Natan-ok Nga Ilocano

DAGUITI NATAN-OK NGA ILOCANO ITI ILOCOS NORTE

HISTORICAL FIGURES AND

FAMOUS PERSONALITIES OF ILOCOS NORTE

MANUELA R. ABLAN

(Patroness of Iloco Literature)

Manuela Ravelo Ablan is fondly called "Mother of all patriotic and freedom loving Ilocanos". Born on June 13, 1907 in Barangay 1, Valdez, Batac, Ilocos Norte, she finished her elementary education at the Batac Central Elementary School; her secondary education at the Ilocos Norte High School and her college education at the College of Education of the University of the Philippines, Manila. She graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Education major in English. She was married to Roque Blanco Ablan who was elected governor of llocos Norte.

When the war broke out, she had to keep her courage and her spirits high with her husband, who did not surrender to the Japanese Imperial Forces. He put up instead his guerrilla outfit to continue the fight against the enemy.  And after the bloody fight on one encounter with the Japanese, Governor Ablan could not to be accounted for. Manuela and Junior had to be strong. She had to face the enemy with courage and patriotism.

When the war ended in 1945, she taught at the Northern Christian College. In 1947, a more challenging job presented itself to Manuela - that of rebuilding the National Red Cross Society of the Philippines. She worked with the Red Cross Society, Ilocos Norte Chapter. Due to her successful management of the provincial chapter, she was awarded the Doña Aurora Aragon Quezon Medal and Diploma. She was Philippine National Red Cross Provincial Chapter Administrator for twenty fruitful years. She was awarded the certificate of recognition as the Most Outstanding PNRC Administrator.

In memory of her husband, Governor Roque Blanco Ablan, Sr.,  and desirous to help develop the writing skills of the Iloko writers, she put up the annual Governor Roque Ablan Award for Iloco Literature (GRAAFIL). This annual contest not only develops the skills of Ilocano writers in poetry, short story and drama writing but also promotes Ilocano literature. So the Ilocano writers have called her "patroness of Iloco literature" and the GUMIL (Gunglo dagiti Mannurat nga Ilocano) awarded her a plaque of recognition for her contribution to Iloco literature.       

SOURCE:

                Cadiz, Ernesto Ma., et al. Batac : Craddle of Eminent Men and Women.      Batac, Ilocos                                        Norte : Mariano Marcos State University. c2000.

                                                                                                               

ROQUE BLANCO ABLAN, SR.

(Outstanding Public Servant and World War II Hero)

            Born to a poor couple, Victor Ablan of Solsona and Raymunda Blanco of Paoay, Ilocos Norte, Roque B. Ablan did not allow poverty to limit his development as a person. He worked as a helper in a lumberyard in Laoag to earn extra money so that he could complete his elementary schooling at Laoag Elementary School and his high school at the Ilocos Norte Provincial High School in 1924. He went to the University of the Philippines and there obtain a Bachelor of Philosophy degree in 1929 and a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1930. He took the Bar Examinations and obtained 9^th place. He managed this despite being a self-supporting student.

            After graduation he went home to Laoag where he was elected governor at the age of 31. He was the youngest provincial executive of his time. He was backed by some colleagues but his victory was also partly ascribed to the work of his wife, Manuela Ravelo, of Batac, who was a schoolteacher and was fondly called Nana Mining. Their union was blessed with a child, Roque  Jr.

            As governor, he confronted two problems – lawlessness and unemployment. He sought to remedy this by increasing the daily wage of his province. One of his outstanding achievements as governor was the establishment of the provincial hospital in Ilocos Norte, which came to be considered as one of the best institutions in Luzon. He also established a branch of the Philippine Normal School in Laoag, which enabled the poorer families to send their children to college at minimal expense. He worked for the construction of the provincial capitol, the revival of rural credit, and the organization of the producer’s cooperatives. He also espoused the idea of giving more authority and power to local government. With his accomplishments, he was elected to a second term in 1941.

            When the Japanese landed at Vigan, Governor Ablan left the provincial capital of Laoag and transferred the seat of government to a remote barrio near the boundary of Ilocos Norte and Apayao. There he led in the organization of guerrilla units in coordination with Lt. Feliciano Madamba of the Philippine Army. By mid-January 1942, the Ablan-Madamba Guerrilla Group of Northern Luzon was well organized.

            The guerrilla group proved to be a torn on the side of the Japanese Imperial Forces. Many able men and women joined the organization. On December 10, 1942, the courageous governor and guerrilla leader left for Cagayan to confer with Governor Marcelo Adduru. His last words to his family reportedly were: “How I hate myself for having only one life to give to my country. But don’t cry. I will be back when liberty returns to our people.” He never came back and is believed to have been killed in an encounter with the Japanese or was captured, imprisoned, and subsequently executed by the enemy.

            Governor Roque Ablan Sr. has earned a place and honor in our country’s history through his heroic deeds and unselfish services he made to Ilocos Norte and the country.

SOURCE :            Manila Bulletin. 404 : 9 (11)  August 9, 2006              

CATALINO P. ACOSTA

(Military Governor of Ilocos Norte )

            Born on November 25, 1903 in Batac, Ilocos Norte from spouses Mauricio Mata Acosta and Serapina Paloyo of the same town, Catalino completed his elementary and secondary education in Batac. He obtained his college degree in agriculture at U.P. Los Baños, Laguna.

            Shortly after his graduation, he was appointed as farm manager at the Batac Farm School from 1925 to 1938. He was the Assistant Provincial Agriculturist from 1938 to 1939.

            Catalino was elected municipal mayor of Batac from 1940 to 1944. He was the only mayor of Ilocos Norte who did not surrender to the Japanese during World War II. After the war, he was appointed Military Governor of the province by then Major O’Day of the U.S. Army.

            As a military man, he was appointed in-charge of the surrendered Hukbalahap group headed to Capatagan Lanao for settlement. He was also appointed principal of the AFP School of Enlisted Men (AFPSEM) in McKinley, Rizal.

            After his retirement from the army, he was elected Barrio Leiutenant of Parongopong, Batac where his family lived.

            He died on January 6, 1976. In recognition to his untainted service to his people and community, a school was named after him, the Catalino P. Acosta Memorial Elementary School which was approved during the term of Governor Elizabeth Marcos Keon.

SOURCE :            Reproduced from an antiquated library material

FE P. ACOSTA - AGUINALDO

Fe P. Acosta-Aguinaldo is the first lady mayor of Batac. She has the rare distinction of running unopposed in that office in 1980. She was born on September 30, 1930 to the late Col. Catalino P. Acosta and the former Maria Morales Pesarillo. Her father was an army officer, a former mayor of Batac as well as the military governor of Ilocos Norte just after the Second World War.

Fe graduated from the Batac Elementary School in 1945 as first honor. She finished her secondary studies at the Abad Santos High School, Arellano University, Pasay City in Summer 1948 as first honorable mention. Then she took pre-law at the Arellano University and graduated in 1949 as cum laude. She finished her Bachelor of Laws degree at the Abad Santos Law School, Manila in 1953 and passed the bar examination in the same year. In 1955, she was elected as councilor of the town. In 1959, she ran for vice-mayor and had the distinction of being the first elected lady vice-mayor. While serving as Sangguniang Bayan member in 1976, she was appointed as member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan by Ilocos Norte Governor Elizabeth Marcos Keon. On January 17, 1977, President Ferdinand E. Marcos appointed her as the first lady Mayor of Batac.

In the election of 1980, she ran for mayor of Batac and for the first time in the political history of the town, a candidate for mayor was unopposed.

For all her noteworthy activities and dedicated services in the public and private sectors, Fe P. Acosta ­Aguinaldo was Region I nominee for the 1998 National Search for the 8^th Rafael M. Salas Population and Development Award, Commission on Population, Regional Office No.1 San Juan, La Union on November 18, 1998. She was a Gintong Ina Awardee in May 1997; and National Golden Awardee for excellence and meritorious contributions to human upliftment and dedication to duty by the United Group of Charities and Human Development, Inc., at the Aberdeen Court, Quezon City on March 13, 1999.

Fe was married to the late former Regional Trial Court Judge, Zoilo Aguinaldo of Laoag City. Their marriage was blessed with five successful children.

SOURCE:

                Cadiz, Ernesto Ma., et al. Batac : Craddle of Eminent Men and Women.      Batac, Ilocos                                        Norte : Mariano Marcos State University. c2000.

GREGORIO AGLIPAY

(Founder of Philippine Independent Church)

            Many native Filipinos took up priesthood during the Spanish colonial regime because they saw in this vocation a means to change the oppressive conditions prevailing in the country. For demanding the secularization of Philippine parishes, Fr. Jose Burgos lost his life. The garrote however failed to kill the movement he led. His death nourished it. Fr. Gregorio L. Aglipay took up where Fr. Burgos left off. He succeeded not only in secularizing Philippine parishes but also the establishment of religious freedom in the country.

            Priest-warrior, nationalist, patriot and revolutionary hero, Fr. Gregorio Aglipay y Labayaen was born in Batac, Ilocos Norte on May 5, 1860. After finishing his studies at San Juan de Letran, he entered the University of Santo Tomas (UST) to study law but left and entered the Vigan missionary in 1883. Ordained priest on December 21, 1889, he served as coadjutor of various towns in Cavite, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Laguna, and Tarlac. In early 1896, while coadjutor of Victoria, Tarlac, he helped Valentin Diaz and Francisco Makabulos established a Katipunan branch in Victoria.

            Fr. Agl;ipay was one of the Filipino priests who immediately joined the revolutionary government of Emilio F. Aguinaldo. On October 30, 1898, General Emilio Aguinaldo appointed him Military Vicar General, thus making him the highest church dignitary of the Filipinos, the “Chief religious leader of the people in arms”, he said.

             The Filipino delagates’ approval of the Malolos Constitution providing for the separation of church and state strengthened Fr. Aglipay’s efforts to effect a religious revolution in the country. At his initiative, several Filipino priests convened at Paniqui, Tarlac, and decided to establish a Filipino church. This assembly established the foundations of Filipino leadership in all ecclesiastical matters in the country.

            Archbishop Nozaleda’s restoration of the friars to their respective parishes led to the establishment of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente and the eventual secularization of the parishes in the country. On August 3, 1902, the Iglesia Filipina Independiente was established with Fr. Aglipay as its first Obispo Maximo (Supreme Bishop)

            While advancing the cause of the Filipino clergy, Father Aglipay was equally active in fighting for the freedom of his country. He joined the Filipino forces in Ilocos Norte and waged guerrilla war against the Americans until April, 1901, when he ceased armed resistance. Until his death on September 1, 1940, Fr. Aglipay actively supported the Filipino quest for freedom. He was member of the Association de Veteranos de la Revolucion when it was founded in 1912. He ran for president of the country in 1935 but lost to Manuel L. Quezon.

            A priest rang the bell signaling the start of the Mexican revolution in 1820. Another priest, Fr. Gregorio Aglipay, led a successful religious revolution in the Philippines. The Iglesia Filipina Independiente, religious freedom and the secularization of Philippine parishes were his lasting contributions to his country and people.

           

SOURCE :            Manila Bulletin. 413: 6 (11)  May 6, 2007

ERIC FORMOSO ANG

(First Olympian from Laoag City)

            Philippine contingent to 2008 Beijing Olympic, businessman Eric Formoso Ang,  is a native of Laoag City and born to a family of Filipino-Chinese entrepreneurs.

            Eric Ang earned an Olympic wild card berth for trap shooting based on his sterling performances in international competitions. He holds the record of 121 birds in the Philippine Trap Shooting Event. He was bronze medalist during the 2002 Asian Games held in Busan, South Korea. He ranked 21^st among the 92 competitors during the qualifying event for the 2008 Olympics.

            The oldest athlete in the country’s delegation of 15 at 37, Ang, competed in three world meets in 2008 in Beijing, Suhl in Germany and Belgrade in Serbia. It was in Suhl where Ang posted a new Philippine record of 121 birds and wound up tied in sixth spot with Athens Olympic gold medalist Aleksei Alipov of Russia. Ang, the best Asian placer finished only two birds behind world titlist and 2000 Olympic gold medalist Michael Diamond of Australia.

            A five-time Southeast Asian (SEA) Games shooter, Ang qualified for the Beijing Olympics through merit. He was awarded a “university” slot during a federation General Assembly meeting in Beijing. He earned the berth because of his status as one of Asia’s top 15 trap shooters.

            Ang used an Italian custom-made berretta DT-10 shotgun in the Olympic. There were 125 targets in men’s trap where clay “birds” were hurtled into the air.

REFERENCE:    

                Henson, Joaquin. “Olympic Medal Possible for Ang”. Phil. Star 23(11) : 26.  Aug. 8, 2008.

                         

                                                                                                                                                               

RODOLFO G. BIAZON

            Rodolfo G. Biazon, a military officer, legislator and peacemaker is among the Ilocanos who are willing and ready to give the best of himself when the opportunity demands. He was Chief of Staff of the Armed forces of the Philippines, the highest position in military. He is at present a legislator having been elected twice to the Philippine Senate. He was also consultant, Government of the Republic of the Philippines Peace Negotiating Panel.

After finishing his elementary and secondary education at the Pasay City Elementary School and at the Arellano University, respectively, he enrolled at the FEATI University where he started Bachelor of Science in Engineering. But the call to military service was strong and he endeavored to pass the difficult entrance examination to the Philippine Military Academy where he graduated in 1961.

            As a soldier and gentleman he committed his life in defense of his country from the external and internal enemy and uphold the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines. He rose to the highest post in the Armed Forces of the country.

            His sincere and selfless devotion to duty are evidenced by the numerous awards he received such as: fifteen individual and campaign medals for meritorious achievements and exemplary performance of duty and participation in anti-dissidence campaigns as well as disaster rescue and relief operations, outstanding achievement medals for pubic service of the highest order, Philippine Legion of Honor  for eminently meritorious service, six times recipient of the Distinguished service Star Award for his eminently meritorious and invaluable service in a position of major responsibility, Distinguished Conduct Star for conspicuous acts of gallantry and courage in action, and Gold Cross for gallantry in action and Bronze Cross for heroism involving risk of life.

            General Biazon was the first marine officer to be given the rank of major general; the first marine officer to become superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy; and the first marine officer to rise through the flag ranks and became AFP Chief of Staff. He spent eighteen years in Mindanao defending the Republic from the Muslim insurgents. And he successfully countered seven coup attempts stage by ultra-rightist rebels and upheld the Constitution of the Republic.

            Biazon is a staunch proponent of the AFP modernization program and in the redirection of the AFP’s role from internal conflicts to external defense. He instituted reforms in the Armed Forces ad planed for morale-boosting programs such as the issuance of the AFP Code of Conduct. He also formulated strategies that countered the insurgency problem particularly in the volatile “laboratory of insurgency” in Davao. Likewise he submitted an analysis of insurgency. He called “Scramble for Mass Support” which eventually led to new strategies adopted by AFP.

            As senator, he filed 233 bills and resolutions as author, co-author ad sponsor, 19 of which became laws. Among the bills he filed that were enacted into laws are: (1) Republic Act 7838 or the Comprehensive and Integrated Shelter Finance Act of 1995 infusingP38.5billion into the housing program of the government; (2) Republic Act 7898 or the  AFP Modernization Act; (3) republic Act 7742 or the Mandatory PAG-IBIG Membership Law; (4)Republic Act 7659 or the Death Penalty Law which amended the Revised Penal Code and (5) Republic Act 7889 or the law creating the University of the Philippines in Mindanao.

            Senator Biazon was chairman of the Senate Committee o Peace ad Reconciliation ad member of the National Unification Commission which greatly contributed to the success of the peace program of the government. In addition, he was vice-chairman of the Senate Committee on National Defense and was instrumental in the passage of legislation that increased the benefits of policemen and soldiers and drafting of national policies on defense and security as well as the modernization of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the AFP. During his term as chairman of the Housing Committee, he elevated the issue of housing to the highest level of priority of the government.

            Senator Biazon was honorary member of the Rotary Club of Parañaque and the National Real Estate Association; and a member of the Association of Generals and Flag Officers, Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association, ad PMA Class ’61 Alumni Association.

            Senator Biazon also finished the top Management Program at the Asian Institute of Management; Command and General Staff course in Virginia, U.S.A.; Crisis Management Program in California, U.S.A.; Allied Combat Intelligence Course, Okinawa, Japan; Senior Officer Maintenance Course, Kentucky, U.S.A.; and Amphibious Warfare Course, Virginia, U.S.A.

            General Biazon was born in Batac, Ilocos Norte on April 14, 1935 to Rufino Biazon and Juliana G. Biazon. He married Monserrat Bunoan and they are blessed with three children: Rita Rosanna Biazon-Gochangco, Rino Rudiyardo, and Rozzano Rufino.

SOURCE:

                Cadiz, Ernesto Ma., et al. Batac : Craddle of Eminent Men and Women. Batac, Ilocos                                             Norte : Mariano Marcos State University, 2000.

GUILLERMO J. BLANCO

( Ichthyologist )

       Guillermo Julian Blanco was born on February 8, 1906 in Laoag City.  His fields of expertise were Fisheries Technology, Icthyology and Fish Culture.  He obtained a B.S. Zoology Degree at the University in Washington, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A in 1932 and a Masters Degree in 1933.  He became a member in organizations such as American Men of Science, National Research Council of the Philippines, Phi Sigma (Biological Honor Society), Fisheries Society of the Philippines and India Academy of Zoology.  He was a Fellow in The Philippine  Association for the Advancement of Science.  He authored more than 80 journals and books on ichthyology..  He was also a poet and used the pseudonym "Billy White". 

      In 1933, he started working as Assistant Fishery Technologist at the Bureau of Science and Fish and Game Administration.  He went on to become a Fishery Inspector and Aquatic Biologist at the Bureau of Forestry and Fisheries and PECAU, U.S. Army.  He later on became the Chief of the Estuarine Fisheries Division of the Philippine Fisheries Commission.

        Blanco married an English teacher, Rosario Peralta Blanco ( daughter of Governor Celestino Peralta and Norberta Lazo Peralta of Laoag City). They were blessed with seven children:  Conchita, Dinah, Ruben ( who became a Councilor of Laoag City), Homer, Eden, Guillermo "Billy" II and Rosemarie.  Blanco and family later took residence in Project 6, Forestry St., Quezon City.

Source:  Scientists Database. http://webdb.stii.dost.gov.ph

ELIAS L. CALACAL

(Scientist and Inventor)

Dr. Elias L. Calacal is one of the living proofs that with strong will and determination poverty is not a hindrance to success. Besides being born to a poor family on March 9, 1933 in Barangay Cangrunaan, Batac, Ilocos Norte, his father died when he was only a month old leaving the responsibility of bringing up the family on the shoulders of his widowed mother.

Young Elias was not disheartened. In spite of the many deprivations in life, he managed to be at the top of his class. As a valedictorian of his class he was an entrance scholar at the Adamson University where he took Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. Before he completed the course, an opportunity came to him to pursue the course in Ceramics Engineering in Japan as a MONBUSBO scholar of the Japanese government at the Nagoya Institute of Technology. He was one of the first three Filipino MONBUSBO scholars. He finished the course in 1958 after which he pursued Master of Science in Chemical Engineering and Industrial Chemistry at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. He pursued Doctor of Science in Chemical Engineering and Industrial Chemistry. In 1974, he was granted the Fulbright-Hays Scholarship by the Philippine-American Educational Foundation (PAEF) Manila and obtained the degree in Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Science and Engineering in 1980 at the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.

While in the United States, he was awarded the AZEBEDO Award in recognition of his most outstanding contribution in cellular ceramics research during the 22nd Brazilian Ceramic Congress held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on April 7, 1978. In 1977 to 1980, the National Science Foundation University of Washington awarded him a research scholarship on "Sintering Characteristics of Diatomite".  It was his contribution to the study of diatomite characteristics that enabled space rockets to zoom into the vast universe and conduct studies in space.

When he came back to the Philippines, he contributed to the improvement of acoustic and insulation materials by inventing the Light Weight Aggregate (L W A). He also invented an effective substance to replace imported material for the drilling industry by using drilling mud from Philippine raw material.

On June 1, 1993, Dr. Elias L. Calacal was appointed President of the Mariano Marcos State University by His Excellency President Fidel V. Ramos who described him as an excellent leader, inventor and active scientist with many virtues (macalacal).

Dr. Calacal has written sixteen engineering textbooks, mostly in the fields of mineralogy, industrial processes, metallurgy, pollution country, glass technology and others.

SOURCE:

                Cadiz, Ernesto Ma., et al. Batac : Craddle of Eminent Men and Women.      Batac, Ilocos                                        Norte : Mariano Marcos State University. c2000.

DON CLARO CALUYA

(Renowned Ilocano Poet)

            Don Claro is a renowned poet from Ilocos Norte. He composed the famous Ilocano song “Bannatiran”. The Caluyas originated from Vintar but resided in Piddig, Ilocos Norte, where the great poet was born.

            Also called Lolo Lalong, Don Claro was fondly remembered by his relatives as physically attractive guy, well groomed and who often dressed fashionably. However, he was always looked down at by the wealthier people for he was only the son of a “kutsero” or rig driver. This was also the reason why he failed to win the heart of the lady he dearly adorned, the charming Doña Velentina of Laoag. After falling in love with another girl, Don Claro married  Sabina Aquino. They lived together but never had a child. 

            Don Claro is believed to have obtained his formal education in a school in Laoag in 1882. He became a “Cabeza de Barangay” in 1890 at the age of twenty-two and “Capitan Municipal” from 1893-1896. He also joined the Revolution against the Spaniards in 1893-1896 and later the Filipino-American War. A close relative of his, Agustina Aquino, recounted that her father and Lolo Balong headed to the mountains to join the forces of General Tinio, then the youngest general of the Revolution. After the war, Don Claro became the town’s chief executive from 1903-1905.

JACINTO CAOILI

            Jacinto Caoili was born in Ilo-ilo (Acosta) Batac, Ilocos Norte in 1770. His mother was Isabel caoili. In Manila, he met Father Marshall, a Spanish friar, who believed in his capabilities and took him to work with him at the University Press of the University of Santo Tomas, then the biggest printing press in the country.

            Caoili is the only notable Ilocano poet of the eighteen century when evangelization was strong who wrote religious poems. One of his works, “Urbana ken Feliza,” a long narrative poem, was translated into Tagalog “Urbana at Ffeliza”. His prose works include: “Kabibiag Ni Apo Jesucristo” (The Life of Jesus Christ) believed to be the original passion; Ti Tao ken Ti Lubong (Man and the World), “Agbabawika” (Repent) and “Ni Managindadakkel” (The Boastful).

SOURCE:            

Cadiz, Ernesto Ma., et al. Batac : Craddle of Eminent Men and Women. Batac, Ilocos                                             Norte: Mariano Marcos State University, 2000.

FRED RUIZ CASTRO

(Chief Justice and Father of SCRA)

            Fred Ruiz Castro was the Chief Justice of the Philippines from January 5, 1976 until his death on April 19, 1979 while on an official trip to India.

            He was born in Laoag, Ilocos Norte to Dr. Santos Castro and Engracia Ruiz. He finished his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the Philippines in 1936.

            Castro was Judge Advocate General of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and was appointed Executive Secretary by President Ramon Magsaysay in 1954. Upon retirement from the AFP, he continued his law practice. From 1956-1966, he became an Associate Justice for the Court of Appeals. He also became Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on May 29, 1966 and eventually became part of the Supreme Court’s retiring as one of the most prominent justices of his time. Even President Marcos ordered a museum collection to be built in his memory.

            Castro was considered one of the advocates for the integration of the Philippine Bar, paving the way for the establishment of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines in the 1970’s. He is also behind the creation of the Supreme Court Reports Annotated (SCRA), which is currently the voluminous source of decisions of the Supreme Court used by practitioners and law students.

            Castro, together with Justice Querube Makalintal, was the ‘swing vote’ in the Ratification Cases which upheld the 1973 Constitution, which paved the way of extending Marcos’ regime. When the question of whether the petitioners are entitled to relief, the two justices answered ‘No’, thus upholding the 1973 Constitution and made legitimate the rule of Marcos and his power.

                                                            

SOURCE:             http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Ruiz_Castro

GENERAL ROY CIMATU

            Former General Roy Cimatu graduated from the Philippine Military Academy in 1970s and spent the early part of his career in combat in rebellion-wracked Mindanao, where he rose from army platoon leader to a brigade commander. Cimatu, is also a pilot, trained in the US Army Command and Staff College at Forth Leavenworth, Kansas. A native of Bangui, Ilocos Norte and once chief of the Armed Forces Southern Command and commands 40 percent of the country’s 130,000-strong military. During the all-out war waged by deposed President Joseph Estrada in 2000, Cimatu was chief of the 4th Infantry Division based in Cagayan de Oro. Then Commander of the Southcom Infantry Division, General Roy Cimatu took the helm of the Southcom and was the 29th AFP Chief of Staff of the Arroyo Administration.

As SouthCom chief, Cimatu was the pointman in the Philippine government’s operations to crush the Abu Sayyaf and rescue the remaining hostages, Martin and Gracia Burnham and Filipina nurse, Ediborah Yap.

During the time when he was appointed as AFP Chief of Staff, Cimatu still in the jungle base of the Army Scout Rangers in Cabunbata, Basilan crushing Abu Sayyaf, the last mission he had in the field of his military career.

Throughout his stint as Southern Command Commander, Cimatu impressed both Philippine foot soldiers and American top brass with his excellent and aggressive campaign plans against Abu Sayyaf. He was then called “Pacman” by many and dubbed as a “Thinking General” and a “Smiling General”.

His boldness in the application of science and innovative application of conventional warfare that he had made fashionable during his war records, all of these today become part of the doctrine of Philippine Military warfare.

After he retired from service, the Arroyo administration appointed him as the Special Envoy to the Middle East with a title “Ambassador”. He was the chief negotiator for the released of the OFW kidnap victims in Iraq. Also he was the head of the panel that oversees contingency measures for the welfare of OFW’s in the Middle East in times of troubles.

SOURCE:

http://ofwempowerment.wordpress.com/2006/04/23/special-envoy-to-me-roy-cimatu/

JOSE L. CORPUZ, SR.

Dr. Jose L. Corpuz was born on April 20, 1920. He finished his secondary education at the Batac Rural High School. Then he pursued medicine at the University of Santo Tomas but the outbreak of the Second World War interrupted his studies.

He joined the USAFIP- Northern Luzon where he served as a medic with the rank of corporal. He fought at the east of Anggaki, Tirad Pass and later at Bessang Pass., all in Ilocos Sur. He was among the first to enter Cervantes, Ilocos Sur during the liberation in hot pursuit of the Japanese toward Kayan, Kalunagan, Tadian and Bauko, Mountain Province. Due to his courage, he was selected as a member of a suicide company to rescue fifty Americans held prisoners by the Japanese at Mount Data. Unluckily, they did not find the prisoners but they engaged the enemies in several dangerous fights. He was considered by the American Army a hero and was accordingly granted the Purple Heart Medal.

SOURCE:

                Cadiz, Ernesto Ma., et al. Batac : Craddle of Eminent Men and Women.      Batac, Ilocos                                        Norte : Mariano Marcos State University. c2000.

ENRIQUETA DE PERALTA

            Doña Enriqueta de Peralta of Dingras, Ilocos Norte was a poetess whose poems and writings were full of patriotic fervor. Her works were all in Iloko language. She was considered as one of the best poetess that Ilocandia has ever produced.

SOURCE:

       *Reproduced from an antiquated library article by Emilio Alvarez (Provincial Librarian)

PRIMO D. LAZARO

           

Primo D. Lazaro was born in Laoag, Ilocos Norte on June 29, 1898. A self- supporting student, he took up law at the University of the Philippines and was a Bar topnotcher in 1930. His profound passion as a lawyer and his numerous accomplishments made him one of the most outstanding law practitioners in his time.

            Lazaro started his political career as a councilor of Laoag. He became a provincial Board Member of the province until he was elected governor of Ilocos Norte in 1947. He reached the pinnacle of his political career when he worked as a secretary to former President Elpidio Quirino, then a senator.

            Being a brave guerilla during the Second World War, Primo Lazaro, was chief of the intelligence corpse of the Ablan-Madamba group operating in Northern Luzon.

             When the Philippine National Red Cross, Laoag-Ilocos Norte Chapter was organized in the province, Governor Lazaro was its first chairman, serving in such capacity for four years from 1947 to 1951.

            Gov. Lazaro died a well respected man on July 17, 1980.

REFERENCE :    Primo D. Lazaro Marker, Brgy. 2, Laoag City

JOSEFA LLANES ESCODA

(World War II Heroine)

            Josefa Llanes Escoda paid a grim price in the performance of a noble mission. Her martyrdom will shine forever as a living symbol of the true spirit of the Filipino woman.

            The eldest child of the couple, Gabriel Llanes, a music teacher, and Mercedes Madamba, Escoda was born in Dingras, Ilocos Norte on September 20, 1898. After graduating with honors from the Philippine Normal School in 1918, she, a self-supporting student, obtained her H.T.C. from the University of the Philippines in 1922. Giving up teaching in various colleges, she joined the American Red Cross, Philippine Chapter, as a social worker.

            Granted a Red Cross pensionadoship, Escoda underwent intensive training in social welfare work in New York School of Social Work in 1925. That same year, Columbia University conferred upon her the degree of Master of Arts in Social Work.

            As the Red Cross field secretary from 1928 to 1932, Escoda organized provincial chapters, assisted the unemployed in getting jobs, and aided the needy families. Transferred to the Bureau of Health as the Health Messenger editor, she worked for legislation to improve health and sanitation in the rural areas, to modernize the prison and penal system, and to extend adult education to the rural folks. She also campaigned hard for the establishment of free nursery classes in Manila. She started plans for the establishment of a Boys Town and formed Boys Clubs among underprivileged boys.

            Realizing the tremendous influence of Girl Scouting, Escoda returned to the United States in 1939 to undergo training in Girl Scouting. The following year she formed the nucleus of the national organization for Girl Scouting and became its first national executive. On May 26, 1940, President Quezon signed Commonwealth Act 542 creating the Girl Scout of the Philippines.

            When World War II broke out on December 8, 1941, Escoda shifted her interest to the plight of the Filipino soldiers and the civilian population. In the infamous Death March, she met the surrenderers in San Fernando, Pampanga with food. Afterwards she compiled the names of the war prisoners confined in Camp O’Donnell in Capas, Tarlac. By a variety of ruses she succeeded in the next three years in making frequent trips to Capas where she supplied the emaciated inmates with foodstuffs, medicines, used clothings, old shoes and even coconut shells for plates.

            As president of the National Federation of Women’s Clubs, Escoda converted the clubhouse into quarters for stranded women-students who volunteered to make clothes for the war prisoners and guerillas. When the living costs went up, she inaugurated the community kitchens which for months served free rice and food.

            Escoda’s wartime activities continued up to mid-1944 when, on August 27, her friends learned through grapevine that she had been taken in by the Japanese Kempetai who confined her in Fort Santiago. Together with her husband, Antonio Escoda, she was tortured for refusing to divulge vital information.

            Just how Escoda died nothing definite is yet known. But all are agreed that she must have met her death gallantly sometime in January 1945, shortly before the American liberators freed Manila.

             

SOURCE :            The Sunday Times. September 17, 1965

RODOLFO C. FARIÑAS

            Born on September 5, 1951, Rodolfo C. Fariñas is the second of the six siblings brought into life by Federico L. Fariñas and Remedios Castro Fariñas of Laoag City who, during their prime, owned and managed a successful transport business, the Fariñas Trans.

            Rudy, as commonly called by his friends and relatives, was a consistent honor student during his elementary and secondary years.

Fariñas entered university life at the Ateneo de Manila University obtaining the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1971. Aspiring for greater educational attainment, he enrolled in Bachelor of Laws in the same school. He graduated in 1978 second honors in the Dean’s list. With an exceptional memory, Fariñas placed eight in the 1978 Bar Exam.

            Governor Fariñas began his political career when he was elected as City Mayor of Laoag in the election of January 30, 1980 at the age of 28 making him one of the youngest elected city mayors in the Philippines. With his excitingly different breed of leadership, Laoag City underwent infrastructural face-lift as more projects were implemented. He was also elected to the position of Director of City Mayors’ League of the Philippines from 1981-1986. Fariñas enjoyed greater prominence in the national scene after the 1986 Edsa Revolution when the people of Laoag City rallied behind him to reject the new regime’s move to replace all incumbent officials in the country with appointed Officers-in-Charge (OIC). 

            Rudy received the mandate to govern the province of Ilocos Norte in the 1988 local election where he won in a landslide victory. He re-elected in 1992 and 1995 serving for ten consecutive years. During his term, Fariñas held various posts and chairmanships like national president of JAYCEES, regional chairman of Ilocos Region Peace and Order Council (RPOC) and Reserve Officer’s League of the Philippines (ROLP), to name a few. He also received various awards and commendations, most important of which were the Most Outstanding Provincial Governor, 1988 and Most Outstanding Governor Award of the Year, 1996.

            The province of Ilocos Norte saw Fariñas as a committed and energetic governor who closely monitored the functions of the provincial government and actively participated in rescue operations when calamities battered the province.  With his program “Rang-ay ti Barangay”, he brought the government closer to the people by personally delivering the government’s programs and services to remotest areas of the province. Governor Fariñas made headway in the areas of education, health, agriculture, sports, tourism and peace and order. Through his leadership, the insurgency problem of the province was reduced dramatically thus restoring peace and security in the province.

            It was during the term of Fariñas when the governor’s fee was enacted, which contributed to the increased revenues of the province.

Eric G. Coloma

SANTIAGO SUGUITAN FONACIER

            Senator Santiago A. Fonacier was born in Laoag, Ilocos Norte on May 21, 1885. He took his elementary education in his town and secondary education in a high school accredited by the University of Santo Tomas and the Liceo de Manila. He studied for the priesthood in a seminary of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente and was ordained priest in 1902.

            After his ordination, he taught for two years. However, being inclined towards journalism, he left teaching and founded and edited Spanish periodicals, among them La Lucha, which survived from the 1900’s to 1941. Thereafter, he became a reporter of La Democracia and El Grito del Pueblo. He did translations into Ilocano of Rizal’s two novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo.

In 1912, Fonacier was elected to the first Philippine Assembly as representative of the first district of Ilocos Norte. He served in full his four-year term. In the following election, 1919, he ran and won as senator for the first senatorial district, composed of the provinces of Abra, Batanes, Cagayan Valley, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte and Isabela.

Aside from being an assemblyman and senator, he served the government as a member of the Board of Regents of the University of the Philippines, the Philippine Independence mission to the United States, the Institute of National Textbook Board, and served as a military chaplain.

            Fonacier was one of the original followers of Msgr. Gregorio Aglipay, the famous Filipino clergyman and revolutionary who founded the Iglesia Filipina Independente as a renegade Catholic sect free from the jurisdiction and rules of the Roman Catholic Church and the Vatican itself. He succeeded Aglipay.

            Bishop Fonacier died at the age of 92 on December 8, 1977. He was married to Carmen Jamias with whom he had eight children.

SOURCE:

            http://www.senate.gov.ph/senators/former_senators/santiago_fonacier.ht

ELIZABETH MARCOS-KEON

(First Lady Vice-Governor and First Lady Governor of Ilocos Norte)

           

Recorded in the history of Ilocos Norte as the first lady vice-governor and lady-governor, Elizabeth Marcos-Keon was the third child of Assemblyman Mariano R. Marcos and Doña Josefa Edralin Marcos of Batac, Ilocos Norte. She was born on November 27, 1921.

            After finishing her elementary schooling in her hometown, Elizabeth went in to the University of the Philippines to finish her secondary education. She also obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in the same school.

            After college, she immediately plunged into the newspaper world and landed in 1964 as society editor and feature writer of the now defunct Manila Post. With the writer’s ink literary flowing in her veins, she took an extensive travel in South-East Asia to do a travel book for the Cali Airlines. Gaining experience as a versatile and prolific writer, the Philippines Herald commissioned her as its foreign correspondent.

            It was presumably in her foreign coverages where Beth took notice that the people of Indonesia were needed to be free like the rest of the people of the free world. Doing an odd job for Indonesia, she helped set-up in 1948 an Indonesian Center of information and propaganda with Singapore as its base.

            Beth made a night flight to the Indonesian rebel capital, Jaggakarta, for a secret mission. She even experience riding on tanks braving the hissing of machinegun bullets in the unchartered jungle of Malaysia just to bring on-the-spot stories of communist upsurge for the Filipino readers through the Philippine Herald.

            In 1953, Beth toured Europe and later in 1961, she joined the Philippine Embassy in Rome as press attaché.

            In 1965, when her brother, Ferdinand E. Marcos, then Senate president, ran for the presidency, she came back to the Philippines and played an off-the-scene role in her brother’s campaign. Then two years later, in 1967, Mrs. Elizabeth Marcos-Keon entered local politics in her home province and got a resounding vote of confidence

            Elizabeth E. Marcos became governor of Ilocos Norte from 1971 to 1982 serving for ten consecutive years. She was instrumental in the massive landscaping of the provincial capitol lawn in 1972 for the Centennial celebration of the founding of Ilocos.

Eric G. Coloma

REF:       Joint Inauguration and Induction of Elected Provincial Officials of Ilocos Norte and the Officials of Laoag City: Souvenir Program. January 1, 1968

MICHAEL MARCOS KEON

           

Governor Michael Edward Marcos Keon was born on September 22, 1956 in Rome, Italy while his mother, Elizabeth Marcos Keon, was serving as Press Attaché at the Philippine Embassy, and his father (and namesake) Michael Keon, was editor-in-chief of the biggest English language newspaper in the Mediterranean. He lived in Europe and Thailand before settling down in Australia, where he studied at Saint Patrick’s College, and was the school middle distance and cross country champion.

Coming to the Philippines, Gov. Keon continued his studies at the University of the Philippines, majoring in English Literature, with a minor in Political Science. While at U.P., he competed in the UAAP where he was the record holder in the 5,000 meter track event for 16 years. He has competed in national events as well as in the MILO Marathon. In 1978, Michael master-minded the creation of the University of the Philippines Road Runner’s Club, the first running club in the Philippines, which helped to spread the joys of distance running throughout the campus and precipitated an upsurge in distance-running participation.

             Keon is best known for his outstanding achievements as the no-nonsense head of Project: Gintong Alay, which made an initial impact on the public consciousness at the 1981 Southeast Asian Games in Manila.  Through his stewardship, the Philippines advanced from the original Asean level to the expanded SEA Games level and on to the Asian Games level.  In 2005, He was appointed as National Training Director for the Southeast Asian Games held in Thailand where the Philippines emerged as overall champion for the first time. 

            The initial entry of Keon to the provincial government happened when, as a sports consultant of his cousin, Gov. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., he put into place a strategic sports development program for the province that resulted in one of the greatest sports accomplishments Ilocos Norte has ever achieved - emerging overall champion for nine consecutive years in the Ilocos Region Athletic Association Meet (IRAA). Through his guidance, young athletes from the province made their mark in the regional and national competitions.

An accomplished sportsman, Keon rehabilitated the Ferdinand E. Marcos Stadium by improving its facilities especially the construction of a rubberized racetrack in 2008, a major project that greatly enhanced the province’s sport infrastructure which complemented the sports tourism program of Ilocos Norte. Keon is the first to conceptualize and promote sports tourism in the province of Ilocos Norte noting that the province has natural environment for surfing, snorkeling, mountain climbing and hiking.

 Eric G. Coloma

REFERENCES:       

Biographical sketch of Michael Edward Marcos Keon from the Office of the Governor                               http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=sports1_may19_2007

ANTONIO LUNA

            He was born in Urbiztondo Street, Binondo, Manila on October 29, 1866 to Don Joaquin Luna and Doña Laureana Novicio, both from prominent families of Badoc, Ilocos Norte. He entered the Ateneo de Manila where he began to take interest in literature and chemistry. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts in 1881. At the University of Santo Tomas, he won first prize for his composition “Dos Cuerpos Fundamentales de Quimica,” on the occasion of the elevation of Fr. Ceferino Gonzales to the Cardinalate. At the invitation of his brother, Juan, he left for Europe. He got a Licentiate in Pharmacy at the University of Barcelona. The Central University of Madrid conferred him his Doctor of Pharmacy in 1890.

             In Spain he wrote El Hematozoario Paludismo, acclaimed by leading bacteriologist in Europe as thorough and exhaustive scientific work. Using the pen name Taga Ilog, he published in the La Solidaridad “Impresiones” a satirical observation of Spanish customs and idiosyncrasies. After completing his studies, he toured Europe and came in contact with prominent bacteriologists. In 1894, he returned to the Philippines where he wrote less but was more vocal in advocating that the Philippines be made a province of Spain with the Filipinos enjoying the rights and privileges of Spanish citizens. He was not sympathetic to the Katipunan but advocated liberalism which caused his imprisonment in Madrid. After his release, he left for Belgium where he studied the art of military strategy under General Leman.

            In 1898, he surveyed the Manila-Dagupan terrain for possible defense perimeter against the American troops. In 1899, he was appointed Chief of War Operations with the rank of Brigadier General. After the fall of La Loma on February 5, 1899, he saw the urgency of reorganizing the army. A military academy was created at Malolos to train officers for field command. Officers of the 1896 revolution were recruited. A Red Cross chapter was also organized. To impose discipline among the officers and men, those who failed to follow military orders were disarmed, and in some instances, summarily executed. For instance, the members of Cauit Battalyon under the command of Col. Pedro Janolino were disarmed for refusing to attack during the battle of Caloocan. Due to his exacting disciplinary measures, he created enemies among the military and civilian officials, especially those close to Aguinaldo. Matters were exacerbated when he withheld the troops requested by Aguinaldo, claiming these were needed in the front lines.

            After the fall of Marilao, Bulacan on March 29, 1899, he was crushed not only by the defeat but by the lack of discipline among the Filipino troops. He tendered his resignation but Aguinaldo did not accept. He continued to fight in the fields of Pampanga, Tarlac and Pangasinan against the Americans.

            On June 4, 1899, he received a telegram from Aguinaldo ordering him to go to Cabanatuan for a conference. He arrived at the Cabanatuan Catholic Church Convent only to learn that Aguinaldo had left for Pampanga. Greatly provoked, he uttered insults at the President and berated the guards who were the same men he disarmed after the battle of Caloocan. When going down the stairs of the headquarter, the assassins riddled him with bullets and he was stabbed. After he was buried in the churchyard, Aguinaldo took command of the troops and relieved Luna’s officers and men.

            The main reason why Aguinaldo made him Director of War with the rank of Brigadier General was because of the shortage of capable military leaders. “None of our general officers had any formal military training,” he told a journalist. “Practically, all of them had recruited their own soldiers from among their tenants and neighbors and later often obeyed no one else. While most of our officers were men of intelligence and courage, they were generally incapable of large commands. Not only was Luna our ablest commander, but he has the foresight and ability to open and operate a military school in which to train most of our officers. We needed him to keep our forces as a coordinated unit. And we needed even his terrible temper to impose discipline on our unschooled army!”

                                                                                                                                               

SOURCE:             Quirino, Carlos. 1981. Filipinos at War.Manila : Vera Reyes Inc. p 150

JUAN LUNA

            Renowned painter and one of the heroes of the revolution, Juan Luna was born October 23, 1857 in Badoc, Ilocos Norte to proud parents Joaquin Luna and Laurena Novicio. His early years of school were at the Ateneo de Manila and pursue his learning for designing at the Academia de Dibujo Y Pintura in Manila.
            At the age of 17, Juan Luna obtained his certificate as a seaman and traveled to Spain in 1877. There he entered Escuela de Bella Artes to pursue a higher education in arts. Because of his outstanding skill in painting, he was selected by the Philippine government to become Pensionado in Europe.

Juan Luna’s famous works include the “The Death of Cleopatra”, which won him a silver medal at the National Exposition of Fine Arts (1881) and “The Spolarium”, his greatest masterpiece that won him a gold medal at the National Exposition of Fine Arts held in Madrid in 1884. The “Battle of Lepanto” won him another gold medal at the Barcelona Exposition in 1888. Among his last painting include “El Pacto de Sangre” which won first prize in Paris and at the St. Louis Exposition, USA in 1904.

            In 1891, Juan Luna returned to the Philippines and after a few years arrested because of suspected involvement with the Katipunan but was given pardon on the birthday anniversary of King Alfonso XIII.

He died December 7, 1899 of heart attack in Hong Kong.

SOURCE :            http://www.globalpinoy.com/

PRESIDENT FERDINAND EDRALIN MARCOS

Ferdinand E. Marcos (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was born in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte to Don Mariano Marcos, a lawyer who was an assemblyman for Ilocos Norte, and Doña Josefa Quetulio Edralín, a teacher. He was the second of four children. His siblings were Pacífico, Elizabeth and Fortuna. He was of mixed Filipino (Ilocano), Chinese, and Japanese ancestry. He started his primary education in Sarrat Central School. He was transferred to Shamrock Elementary School (Laoag), and finally to the Ermita Elementary School (Manila) when his father was elected as an Assemblyman in the Philippine Congress. He completed his primary education in 1929.

He served as 3rd lieutenant in the Philippine Constabulary Reserve in 1937. The same year, when he was still a law student at the University of the Philippines, Marcos was indicted for the assassination of Assemblyman Julio Nalundasan, one of his father's political rivals. Marcos was convicted in November 1939. He was offered a pardon by President Manuel Quezon, but he turned it down and voluntarily returned to the Laoag Provincial Jail where he spent time preparing his defense. On appeal, he argued his case before the Philippine Supreme Court and was acquitted the following year by then-Associate Justice Jose P. Laurel. In the University of the Philippines, Marcos was a member of the Upsilon Sigma Phi. After graduating with cum laude honors in 1939, he became the topnotcher of the Philippine bar examinations the same year.

Ferdinand Edralín Marcos was the tenth president of the Philippines, serving from 1965 to 1986. In 1972, he instituted an authoritarian regime that allowed him to stay in power until lifting it in 1981. He was elected the same year to another full term which was marred by personal health issues, political mismanagement and human rights violations by the military. In 1986, he was re-elected for the fourth time in a disputed snap election. As a result, that same year he was removed from office peacefully by the "People Power" EDSA Revolution. He has the distinction of being the last Senate President to be elected to the presidency and being the first president to be elected to two consecutive full terms.

SOURCE :            http://www.globalpinoy.com/

MA. IMELDA “IMEE” ROMUALDEZ MARCOS

            Ma. Imelda “Imee” Romualdez Marcos, the eldest of the three children of the late President of the Philippines Ferdinand Edralin Marcos of Batac, Ilocos Norte and Imelda Romualdez Marcos, former governor of Metro Manila and Congresswoman of Leyte, is at present the active representative of the Second District of Ilocos Norte to the House of Representatives, Congress of the Philippines.

            Imee is fully prepared to handle any job as she has sufficiently prepared herself well. From kindergarten through Grade 4 at the Institucion Teresiana (now Poveda Learning Ceter) up to First Year at the Assumption Convent in Manila, she was first honor in her class. In all the schools she went for her secondary education, at the Convent of the Holy Child Jesus, Mayfield, Sussex England; Royal Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in London; in the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts; and finally at the Santa Catalina Convent, Monterey, California, U.S.A., she always emerged either with distinction or as a class valedictorian.

            In college, she graduated with honors from the Princeton University, New Jersey, U.S.A. where she majored in religion and politics. She took Bachelor of Arts at the UP College of Law and was university and college scholar for four years, graduating as cum laude.

            Likewise, Imee studied at the Institute of Management in Makati where she took up the one-year masteral course on Management and Business Administration. She also took graduate studies in anthropology, sociology, literature, arts, history and theater at the Princeton University and at the University of the Philippines. She studied French and dialectical Arabic Language at the Royal University of Rabat, Rabat, Morocco. Furthermore, she took some course work in writing (screenplay, children’s literature), painting, art and interior design at the National University of Singapore Extramural Studies. Thus Imee is not only proficient in speaking Filipino, English, Waray and basic Ilocano, but she is also adept in speaking Spanish, French, Portugese, Italian, Mandarin, Arabic and basic Japanese.

            In 1975-1986, she served as the founding chairwoman of the Kabataang Barangay Foundation. She also went to the movie industry and was director-general of Experimental Cinema of the Philippines from 1981 to 1986. She was consultant/writer, of the Children’s Television Workshop for Asia, New York in 1977-1979 and was producer, director, and host of “Kulit Bulilit”, “Kaluskos Musmos”, and “Metro Magazine” in 1975-1986. She is the president/executive producer of Renegade Filmmakers.

            On May 11, 1998, Imee was elected representative of the Second District of Ilocos Norte. As a Congresswoman, she is a member, House Committee on Appropriation and chairman of Sub-Committee A-1; first vice-person, Committee on Public Information and chairman on the Sub-committee on Oversight; second vice-chairperson, Committee on Higher Education. She is second vice-chairman, Committee on Youth and Sports and chairman Sub-Committee on Youth Development. She is a member of various Committees: Public Works and Highways, Good Government, Women and Agriculture and Food.

            Imee holds the distinction of being the first congresswoman of the Second District of Ilocos Norte.

SOURCE:

                Cadiz, Ernesto Ma., et al. Batac : Craddle of Eminent Men and Women. Batac, Ilocos                                             Norte : Mariano Marcos State University, 2000.

FERDINAND “BONG-BONG” ROMUALDEZ MARCOS, JR.

                Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. popularly known as “Bong-Bong” Marcos, is the second child and the only son of the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos, President of the Republic of the Philippines and Imelda Romualdez, former Governor of Metro Manila and Congresswoman of Leyte.

            Governor Bong-Bong Marcos finished his elementary education at the La Salle Greenhills in 1975. He graduated at the Worth School in England for his secondary education in 1978. He enrolled at the Oxford University in England and finished the degree of Bachelor of Arts specializing in Political Science, Philosophy and Economics. He took his Master in Business Administration major in Business Administration in the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, USA in 1979-1981.

            In 1980 he was elected vice-governor of Ilocos Norte and in 1983 he was elected governor of the province. In 1992 he was elected congressman of the second district of Ilocos Norte. As a representative in the Congress of the Philippines he served as assistant majority floor leader and chairman, Committee on Youth and Sports Development. He was also a member of the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Ecology.

            In October 1994 he was awarded as the outstanding contributor of countrywide development fund (CDF) to Cooperatives. In November of the same year he was awarded for government and public service.

             During Marcos’ reign as governor of Ilocos Norte, the status of the province was boosted to a greater height through his developmental programs that focused on agriculture, education, tourism, health and sports. In the agricultural sector, the governor’s vision was the total transformation of the province into an agro-industrial center in the Ilocos Region. He funneled his effort in revitalizing the agriculture sector by implementing various programs and projects through the “Program Bannawag”.

            During the term of Marcos, the province turned into a sport powerhouse in the region winning the Ilocos Region Athletic Association meet (IRAA) for eight consecutive years.

            Tourism industry in the province surged during the term of Marcos. Aside from the upgrading of the existing tourist facilities in different parts of the province, Bong-Bong Marcos initiated and started the construction of the P472 million Hotel and Convention Center at Barangay Balacad Laoag City. In addition, eco-tourism projects, like the promotion of lesser known tourist destinations of Ilocos Norte, were undertaken which further drew more tourists to Ilocos Norte.

            The establishment of the Wind Mill Farm in Bangui was a remarkable endeavor Bong-Bong has accomplished as governor of Ilocos Norte. This multi-million dollar energy source is the first of its kind in the Philippines and South-East Asia reducing cost of electricity, luring tourists and attracting investments in the province. 

            He also founded the Volunteers for Filipinism Movement.                                               

Eric G. Coloma

REFERENCES:

                Cadiz, Ernesto Ma., et al. Batac : Craddle of Eminent Men and Women. Batac, Ilocos                                             Norte : Mariano Marcos State University, 2000.

                Bautista, Francisco C.  “All Eyes on Ilocos Norte”. Malaya. Feb. 27, 2007. p.C1

MARIANO N. NALUPTA, SR.

Mariano N. Nalupta, Sr. was born on May 30, 1904 to the late Francisco Nalupta and Valentina Najera at Suabit, now Barangay Nalupta, Batac, Ilocos Norte. He married the former Trinidad Rosario, a retired elementary school teacher. They nurtured seven successful children: Emma N. Dichoso (BS Biology), based in USA; Jesus (lawyer), former mayor of Batac; Norma (BSHE) based in USA; Estela (BSN), working abroad; Mariano, Jr. (lawyer), currently the vice-governor of Ilocos Norte; Victoria (BSN), working abroad; and Sonia (BSN), also working abroad.

He was the transition municipal mayor of Batac under the Philippine Commonwealth and the Republic of the Philippines. Hence, he was the last Batac mayor of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and the first mayor of the town when the country was granted political independence on July 4, 1946.

Nalupta was appointed mayor of Batac by the interim government in 1946. Subsequently he was elected mayor in 1947 for a three-year term and was re-elected in 1951 for his second term. Hence, was municipal mayor for nine years (1946 to 1955).

Being the first post-liberation mayor, Hon. Nalupta was responsible in rebuilding the town ravaged during World War II which finally ended in 1945. Being a disciplinarian, Nalupta was able to immediately restore peace and order by ridding the municipalities from all bad influences. After his mayorship, he zeroed-in his services as Barangay Captain for several years.

SOURCE:

                Cadiz, Ernesto Ma., et al. Batac : Craddle of Eminent Men and Women.      Batac, Ilocos                                        Norte : Mariano Marcos State University. c2000.

                                                                                                                                                                             

                                                                                                                                            

PAMULINAWEN

            Pamulinawen was the historic maiden by whom the regional love song of the Ilocanos entitled “Pamulinawen” is dedicated to. The term Pamulinawen is an old Ilocano name. The phrase “nasudi unay a nagan” (most illustrious name) and “nagan mo kasam-itan” (your sweetest name) found in the second stanza of the song refer to the lady named Pamulinawen.

            A careful study of the song (Pamulinawen) reveals the beautiful practices in the Ilocos in olden times wherein an Ilocana damsel who was endowed with the sterling virtues cherished by the Ilocanos was honored for having such unique traits. This practice perpetuated the notion that the maiden Pamulinawen symbolizes the ideal Ilocano womanhood.

SOURCE:

        *Reproduced from an antiquated library article by Emilio Alvarez (Provincial Librarian)

DIOSDADO M. PERALTA

            Born and bred in Laoag City, Peralta belongs to a prominent family. His late father, Elviro Lazo Peralta, was a CFI judge of Manila, law dean and law practitioner; and his mother, Catalina Guerrero Madarang, was a public school teacher. He is married to Fernanda Lampas, a certified public accountant and lawyer, who is presently an associate justice of the Court of Appeals. They have four children.

Peralta was appointed presiding justice of the Sandiganbayan when former presiding justice Teresita de Castro got her much-deserved promotion to the Supreme Court (SC). This recognition of the achievements of these outstanding members of the Bench confirms our faith that meritocracy is, in some way and by some means, still alive in the Judiciary.

            Presiding Justice Diosdado “Dado” Peralta finished his law degree at the University of Santo Tomas in 1979, and rose from the ranks by dint of sheer hard work: as an assistant prosecutor of Laoag City from 1987 to 1988, and later on of Manila from 1988 to 1994. As a prosecutor, he acquitted himself well in the prosecution of heinous crimes and violations of the Dangerous Drugs Act which earned him the award of Outstanding Public Prosecutor of Manila for 1990 and later the Most Outstanding Public Prosecutor of Manila for 1994 and a finalist in the Search for Outstanding Public Prosecutor in the 1994 Awards for Judicial Excellence.

            Peralta would later join the Bench, first as presiding judge of Regional Trial Court, Branch 95 of Quezon City. It was during this term that he was singled out for the Special Centennial Award in the field of Criminal Law, from among the outstanding magistrates of the country, during the 100th Year Anniversary Celebration of the SC in June 2001.

            A year later, the Foundation for Judicial Excellence showed the same eye for merit and achievement when it picked Peralta as Outstanding Regional Trial Court Judge among the foundation’s Judicial Excellence Awardees.

            That Peralta is an academic, being a Bar reviewer, professor, lecturer and resource person at the UP Law Center, UST and other notable law schools, makes him, as my classmate Edgar Asuncion says, “a walking, talking, intimidating authority on Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure.”

            Lest one would think that criminal law and procedure “is all that he’s got,” here is more of what constitutes the Peralta persona: He is a regular lecturer in substantive and procedural law of the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Program for lawyers. He is a member of the Corps of Professors, Department of Criminal Law and lecturer of the Philippine Judicial Academy. Presently, he sits as a member of the sub-committee on Evidence of the Supreme Court Committee on the Revision of the Rules of Court.

            The erudition of the man has already earned him numerous awards. He has climbed the judicial ladder at an amazingly fast pace. Laoag City has cited him as its Outstanding Citizen in the field of Law and Government Service. The Ulirang Ama Foundation has also cited him for his exemplary role as a family man despite the grueling and often thankless demands of his role in public service.

            Peralta had hardly warmed his seat as presiding justice when revelations were made at the Senate in its investigations into graft-ridden Philcomsat regarding the alleged payment of a P2-million “Cash for Sandiganbayan – TRO POTC/Philcomsat” to unnamed court personnel.

            Taking the issue by the horn and determined to keep the integrity of the Sandiganbayan intact, Peralta has proceeded to investigate the genesis of the Cash for Sandiganbayan – TRO POTC/Philcomsat” and who really benefited from it. Peralta, it now seems and rightly so, is determined to put a comeuppance to the mercenary ways of the lawyer suspected to have facilitated the payment who, notwithstanding his previous suspension by the SC, and the long string of pending cases against him, wants to drag the good name of the Sandiganbayan as he slides downhill to his professional ignominy and perdition.

And when he does, I’m sure that skeptics will again wag their tongues and cluck that Peralta would have no more hope of appointment for a higher position. After all, in reckless bravery Peralta is going after the untouchables in high places.

            Presiding Justice Peralta — “Dado” to the many whom he whacked white be-dimpled balls with at the Paoay golf course many years ago -— regardless of the appointing authority should, a few years from now, be sitting in the SC, bringing to that highest court of the land the highest standards he has imposed upon himself.                                                

SOURCE :            Daily Tribune. June 25, 2008

FIDEL V. RAMOS

            Fidel Valdez Ramos was born in Lingayen, Pangasinan on February 8, 1928. His father, Narcisco Ramos, was married to Angela Valdez Ramos from the prominent Valdez and Marcos clan of Ilocos Norte. He has two sisters, Leticia Ramos Shahani and Gloria Ramos de Rodda.

            Fidel V. Ramos was inaugurated president of the Philippines in June 1992. He had the mandate to continue the democratic reforms gained by the country during Corazon Aquino's peaceful people-power revolution of 1986.

            The eighth president of the postwar Philippine Republic, Fidel Valdez Ramos was known as a hero of the 1986 people-power revolution, the bloodless coup that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Corazon Aquino, the widow of Marcos' assassinated archenemy, was installed in the presidency at that time.

            People power was Ramos' idea of how to fight the weapons of the Marcos regime when the dictator, losing confidence in Constabulary Chief Fidel Ramos and his defense minister, Juan Ponce Enrile, set out to destroy them. Ramos asked Jaime Cardinal Sin to send people to protect their fortress, the Constabulary Camp at EDSA (Epifanio de los Santos Avenue). Cardinal Sin appealed to the people by radio, and millions of people surrounded the camp to protect Ramos, Enrile, and the soldiers who joined them. The people at EDSA thwarted tanks and armored vehicles, and in four days in 1986 caused the flight to Hawaii of Marcos and his family. Corazon C. Aquino, who may have won a controversial election against Marcos weeks before, became president, and democracy was restored after 20 years of autocratic rule.

            After the EDSA victory, "Eddie" Ramos, who had been a soldier all his adult life, served President Aquino as chief of staff of the armed forces of the Philippines and later as secretary of national defense. During the six years of Aquino's administration Ramos defeated seven coup attempts, two of them serious. His successful maneuvers against the coups earned for him the trust and confidence of President Aquino, who, towards the end of her term, openly supported him to be her successor to the presidency.

            Ramos won in the May 1992 elections over six other candidates, garnering only 24 percent of the votes but winning 800,000 votes more than his closest rival. Within his first year in office he was able to win over to his side a majority of the people, who developed confidence in his government. He gained their support through a strategy of reconciliation and a strong hands-on leadership. The restoration of democracy was a long, difficult task, while at the same time Ramos had to attend to major economic and social problems that had grown during the Marcos years.

            Under Ramos' presidential leadership, the Philippines became known as the "Asian Tiger." He was widely credited for reviving the country's economy, and it grew at a brisk pace of seven percent annually through the mid-1990s. Admirers of his businesslike approach called him "Steady Eddie," and many foreign investors poured money into the country. He also ended crippling regulation of the telecommunications, banking, insurance, shipping and oil industries. Meanwhile, Ramos quieted long-standing troubles with Communist guerrillas, right-wing military offices and Muslim separatists, making life in the Philippines more stable than it had been in decades.

            Ramos grew up with a sense of government. His father served the Philippine Republic in the 1960s as secretary of national defense. He also came to the job of president educationally prepared, with a degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point and an engineering degree from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. In a country where law is the typical training for the presidency, Ramos came with atypical qualifications. He had only a short stint as a member of a political party, the ruling LDP (Lakas ng Demokratikong Pilipino or Fight of Democratic Filipinos), which then spurned him as their nominee for the presidency. However, Ramos ascended to the highest post in the land via a new party, the Lakas ng EDSA (Strength of EDSA) or NUCD (National Union of Christian Democrats). Lastly, in a country that was 85 percent Catholic, Ramos was the first Protestant president. He was married and the father of five daughters.

            The unusual people-power revolution at EDSA enabled an unusual person like Ramos to lead the Philippines. In December 1996, Ramos had surgery to remove a life-threatening blockage in the artery to his brain, but he recovered. Near the end of his term, supporters advocated changing the country's young Constitution to allow him to run for a second six-year term in 1998. They wanted to continue his steady leadership and the Phillippine economic rennaissance, arguing that no other candidate could fill his shoes as president. However, many others, including former president Aquino and the nation's 100 Roman Catholic bishops, strongly objected. They urged respect for the Constitution, warning any such change could plunge the country back to a Marcos-like dictatorship. Ramos, ever low-key, did not reveal his plans, but told reporters "I would not want the policies, the momentum, the tremendous progress we have achieved wasted."

SOURCE :            http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc (Encyclopedia of World Biography  (Date: 2004)

                               

ANTONIO V. RAQUIZA

(Former Congressman and Governor of Ilocos Norte)

            Years ago, a colleague in Congress said that “Representatives Antonio V. Raquiza “comes in and goes out of the House – and comes in again.” After that, Raquiza kept coming in but not out of the House, and will do that again and again for as long as he may wish.

            Raquiza’s colleague was commenting on his repeated re-election to the House of Representatives and his election to the governorship of his province (Ilocos Norte) while he was still serving his unexpired second term in the House.

            In the Sixth Congress of the Philippines, Raquiza was in his fifth term as representative of Ilocos Norte’s first district. He ran as an independent Liberal in the 1965 national elections, winning handily over his rivals who were supported by well-oiled party organizations.

            In his initial entry in national political fight in 1949, he bested the incumbent congressman of the first district of Ilocos Norte whom political observers thought could not be dislodged from Congress.

            During the local elections of 1955, two years before the expiration of Raquiza’s second term in Congress, the iberal Party, desirous to wrest political supremacy in Ilocos Norte from the Nacionalista governor who was running for reelection, pitted Raquiza against the Nacionalista bet. Then incumbent Pres. Ramon Magsaysay, the most idolized political leader at that time, actively campaigned for all his party’s candidates. In an unprecedented Nacionalista landslide victory, which buried practically all liberals in defeat, Raquiza emerged victorious.

            After that election Raquiza took the political limelight when he decided to serve his unexpired term in Congress and the governorship of his province simultaneously, and fopr the first time in the Philippines a man held two high elective posts at the same time. Despite proddings from his colleagues to make him give up either of the two positions, Raquiza remained undaunted and succeeded in fighting off attempts to dislodge him from either post.

            Raquiza gave up the governorship to a fellow Liberal who took over as governor in an appointive capacity, when he decided to run for re-election as representative upon the expiration of his term in Congress in 1957. In that election, Raquiza’s constituents once again backed him up and voted him overwhelmingly back to Congress, thereby proving beyond doubt that he is a political kingpin in the North.

            Raquiza’s repeated victories at the polls are the best proofs of the continuing confidence reposed upon him by his grateful people for his unselfishness service and achievements. His people believed that Raquiza, as governor within a period of two years, accomplished what other governor accomplished in 50 years. His performance in the legislative chamber is no less colorful. He has been consistently chosen as one of the most outstanding congressman not only by the Congressional Press Club but also by leading metropolitan papers and magazines and by well-known socio-civic organizations.

            To Raquiza goes the credit for his having exposed the biggest cases of graft and corruption committed hereabouts, including the reparation mess in the 1950s, the anomalous purchase of the presidential yatch Lapu-lapu, the ACCFA tobacoo trading scandal and other anomalies.

            Raquiza’s constituents admit, and many agree with them, that he has established a new sense of morality in his province. He has never allowed his family and kins to take advantage of his high position. Instead of helping him first, as some persons in high office are wont to do, he has concentrated his attention to the needs of the poor and the common people.

            Representative Raquiza has a personality made colorful by achievements in war and in peace well known far beyond the confines of his province.

            He was the first Filipino Aeronautical Inspector and chief clerk of the Bureau of Aeronautics during the start of the Commonwealth period, and as such, he was designated to help establish a strong air force in the national defense set-up, in accordance with the wish of President Quezon. After his admission to the Philippine bar, he started law practice as a member of the Araneta Law Firm in Manila. Desirous to establish his own identity, he put up his own law office with Attorney Jose P. Hernando. Raquiza & Hernando became one of the most reputable law firms in Manila before the war.

            During the early days of the Japanese occupation, Raquiza defended many Filipinos who were imprisoned by the Japanese, whose cases were referred to the civil courts. This aroused the hatered of pro-Japanese elements and endangered his life in Manila, so he went to the Ilocos and joined the resistance movement. As a guerilla officer, it was he who stood head and shoulders above all others in protecting lives, property and honor when the Ilocos provinces were undergoing their worst crisis. He saved many lives including that of a former representative whom Raquiza was ordered to arrest for being a puppet governor. Instead of doing that, Raquiza gathered evidence that proved that the man rendered valuable service to the guerillas.

            Representative Raquiza was born in Piddig, Ilocos Norte on February 29, 1908. He obtained his early education in his province and his law degree in the University of the Philippines. A poor farmer’s son, he himself had been a farmer.

SOURCE :           

                *An Article from the National Historical Institute Submitted by Mr. Joey Raquiza

GEN. ARTEMIO “VIBORA” RICARTE

(First Chief-of-Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines)

            “The Only Free Filipino”, a journalist wrote in describing General Aretemio Ricarte during the American rule in the country. This hero of the Philippine Revolution remained true to his vow never to take the oath of allegiance to the American government in the Philippines. Told by the Japanese officials that he could be evacuated to Japan, General Ricarte answered: “I can not take refuge in Japan at this critical moment when my people are in direct distress. I will stay in my Motherland to the last.”

            General Artemio Ricarte was born on October 20, 1866 in Batac, Ilocos Norte. He finished his studies in San Juan de Letran. Appointed a school teacher at San Francisco de Malabon (now General Trias, Cavite), he met many Caviteño patriots who initiated him into the Katipunan. When the revolution broke out in August, 1896, he and several patriots led the capture of San Francisco de Malabon town on August 31. At the March 22-23, 1897, Tejeros Convention, he was elected Captain General of the Filipino forces. General Ricarte thus became the first Chief-of-Staff of the Armed forces of the Philippines.

            General Ricarte was Chief of Operations of the Filipino forces in the Second Zone of Manila when the Filipino-American War broke out in February, 1899. He was captured by the enemy in July 1900, and deported to Guam. Several times, he attempted to revitalize the Filipino forces in the country. He established a revolutionary government for the Filipino people and even renamed the Philippines The Rizaline Islands. Local collaborators frustrated him, however, and General Ricarte chose to remain in self-exile in Japan. When the Commonwealth Government was established in 1935, Pres. Manuel L. Quezon offered him a high post in his government but General Ricarte politely declined. General Ricarte returned to the Philippines only when the Japanese occupation occupied the country in 1942.

            Sickness and old age ended General Artemio’s epic struggle. He died on July 31, 1945, at Nagpuraon, Kalinga, Mountain Province. Presidents Ferdinand E. Marcos and Fidel V. Ramos erected a monument in his honor in Batac, Ilocos Norte and had his remain buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. The Philippines-Japan Society also erected a monument to General Ricarte at Yamashita Park, Yokohama, on January 10, 1972.

            Loyalty to his land of birth was one of the many sterling virtues of General Artemio Ricarte.

SOURCE :            Manila Bulletin. 417 : 31 (11) July 31, 2007

MARCIAL SACRO

One of the art-talented sons of Batac who left his works in various parts of the province for the people to remember him by is Marcial Sacro.

Marcial was born on December 19, 1909. He finished his elementary education at the Batac Rural High School in W36 and his secondary education at the University of Manila in 1940. He enrolled at the College of Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines in 1940 but had to stop because of the outbreak of the war. Then he went back to UP. and graduated in 1950.

Marcial Sacro is remembered for the life-sized carabao pulling a sugarcane mill he sculptured found in Piddig, Ilocos Norte; the sculptured fountains in the park in front of the Provincial Capitol building in Laoag City; the sculptured bust of Dr. Jose Rizal which was formerly for the town hall of Batac but now stands at the Mariano Marcos Memorial Elementary School in Batac; the fountains at the Roxas Center at Roxas, Isabela and the angels holding the font for the holy water inside the Philippine Independent Church in Batac.

He also designed the seal of the Mariano Marcos State University. He was a regional first prize winner in the Green Revolution Art contest. Also, his design for a float won first prize in the float competition in Ilocos Sur.

Marcial produced several paintings which were Amorsolo-inspired like the portraits of his children, his sons and daughters-in-law.

Besides painting and sculpturing, Marcial was also an instructor at the Mariano Marcos Memorial College of Science and Technology and at the MMSU where he retired in 1989.

SOURCE:

                Cadiz, Ernesto Ma., et al. Batac : Craddle of Eminent Men and Women.      Batac, Ilocos                                        Norte : Mariano Marcos State University. c2000.

                                                                

BRIG. GENERAL FIDEL B. SEGUNDO

(Soldier-War Hero)

            Brig. Gen. Fidel V. Segundo received on of the toughest commands during the Philippine campaign which ended with the fall of Bataan. But despite of the limitations of his command he succeeded in carrying out the all-delaying action which MacArthur’s strategy called for.

            For his brilliant military record, Segundo was commanded by President Manuel L. Quezon and his superior officers including Lt. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright, while Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower deplored his wartime death.

            Segundo, one of the sixth children of a family of a modest means, was born in Laoag, Ilocos Norte on April 24, 1894. He was enrolled in the pre-medic course of the University of the Philippines when he left for the United States Military Academy of West Point in 1914. He graduated in the Upper half of the Class of 1918 on August 30, 1917.

            Upon his return to the Philippines, Segundo started a service career that led to many varied assignments giving him the necessary all around training and experience that he found useful in later years. From a second Lieutenant in the Philippine Scouts, assigned in Fort Stotsenburg in Pampanga in 1917, he was promoted to first lieutenant the next year, then to a captain in 1920.

            After a brief tour of duty, Segundo returned to the United States in June 1924, to study at the Field Artilery School in Fort Si, Oklahoma, and to take up the troop officer’s course in the Cavalry School in Fort Riley, Arkansas.

            In May 1929, Segundo was detailed as an assistant professor of military science and tactics in the University of the Philippines, a position he held until March 1932 when he was appointed head of the department with the rank of Professor. This appointment opened new vistas for Segundo. Himself imbued with the high standards of performance and honor. He sought to inculcate in the young men who were to come under his influence the dignity and honor befitting an army officer.

            Segundo was the assistant chief of staff for operations and training, G-3, with the rank of colonel, when, on September 3, 1940, he was ordered to be the commanding officer of the Second Infantry Regiment, First Regular Division, in Camp Luna, Parang, Cotabato. In few months, he managed to transform the camp into an impressively well maintained and efficiently post.

            On July 2, 1941 Segundo was made the superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio. Given the rank of a brigadier general, he was named the commanding officer of the First Regular Division which at the time was no better for combat than any the reserve division of the Philippine Army.

            Assigned to the South Luzon Force of the USAFFEE, his division met the first major Japanese landing operations on the east coast of Tayabas (now Quezon). Moved to Bataan early in January 1942, his division was credited with the first successful offensive launched against the enemy during the entire Bataan campaign. His defence of a part of the Abucay-Moron line from January 7 to 23 was highly commended by both Quezon and Wainwright.

            Segundo was still holding his line when the order to surrender Bataan came on April 9, 1942. After his release from Capas concentration camp in Tarlac, he stayed in Santa Ana, Manila. On December 19, 1944, he and his son, Fidel Jr. were arrested by the Japanese. After having been brutally tortured, both father and son were tied, back to back and killed.

                                                           

SOURCE: 

                Ruiz, Felipa Segundo. Gen. Segundo Marker Unveiling Ceremonies. May 30, 1970. p. 18

*[Reproduced for historical, cultural and archival preservation by the Ilocos Norte Provincial Library]

DON ALBERTO SUGUITAN

            Don Alberto Suguitan is regarded as the “Father of Electricity in Ilocos Norte”. He founded and became the first manager of the  Ilocos Norte Electric Company (INECO) in 1932, now the INEC.

ANASTACIA GIRON TUPAS

(Founder of Philippine Nursing Association)

            Anastacia Giron Tupas was born in 1890 at Laoag, Ilocos Norte. She was a registered nurse at the Philippine General Hospital and obtained a certificate of Public Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania, U.S.A. She also finished a degree in Bachelor of Science in Education and Master of Arts in Nursing at the University of the Philippines (U.P.).

Anastacia G. Tupas became the first Filipino head-nurse at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) and later became the first superintendent of the Philippine General Hospital School of Nursing serving from 1917-1923.

In 1917, she founded the Southern Island Hospital School of Nursing in Cebu and became its first superintendent administering the school from 1918-1928.

With her intense advocacy to the improvement of nursing profession in the country, she headed in 1919 the committee that framed Act No. 2808 or the First Nurses Law regulating the practice of the nursing profession in the Philippines Islands. This law also provided the holding of examinations for the practice of nursing on the 2^nd Monday of June and December of each year.

In 1922, she founded and led the Filipino Nurses Association, now Philippine Nursing Association (PNA), as the national organization of Filipino nurses. Such feat can only be achieved with competence and profound dedication to the profession.

The zealous Anastacia continued to blaze in her chosen field of endeavor. She was the first director of the UP School of Public Health Nursing, a department she founded. Likewise, she was the head of the Philippine Women’s University (PWU), College of Nursing and later became dean emeritus of the same institution. 

She also authored a book on the history of nursing in the Philippines, published in 1952, which, today, is a basic component of nursing education offered in various colleges and universities in the country.

Anastacia’s meritorious accomplishments can be gleaned from the many recognitions and commendations given to her. The Philippine Association of Board of Examiners afforded her in 1951 an Outstanding Award for her exemplary achievements.  She also received the Presidential Medal of Merit Award in 1959 and a posthumous award given by the PNA in 1981 for being its founder and as the “Dean of Nursing” in the Philippines. 

In her memory as an ardent advocate of our country’s nursing profession, the PNA commenced in 1975 the awarding of “Anastacia Giron Tupas Awards” to individuals who made outstanding achievements and contributions to the advancements of nursing profession in the Philippines.

She died on September 28, 1972 at the age of 82.

By: Eric G. Coloma. 7, 2009

Reference:             Anastacia Giron Tupaz Marker from the National Historical Institute

LUCIA M. VALDEZ

(International Artist)

Doña Lucia Mangapit Valdez is an international painter using pastel, oil and watercolor as her media. She considers herself as a contemporary impressionist.

Lucia was born on January 14, 1919 to the late Santos Mangapit and Lucidia Najera of Ben-Agan, Batac, Ilocos Norte. She took her elementary education at the Batac Central School and her higher education at the University of Manila.

She taught in the elementary schools in Zamboanga at the outbreak of the war. Also, she served as a social worker in convalescent homes for sick Filipino soldiers released from the concentration camp. Later, she was commanding officer of the Women's Auxiliary Service for the Fifteenth Infantry, United States Armed Forces in the Philippines, Northern Luzon (USAFIP-NL).

In 1946, she attended classes at the Trap Hagen School of Fashion in Broadway, New York, USA, after which she taught at the French Draping at the Magda School of Fashion in Washington, D.C. There she pursued Bachelor of Arts and studied painting. She also studied sculpture at the Greenwich Village in New York. While studying at the university, she designed the costumes for the "The Merry Wives of Windsor", "Right You Are If You Think You Are", "Ourtoron", and others, for the university theater.  She held her first fashion show in Washington, D.C. in 1950.

Lucia first appeared on TV in 1955 at Seattle, Washington, illustrating a subject on budget designing for young wives. She was then the only Filipino teaching the subject on television.

In 1965, she met Dr. Ehrenzweig, an Austrian professor, author, and art critic in London. She was encouraged to enrich her feel of the arts thus, she attended lectures at the National Gallery and at the Courthauld School of Art, University of London. In 1966, her painting, "Hope", was exhibited with the Art Exhibition sponsored by "The Diplomatist" at the Royal Garden Hotel, London where the painting reaped praises from art critics as "Most Talented."

From 1969 to 1993, Mrs. Valdez held solo exhibitions in various countries in the world such as Singapore in aid for the Singapore Association for the Blind; West Berlin and Hamburg; and Hamilton, New Zealand. In the Philippines, she held solo exhibitions at the Hidalgo Gallery in Makati City, Manila Garden Hotel, Thomas Jefferson Cultural Center, the Batac Town Hall and the Mariano Marcos State University. As an art consultant of the Mariano Marcos State University during the term of Pres. Elias L. Calacal, she organized the Art Gallery which has attracted visitors and developed art interest among the young.

Lucia Mangapit was married to the late Hon. Casimiro Marcos Valdez, a career diplomat and another eminent son of Batac.

SOURCE:

                Cadiz, Ernesto Ma., et al. Batac : Craddle of Eminent Men and Women.      Batac, Ilocos                                        Norte : Mariano Marcos State University. c2000.

                                                                                                   

SIMEON MARCOS VALDEZ

            Simeon M. Valdez served his countrymen in various capacities as a public servant. It was in these instances where he had proven to the people his willingness, dedication, sincerity and devotion to serve even beyond the call of duty. Col. Simeon  M. Valdez fought in the battle of Bataan during the Second World war and joined the infamous Death March together with his nephew, then Lt. Ferdinand E. Marcos. He joined the guerrilla movement, led the First Battalion, Fifteenth Infantry and liberated Ilocos Norte and Abra.

            Col. Valdez served as commanding officer of the First Battalion of the Fifteenth Infantry composed of regrouped USAFFE members and young recruits from Ilocos Norte. This battalion was given the mission to harass enemy movements and concentrations, to ambush, and if possible to inflict maximum casualties to the enemy. Col. Valdez did his assignment with admirable valor that he cleared the province of enemy control. Thus, on February 25, 1945, Ilocos Norte was declared liberated from the Japanese. Under the command of Col. Valdez, the First Battalion drove towards Bangued, Abra by way of the Casamata Hill. The capture of Casamata Hill gave the First Battalion entire command of Bangued proper and the whole town was liberated on April 4, 1945. The battle of Marasoso Hills in Piddigan, Abra was another victory for the First Battalion. Due to his heroism and leadership, Col. Simeon Marcos Valdez is fondly called the “Liberator of Ilocos Norte and Abra.”

            Because of his gallant, heroic deeds and dedicated service in war and in peace in the defense of his country, Col. Valdez received various meritorious awards and medals. He is also a recipient of various certificates of appreciation and awards in recognition of his laudable performances. Moreover, he received various awards in recognition of his crusade for the welfare of Filipino veterans.

            After the war, he continued to serve in the Armed Forces of the Philippines until he was promoted as Colonel and assigned as Comptroller General, the highest finance officer in the military. It was in this prestigious position that Col. Simeon M. Valdez showed his honesty and dedication to service especially in handling financial matters. While Col. Valdez was serving in the military, he pursued his studies by attending evening classes at the Philippine Law School where he finished Bachelor of Laws in 1951. He passed the Bar Examination in 1952.

            When the people of the second district of Ilocos Norte needed a strong and respected voice in the Congress of the Philippines in 1961, they elected Valdez, who had retired from the military, Congressman. He served in this capacity for three consecutive terms (1961-1969). Then he was appointed Vice-governor of Ilocos Norte after the EDSA revolution in 1986. And in 1995 he ran unopposed as Congressman of the Second District of Ilocos Norte.

            A lawyer and citizen with strong nationalistic spirit, he authored the most numerous bills that were signed into law. Because of his performance, he was considered the VALEDICTORIAN of the congressmen. He was also lovingly called the “NINONG” of the Armed Forces of the Philippines because of the bills he authored which benefited the military personnel.

             Congressman Simeon Valdez had authored many laws on education, health, economics, social welfare, environmental protection and strengthening of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the local government units. Throughout his life, he has been guided by the slogan he himself coined “Aramid Pakakitaan” (One’s performance speaks for himself).

            Congressman Simeon Marcos Valdez contributed greatly for the improvement of the quality of life of his constituents – in the area of justice, public works and social welfare. Despite the abolition of Congress during the Martial Law years, he continued to serve his countrymen in his capacity as a private citizen. He was elected President of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), the national association of all lawyers in the Philippines in 1986-1987. Also, he is the foster father of the Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical center (MMMHMC).

           

SOURCE:

                Cadiz, Ernesto Ma., et al. Batac : Craddle of Eminent Men and Women. Batac, Ilocos                                             Norte : Mariano Marcos State University, 2000.

                                                                                                                                                                             

                                                               

SEÑORITA VALENTINA OF LAOAG

(Bannatiran of Ilocandia)

            At the turn of the twentieth century, Don Claro Caluya who was reputed to be the Prince of Ilocano Poets fell madly in love with one of the most gracious beauties of Laoag. Her name was Valentina who belonged to the principalia of the capital of Ilocos Norte. Her unique feminine charm was accentuated by the smoothness of her kayumanggi complexion. For this reason, she was affectionately nicknamed “Bannatiran” by the enamored poet. Bannatiran is the name of an indigenous bird with peculiar gloosy feathers.

            Don Claro hoped that someday Cupid would shoot his arrow in his favor as he was more in the position than all his rivals, being a gifted poet, to avail himself of Apollo’s lyre to advance his gentle courtship. But his dream did not come true. Señorita Valentina was slowly falling in love with an aggressive, tall and equally madly in love rival. Sensing this poet conceived a pathetic gesture to stop the object of his devotion from falling totally into the arms of this particular rival. So his bleeding heart gave vent to a melodic plea for affection address to “Bannatiran”, which gave form and tune to a beautiful song. Unfortunately for Don Claro, the maiden’s heart was not meant for him and for sometime he was a heart-broken poet. Thus a sobbing lyre gave birth to a tender song that now pervades the atmosphere wherever Ilocanos are found. As a beautiful sequel to the creation of a beautiful song, the actuality of a lady “Bannatiran” emerged so realistically from the essence of the historic love song of the north. Señorita Valentina has already passed the eternal life but her charming image and soul as “Bannatiran of Ilocandia” will intimately remain with us forever.

SOURCE:

       *Reproduced from an antiquated library article by Emilio Alvarez (Provincial Librarian)

GENERAL FABIAN C. VER

Fabian C. Ver was a former General and Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines under President Ferdinand E. Marcos. He was born on January 20, 1920 in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte, just a few houses away from where President Marcos, his childhood friend, was born.

Ver graduated from the University of the Philippines, led the Reserved Officers Training Corps and worked his way up as a regular officer in the military ranks. He started his military career as a third lieutenant serving as a guerilla intelligence officer during World War II. After the war, he continued his long trek to the top post of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

His early years in the post-war military service was spent mostly doing police work – as acting police chief of Makati, as warden at the Rizal Provincial jail, chief of investigation at the CIS, and instructor at the Constabulary school. To strengthen his competence, he trained in security and law enforcement, intelligence, police administration, and community relations in institutions here and abroad. Before his ascent to the country’s highest military position, he served as Commanding General of the Presidential Security Command and Director General of the National Security Agency.

 The leadership style of Gen. Ver was based on his closeness to President Marcos and his competence. When Martial Law was lifted in 1981, he continued to serve until he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. In his tenure as the military chief, he kept officers of the AFP loyal to Marcos and the Constitution, thus making rebellious officers disgruntled.

When the People Power Revolution broke out , Ver went into exile in the United States along with his children, and was eventually granted asylum in Germany. Asked why he did not take over the government despite his power during the last days of Marcos, he said, "the Constitution is supreme, and I must obey it."

Ver wanted to go home to shed light in the assassination of Benigno Aquino. He moved from Germany to Bangkok to be nearer Manila but was denied his right to travel back to his country. He died on November 21, 1998 and his remains were brought back to the Philippines. He was buried in his hometown of Sarrat, Ilocos Norte with full military honors.

            As one of the Pillars of the UP Vanguard, General Ver is marked with numerous accomplishments that included among others, the institutionalization of the UP Vanguard Scholarship Program, and the creation of the UP Vanguard Building - a living and lasting testimony of the organization’s strength and solidarity.

                                                                                                                           

SOURCE:             Internet Resources

LT. TEOFISTO YLDEFONSO

(The First Filipino Olympic Medalist and a War Hero)

            Teofisto Yldefonso, the pride of Piddig, Ilocos norte, stands out in Philippine sports history as the first Filipino Olympic medalist and the only Filipino to repeat the feat. In fact, he is the only back-to-back Filipino Olympic medalist. He accomplished the rare feat at the 1928 Amsterdam Summer Olympics and at the 1932 Los Angeles Summer Olympics, both in the 200-meter breaststroke.

            Yldefonso was born in Sitio Bayog, Brgy. 4, Bimmanga, Piddig Ilocos Norte on November 4, 1903. Old folks remember that Yldefonso was just a small kid when he started swimming at the once deep Guisit River in Piddig. It was in the town of Piddig that the young Yldefonso honed his swimming skills early on.

            He was in his early twenties when he enlisted in the 57^th Infantry Regiment of the Philippine Scouts. As a young soldier, he gained prominence as a competitive swimmer. Records show that during his brilliant swimming career, he had amassed 144 medals.

            Yldefonso was only 18 years old when he began to make waves in swimming competitions. The year was 1921. He stood out at the Far Eastern Games and beat top Japanese swimmers during the 1923, 1927, 1930 and 1934 editions of the Games. He was also invincible at the 1929, 1931, 1933, and 1935 and 1937 Philippines-Formosa duel meets.

            All Civil Registry records at the Piddig Municipal Hall were gutted by fire during World War II. However, it was surmised that Yldefonso married Manuela Ella of Daet, Camarines Norte between 1928 to 1929.

            When World War II broke out in 1941, Yldefonso joined the Filipino soldiers who gallantly fought against the Japanese invaders. When Bataan fel to the Japanese in 1942, he was among the thousands of Filipino and American soldiers who experienced the hardships and travails of the infamous Death March from Bataan to Capas, Tarlac.,

            He died at the Capas Concentration Camp on June 19, 1942 at the tender age of 39. His remains were nowhere to be found. But his legacy as a champion breaststroke swimmer and war hero will live on forever

SOURCE:             By: Ernesto B. Andres.