 1907, he was elected as the Batangas representative and represented that town, among others, in the Philippine Assembly. He was once a defense of El Renacimiento whose editors were charged with libel by Dean C. Worcester. De Agoncillo was appointed as Secretary of Interior in 1923 during the administration of Governor General Leonard Wood and fought for the Filipinization of the government service. Agoncillo died on September 29, 1941 in Manila Doctor's Hospital, Manila.

The stamp above was issued on February 27, 1976.

Jose Abad Santos on Stamps

Jose Abad Santos is best known as a jurist. He gained national hero status during World War II. His refusal to collaborate with the Japanese with the Japanese occupational forces resulted in his incarceration, torture and death.

José Abad Santos y Basco (February 19, 1886 – May 2, 1942) was the fifth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines and served as Acting President of the Philippines during World War II. He was executed by Japanese forces during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, He is the grandfather of Senator Jamby Madrigal. Abad Santos was born in City of San Fernando, Pampanga to Vicente Abad Santos and Toribia Basco. His brother, Pedro, would eventually emerge as a leading socialist leader during the Commonwealth era. In 1904, he was sent to the United States as a government pensionado. He finished a pre-law course at the Santa Clara College in Santa Clara, California; his Bachelor of Laws at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois; and his Masters of Laws at George Washington University in 1909. Admitted to the Philippine Bar in 1911, he served as Assistant Attorney at the Bureau of Justice from 1913 to 1917 .

In 1919, Abad Santos would become instrumental in laying the legal groundwork as well as drafting the by-laws and constitution of the Philippine Women's University, the country's and Asia's first private non-sectarian institution for higher learning for women. A staunch Methodist, Abad Santos was a member of the Central United Methodist Church on Kalaw Street in Manila then known as the Central Methodist Episcopal Church.

He was later appointed the first Filipino corporate lawyer of the Philippine National Bank, Manila Railroad Company and other government corporations. He returned to the Department of Justice where he became Attorney-General, Undersecretary of Justice then Secretary of Justice from 1921 to 1923. In July 1923, he resigned as Secretary of Justice together with other department secretaries as a result of the controversy between Governor-General Leonard Wood and Filipino leaders.

Abad Santos then served as Chief Counsel of the President of the Philippine Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. In 1926 he went to the United States as head of the Philippine Educational Mission. He was again appointed Secretary of Justice in 1928 and re-appointed on July 1, 1931. In 1932, he became an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. He became its Chief Justice on December 24, 1941. As part of the emergency reorganization of the Commonwealth government, Abad Santos, in his capacity as Chief Justice, was given the responsibilities previously handled by the Secretary of Justice (the position of Secretary of Justice was abolished for the duration of the war). Abad Santos accompanied the Commonwealth government to Corregidor, where on December 30, 1941, he administered the oath of office to President Quezon and Vice-President Osmeña for the second term they'd been elected to in November of that year. He also undertook, with Manuel Roxas, the supervision of the destruction of Commonwealth government currency to prevent its falling into enemy hands.

When President Manuel L. Quezon left for the United States via Australia, Chief Justice Abad Santos was given the choice to leave with him. But the latter preferred to remain in the Philippines and carry on his work and stay with his family. President Quezon appointed him Acting President with full authority to act in the name of, and on behalf, of the President of the Philippines in areas unoccupied by the Japanese. On April 11, 1942, he and his son José, Jr. were captured by the Japanese while traveling by automobile in Carcar, Cebu. He identified himself as the chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. Abad Santos and his son were then taken to a concentration camp.

When asked to cooperate with the Japanese, he refused to do so. Although he had nothing to do with military operations, they imputed to him the destruction of the bridges and other public works in Cebu.

The Japanese High Command took him and his son to Parang, Cotabato (now in Maguindanao) in April 1942. The next day they were brought to Malabang, Lanao, and after three days confinement at the constabulary barracks, Chief Justice Abad Santos was called to Japanese headquarters. Before he was shot to death, he was able to talk to his son José, Jr. His last parting words to his son were "Do not cry, Pepito, show to these people that you are brave. It is an honor to die for one's country. Not everybody has that chance." He was executed at 2:00 p.m., on May 2, 1942. The date is often reported as May 7, but as former Supreme Court Justice Ramón C. Aquino, Abad Santos' biographer put it, "At first it was thought that Abad Santos had been killed on May 7, 1942. This was the date given by Pepito himself during his testimony at the trials of Generals Hayashi and Kawaguchi. But on the basis of Fukui's testimony supported by notations in his diary, the date of Abad Santos' execution was definitely ascertained to be at two o'clock on the afternoon of May 2, 1942."

The stamp above was issued on May 2,1960.

Carlos P.Garcia on Stamps

Carlos P. Garcia was born in Talibon, Bohol on November 4, 1896, to Policronio Garcia and Ambrosia Polistico. He studied in Cebu Provincial High School and Silliman University then Philippine Law School and graduated in 1923. Garcia was famous for his poetry in Bohol where he earned the nickname Prince of Visayan Poets.

Garcia became a school teacher then a representative in the Philippine Congress in 1925. He was elected governor of Bohol in 1931 and re-elected 1940. Garcia became a senator in 1941. He was re-elected in 1945 and again in 1953. During the Japanese occupation, Garcia was an active member of the resistance. After the war, he was the one who missioned the Philippine Rehabilitation at War Damage claims in 1945 in the United States.

Garcia was elected as vice-president in 1953 and was appointed Secretary of Foreign Affairs under President Magsaysay. He assumed the presidency the day after Ramon Magsaysay's death. After Garcia finished Magsaysay's term, he was elected president in his own right. President Garcia is most remembered most for his Austerity Program and Filipino First Policy. His Austerity Program was aimed at curbing graft and corruption within the government. Although it was not very successful, it did help to restore trust between the people and the government.

The Filipino First Policy put the rights of Filipinos above those of foreigners. This favoured the Filipino businessmen in contrast to foreign investors. This meant foreigners could invest capital up to 40% in a business or industry while the remaining 60% would be owned by Filipino citizens. Garcia's policies aimed at boosting the economy and obtaining greater economic independence. Garcia also aimed at reviving old Filipino cultural traditions which might have become extinct as the result of the adoption of Spanish and American cultures through colonisation.

Maximo Kalaw on Stamps

Maximo Maguiat Kalaw (1891-1955) is a renowned writer from Lipa,Batangas. He studied at the Philippine Normal School and the University of the Philippines wherein he became the editor of Collegio Folio, the first school paper in UP. He also obtained a Bachelor of Laws from Georgetown University in 1915 and Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Michigan in 1924.

He became an associate editor of the Manila Times, a professor of political science at the University of the Philippines, an exchange professor at the University of Michigan, becoming the first Filipino to teach in an American university.

He was also a private secretary in the office of Manuel L. Quezon and a representative of the 3rd district of Batangas in the first legislature of the Commonwealth.

His published works include Usapin ng mga Pilipino (1915), The Development of Philippine Politics (1926), The Filipino Rebel: A Romance of the American Occupation of the Philippines (1930), The Philippine Question: An Analysis (1931), An Introduction to Philippine Social Science (1933), and Materials for the Constitution (1934).

He died on March 23, 1955.

Date of Issue: June 3, 1991

Vicente Fabella on Stamps

Vicente F. Fabella (1891-1959). Educator, economist, civic leader and the first Filipino certified public accountant. He was the founder of Jose Rizal College. He was born on May 7, 1891 in Pagsanjan, Laguna, the third of six children of Juan Fabella, who served as mayor of Pagsanjan during the Spanish and American regimes, and Damiana Fernandez.

He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of the Philippines in 1912 and then continued his studies in the United States, obtaining concurrent degrees of bachelor of philosophy from the University of Chicago and diploma in commerce from Northwestern University in 1915. That same year, he became a certified public accountant in the state of Wisconsin.

In 1916, upon his return to the Philippines, he became a professional lecturer in accounting and auditing at the University of the Philippines. At the same time, he opened the accounting firm, Vicente Fabella and Company.

He was instrumental in the founding of Far Eastern College of Accounts, Commerce and Finance in 1919 of which he became the first president and Nicanor Reyes, founder of Far Eastern University, became an associate. The school was originally located in a four-room building on Rizal Avenue. It later transferred to Arlegui Street and, 1922, to its well-known prewar address at 1063 R. Hidalgo in Quiapo. It was also in 1922 that it changed its corporate name to Jose Rizal College. Since its foundation, JRC had been “Fully dedicated to the continued up building of educational methods and systems that have met the need of the country for the development of Philippine business, trade, industry and finance.”

The following year, the first government examination for CPA’s in the Philippines was given. Fabella was among the first to be licensed in the country. His office was instrumental in the drafting of Act 3105, which became the basis of the CPA Law of the Philippines. Dr. Conrado Benitez credited Fabella with having elevated public accountancy “to the status of a profession,” adding that the training of CPA’s “is his lasting contribution to the building of the nation.”

Fabella was a founding member of the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU), organized in 1932, and the Philippine Association of Collegiate Schools of Business (PACSB) which was formally set up in 1962. In 1933, he was named Philippine delegate to the 4th International Congress on Accounting in London. In 1937, he helped the establishment of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. (ROTC).

He was a charter member of the Delta Mu Delta, an honorary society of Northwestern University, and a member of the American Association of University Instructors in Accounting.

When the Japanese invaded the Philippines in 1941, Fabella shut down JRC as a gesture of protest, and got himself involved in the underground movement. Despite the repeated requests by the Japanese authorities to have his school reopened, he kept it closed throughout the entire occupation period. As a consequence, the school building and his residence were commandeered by the Japanese, forcing him and his family to seek shelter in the mountains of Laguna.

Soon after the liberation of Manila in 1945, efforts were made to get classes in schools started once again. JRC resumed its operation in school year 1946-47. In 1949, seeing that the R. Hidalgo location could no longer accommodate added facilities for students, Fabella moved JRC to its present spacious grounds in Mandaluyong. This was also the time when he turned over his accounting firm to his younger brother. This allowed him to work in a more relaxed manner and to make frequent travels abroad.

In 1955, President Ramon Magsaysay asked him to join the Central Bank survey Commission. The commission took over a year to complete its work. Thus, Fabella took his last long trip to Europe in 1957.

He was 67 when he passed away on February 14, 1959. His widow, Carmen de Jesus, succeeded him to the presidency of JRC. He had three children: Virginia, a Maryknoll nun who has adopted the name of Sor Maria del Carmen; Armand, and Carmen.

Date of Issue: June 3, 1991

Jose P. Laurel on Stamps

Jose P. Laurel (March 9, 1891 - November 6, 1959) was the third president of the Republic of the Philippines. An Associate Justice of the Supreme Court before becoming president, he was also an educator, having founded the Lyceum of the Philippines.

Laurel was born on 9 March 1891 in Tanauan, Batangas to Sotero Laurel and Jacoba Garcia. His father, who was the Secretary of the Interior in Emilio Aguinaldo's cabinet and a signatory to the Malolos Constitution, was taken prisoner during the Filipino-American War and died in captivity in 1902 when Laurel was only 11 years old.

This led the young Laurel to work as an altar boy and chorister, later taking on a job as a part-time laborer at the Bureau of Forestry when he turned 18, for the money he needed to continue his studies. He later became a clerk for the Code Committee, where he met Thomas Atkins Street, a future member of the Philippine Supreme Court and who served as his mentor.

After graduating from the Manila High School (now Araullo High School) in 1911, he eloped with Paciencia Hidalgo, and enrolled at the University of the Philippines College of Law, where he later earned his doctorate in Philosophy. He ranked second in his class of 60 and also came out second in the 1915 Bar Examinations.

Laurel later obtained a Licenciado en Jurisprudencia degree from the Escuela de Derecho in Manila while serving as Chief of the Executive Bureau's Administration Division. He was later sent to Yale University as a government pensionado in 1919, earning a degree in civil law a year later.

He also took special courses in international law at Oxford University in England and the University of Paris in France, before returning to the Philippines in 1921.

Upon his return to the country in 1921, Laurel was appointed chief of the Executive Bureau on the strength of his academic achievements. A year later, he was promoted to Undersecretary of the Interior, and after ten months was made Secretary of the same department by Governor-General Leonard Wood.

Laurel resigned his post along with the rest of the Filipino members of the Cabinet during the Cabinet Crisis of 1923. It was a sign of protest against Wood's opposition to measures working for Philippine independence by vetoing 16 bills passed by the Philippine Legislature.

After resigning from Wood's cabinet, Laurel opened a law office and taught law in Manila before running for a Senate seat in the 1924 elections. Winning in the elections, he however lost to Claro M. Recto in the 1931 elections. He was later elected as the delegate for Batangas in the 1934 Constitutional Convention. Laurel was considered one of the “Seven Wise Men” of the convention, heading the committee on the Bill of Rights.

Laurel was later appointed by Pres. Manuel L. Quezon as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 1935, where he became famous for many landmark decisions, such as on the Nalundasan case in 1940, acquitting future president Ferdinand E. Marcos of murder after finding the prosecution's case contradictory.

Another landmark decision was on the Angara v. Electoral Commission case, where he affirmed the power of the judiciary to interpret the Constitution and to place under judicial review the actions of the other branches of government.

As World War II broke out in the Pacific on 8 December 1941, Quezon along with other government officials fled to Corregidor to establish a Commonwealth government in exile. However, Laurel was ordered to remain in Manila by Quezon because of his close relationship with Japanese officials (even receiving an honorary doctorate from Tokyo University) before the war broke out.

As the Japanese took over the Philippines in January 1942, they created the Philippine Executive Commission to govern the country. First headed by Jorge B. Vargas, former mayor of Manila, the commission included Laurel as Commissioner of Justice, and later Commissioner of the Interior. Because of this appointment, Laurel was seen as a collaborator with the Japanese.

On 5 June 1943, Laurel was shot while playing golf in Wack-Wack, but survived. He was then elected president of the Japanese-sponsored Republic on 25 September 1943, with Benigno Aquino, Sr. as speaker. They were then flown to Tokyo along with Vargas, where they were prodded by the Japanese government to declare war on the United States and Great Britain. Laurel refused, saying that the Filipinos would disapprove of it and he would lose his following if he did so.

Laurel nonetheless instituted a Filipino First policy. He had all Japanese guards and advisers removed from Malacañang, saying that if the Japanese were really sincere about independence they should prove it. He also asserted custody over Manuel Roxas to prevent him from falling into the hands of the Japanese.

However, as the Americans launched the first air raid on Manila and the Japanese threatened to kill more Filipinos if he did not agree, Laurel issued a declaration of war on the United States and Great Britain after consulting with Roxas and other Filipino leaders. There was one condition: no Filipino could be drafted into service under the Japanese military.

Despite this restriction, the pro-Japanese Makabayang Pilipino, or Makapili, was formed by Benigno Ramos, Pio Duran and Gen. Artemio Ricarte in December 1944. During its inauguration at the Legislative Building, Laurel delivered a speech that rebuked its formation.

As the war neared its end, the Japanese ordered Laurel and other government officials to leave for Baguio, from where they were brought to Japan as hostages. After Japan surrendered on 15 August 1945, Laurel dissolved the Japanese-sponsored Philippine Republic two days later.

He contacted General Douglas MacArthur on 14 September 1945 to inform him of his whereabouts. The next day, Laurel and his family were arrested and imprisoned in Japan by American agents. Without any writing instruments and the only reading material allowed him was a book called The World in 2030 AD given by his son, Salvador, Laurel started to write his War Memoirs during his imprisonment.

Laurel was flown back to Manila by the Americans on 23 July 1946 and was imprisoned in Muntinlupa to face trial for the crime of treasonable collaboration against the United States. Meanwhile, Roxas—whom he had sheltered during the war—was elected president of the Philippines.

Laurel appeared before the People's Court on 2 September 1946, pleading not guilty. His petition for bail was granted on 14 September 1946, and the trial was scheduled for July 1947. This was halted when Roxas issued a proclamation granting amnesty to all political and economic collaborators on 28 January 1947.

Laurel later ran for the presidency under the Nacionalista Party in the elections of 1949, but lost to Elpidio Quirino of the Liberal Party amid charges of massive cheating and fraud. Despite losing in the presidential race, Laurel won a Senate seat in 1951. During his Senate stint he authored many landmark bills, such as the Rizal bill, which made Jose Rizal's two novels, (Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo) compulsory reading in all universities and colleges. He and Claro M. Recto also authored the bill that established the National Education Board.

He also called for the creation of an economic superbody to formulate and implement the economic and monetary policies of the government, which would later become the forerunner of the present National Economic Development Authority (NEDA). After retiring from politics, Laurel focused on managing the Lyceum of the Philippines, which he founded on 7 July 1952. During that time, he also served as the president of the Philippine Banking Corporation.

He died on 6 November 1959 of a massive heart attack and stroke.

Date of Issue: June 3, 1991