The Anthem Philatelist

The Philippine National Anthem lyrics has three versions- "Filipinas", the Spanish (original) version, written by Jose Palma , "Lupang Hinirang" the Tagalog version, written by Felipe Padilla de Leon and "Philippine Hymn", the English version, written by Camilo Osias . Presently, only the Tagalog or Filipino version is used. José Palma (3 June 1876 - 12 February 1903) was a Philippine poet and soldier. He was on the staff of La Independencia at the time he wrote his "Filipinas," a patriotic poem in Spanish. It was published for the first time in the issue of the first anniversary of La Independencia on 3 September 1899. The poem fit the tune of the music of the Marcha Nacional Filipina, and since then became the national anthem of the country. Palma was born in Tondo, Manila, on 3 June 1876, the youngest child of Don Hermogenes Palma, a clerk at the Intendencia Office, and Hilaria Velasquez. His older brother was Rafael Palma. After finishin...

Lope K. Santos (September 25, 1879 – May 1, 1963) was a Tagalog language writer from the Philippines. Aside from being a writer, he was also a lawyer, politician, critic, labor leader and considered as "Father of the Philippine National Language and Grammar". He was a Freemason. Santos was born in Pasig, Rizal, Philippines (now a part of Metro Manila) - as Lope C. Santos - to Ladislao Santos and Victoria Canseco, both natives of Rizal province. He used Kanseko instead of Canseco for his middle name to show his nationalism. During his time, the letter C had begun falling out of use in favor of the letter K in the Tagalog alphabet. Santos studied at Escuela Normal Superior de Maestros (Normal Superior School of Teachers) and Escuela de Derecho (Law School); and got his Bachelor of Arts degree in Colegio Filipino (Filipino College). He became an expert in dupluhan, a popular poetical debate competition in his time, which can be compared to balagtasan, a similar contest but with...

Rafael Palma (24 October 1874 – 24 May 1939) was a Filipino politician, newspaperman and mason. He wrote for the newspapers La Independencia, El Nuevo Dia, and La Renacimiento. Palma was born on 24 October 1874 in Tondo, Manila. He attended public schools in Tondo for his elementary and secondary education and went to Ateneo de Manila for college. He also earned a degree in Law from the University of Santo Tomas. He started working for La Independencia after the death of Antonio Luna as an editor under the pen name "Dapit Hapon." He later studied law while keeping his post as the editor of El Renacimiento, the most influential newspaper in Manila during the Spanish colonial period. He was elected as an assemblyman and later as a senator in 1916. He became the first Filipino president of the University of the Philippines and held the post for a decade. In 1933, Manuel Quezon threatened to cut UP's appropriation due to Palma's championing of the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act....

Sabino Padilla (1894-1986 was a legal luminary and Defender of the Judiciary. An associate justice of the Supreme Court and justice secretary under the Quirino administration, Sabino Padilla y Bibby was born in the district of San Miguel, Manila on August 21, 1894. He was the fourth son of the eleven children of Nicanor Padilla y Escobar, a physician, and Isabel Bibby y Peña, a former teacher. Sabino’s father Dr. Padilla was one of the first eight graduates of the college of medicine of the University of Santo Tomas. He served as a colonel and chief of the medical corps of the revolutionary army under General Antonio Luna. After the Filipino-American War, he returned to Pangasinan, his home province, where he practiced his profession. Following the establishment of civil government under the Americans, he was elected representative of the first district of Pangasinan in the First Philippine Assembly, which was convened in 1907. The stamp above was issued on June1, 1994.

Pedro Alejandro Paterno (February 27, 1858 - March 11, 1911) was a Filipino statesman as well as a poet, composer,novelist, historian and negotiator. His intervention on behalf of the Spanish led to the signing of the Pact of Biak-na-Bato on December 14, 1897, an account of which he published in 1910. Among his other works include the very first novel written by a native Filipino, Ninay (1885), and the first Filipino collection of poems in Spanish, Sampaguitas y poesias (Jasmines and Poems), published in Madrid in 1880. Paterno had the luxury of in private schools in the Philippines and abroad. He studied law at the Central University in Madrid. The stamp above was issued on October 25, 1975.

Carlos Peña Rómulo (14 January 1899, Camiling, Tarlac, Philippines – 15 December 1985, Manila, Philippines) was a Filipino diplomat, politician, soldier, journalist and author. He was a reporter at 16, a newspaper editor by the age of 20, and a publisher at 32. He is the co-founder of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines. He was secretary of Foreign Affairs under President Elpidio Wuirino and was later posted as Ambassador to the United Nations and was the first Adian President of the UN General Assembly (1949-1950). At the third UN General Assembly, held in Paris in 1948, the USSR’s deputy foreign minister, Andrei Vishinsky, sneered at Rómulo and challenged his credentials: “You are just a little man from a little country.” “It is the duty of the little Davids of this world,” cried Rómulo, “to fling the pebbles of truth in the eyes of the blustering Goliaths and force them to behave!” During his meeting with Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia, Marshal Tito welcomed Gen. Romulo with drinks a...

Manuel Acuña Roxas (January 1, 1892 – April 15, 1948) was the first president of the independent Republic of the Philippines. He served as president from the granting of independence in 1946 until his abrupt death in 1948. His term as Philippine president is also the shortest; 1 year 10 months and 18 days. He is best known for his work in the House of Representative's where, in 1932, he sponsored the United States government's Hare-Hawes-Cutting Law specifying a ten year transition period prior to the granting of Independence to the Philippines. The stamp above was issued on June 1. 1992.

Natividad Almeda-Lopez (1892-1977) was the first Filipino women to practice law before the Tribunal of Justice. She devoted four decades of her life to serving the government in various capacities, retiring in 1962 as Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals. She served as Judge of the Municipal Court of Manila and was a member of National Federation of Women Club's of the Philippines in 1937. The UP College of Law has several scholarships supported by donations from alumni and friends which are administered, in cooperation with their respective donors, by the Dean and the Scholarship Committee of the College. The Justice Natividad Almeda Lopez Memorial Scholarship established by the family of the late Justice Natividad Almeda Lopez in honor of her memory, is one of these scholarships. A postage stamp was issued and a street (formerly called Concepcion) in Ermita, Manila was also named in her honor. The stamp above was issued on June 1,1992, Decade of Filipino Nationalism (Gre...

José D. Inglés was a career diplomat, par excellence. He was born in Mauban, Tayabas (now Quezon) on August 24, 1910. His parents were Ricardo Ingles and Genoveva Calleja. Undersecretary Ingles was among the first Filipinos to appear before the International Court of Justice at the Hague, th Netherlands. He was also the permanent representative of the Philippines to the United Nations. He served several terms as Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs from 1966 to 1981. He also served as the first Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs in 1986. He was also conferred the United Nations Carlos P. Romulo award (UNCR) for international achievement. Until his death, on October 30, 1993, he was dean of the college of Foreign Service, Lyceum of the Philippines. Dr. Ingles was survived by his wife, the former Josefina Feliciano, whom he married in 1942, their sons Hector and Jose Jr., and daughters Lisa and Cita. The stamp was issued on September 25, 1995, the 50th anniversary of the United Natio...

Rafael M. Salas , was the first head of the United Nations Population Fund from its inception in 1969 up to his death in 1987 (UNFPA). Salas is an alumnus of the University of the Philippines. Prior to accepting the UN post, Salas was Executive Secretary to then President Ferdinand Marcos before a falling out on policies prompted him to leave the administration. Rafael M. Salas was born in Bago City , Negros Occidental, Philippines in August 7, 1928; one of three children of Ernesto Araneta Salas and Isabel Neri Montinola. After the turmoil of World War II, Rafael Montinola Salas, went to Manila to continue his education and graduated with high honors in the University of the Philippines in 1950. He completed his B.A. (Magna Cum Laude) and LL.B (Cum Laude) from the U.P. College of Law both in 1953. He then attended Harvard University MPA in 1955. With his decision to stay in the academics and in the University of the Philippines, Manila, he became a lecturer in Economics until 1959 and...

Claro Mayo Recto , Jr. (February 8, 1890 – October 2, 1960), was a Filipino politician, jurist, poet and one of the foremost statesmen of his generation. He is remembered mainly for his nationalism, for "the impact of his patriotic convictions on modern political thought".   He was born in Tiáong, Tayabas (now known as Quezon province) of educated, upper middle-class parents, namely Claro Recto [Sr.] of Rosario, Batangas, and Micaela Mayo of Lipa, Batangas. He studied Latin at the Instituto de Rizal in Lipa, Batangas from 1900 to 1901. Further schooling was at the Colegio del Sagrado Corazón of Don Sebastián Virrey. He moved to Manila to study at the Ateneo de Manila where he consistently obtained outstanding scholastic grades, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree maxima cum laude. He received a Masters of Laws degree from the University of Santo Tomás.   Claro M. Recto, Jr. is considered the "finest mind of his generation". Through his speeches and writings,...

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 alrea...

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 ...

Cayetano Arellano was appointed as the first Filipino Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1899. In 1904, he was appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt to represent the Philippines at the International Congress of Jurists in St. Louis, Missouri. Cayetano L. Arellano (March 2, 1847 – December 23, 1920) was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines under the American Civil Government. He was Chief Justice from 1901 until his retirement on April 12, 1920, making him the longest serving Chief Justice. Born in Orion, Bataan, He started as a working student in San Juan de Letran. After finishing his High School he transferred to University of Santo Tomas, where he finished his Bachelor of Philosophy in 1862 and Bachelor of Theology in 1867, he then continued studying and finished law in 1876. During the Spanish regime, he was appointed Magistrado Suplente of the Audiencia Tribunal de Manila. He later become the Chief Justice of the Provisional Supreme Court creat...

As a leading opposition figure during the Marcos administration, "Ninoy" spent many years in jail. He was allowed to go to the United States of America for health reasons. His assassination upon his return at the Manila International Airport roused the Filipinos from their apathy anad led the way to the People Power Revolution of 1986 which ousted Marcos. His murder remains unsolved to this day. Benigno Simeon "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. (November 27, 1932 – August 21, 1983) was a Philippine Senator, Governor of Tarlac , and an opposition leader against President Ferdinand Marcos . He was assassinated at the Manila International Airport (later renamed in his honor) upon returning home from exile in the United States. His death catapulted his widow, Corazon Aquino , to the limelight and subsequently to the presidency, replacing the 20-year Marcos regime.  In 2004, the anniversary of his death was proclaimed as a national holiday now known as Ninoy Aquino Day . Although Aq...

Statesman, educator, lawyer, and diplomat, Manuel Viola Gallego was born in San Antonio, Nueva Ecija on January 18, 1893, to Julio Gallego and Inocencia Viola. He acquired his elementary and intermediate education in Nueva Ecija, and his secondary studies, first in Bulacan and later at the Manila High School. He studied at the University of the Philippines, where he obtained three degrees: Bachelor of Arts, 1913; Bachelor of Laws, 1918, and Master of Laws, 1919. That same year, he earned his Licenciado en Jurisprudencia from the University of Santo Tomas .   Determined to pursue further studies, he flew to the United States and enrolled at Chicago’s Northwestern University , where he received his juris doctor degree in 1928. His thesis, entitled “A Critical Study of the Usury Laws,” was made into a book and later served as reference material in different law schools in the Philippines. Before returning home, he proceeded to Spain and took up postgraduate studies in law at the ...