12.Part II: LITTLE-KNOWN THINGS ABOUT JOSE ABAD SANTOS, CHIEF JUSTICE AND HERO

L-R: Jose Abad Santos, elder brother Pedro, 1st Lady Aurora Aragon-Quezon

11. BROTHERS JOSE AND PEDRO ABAD SANTOS HAD CONFLICTING POLITICAL BELIEFS THAT PUT THEM IN DIFFICULT SITUATIONS.
The two brothers were poles apart when it came to their political convictions. The elder Pedro was founder of the Socialist Party of the Philippines that supported a revolution of the masses, while Jose was a Secretary of Justice tasked with enforcing the law—which included opposing his brother. In one event in Pampanga where a reform program was launched before farmers, Jose pleaded with Pedro not to embarrass Quezon . Pedro complied, introducing Quezon as a 'friend of the masses and the poor'. But before Quezon spoke, Pedro panned the legal system that, he said, landlords used against the poor. He challenged Jose, then seated next to Quezon, and sarcastically remarked that the 'secretary cannot help us if he just sits in his office.' Though often at odds, both were champions of the welfare of the common people.

 12. ABAD SANTOS INTRODUCED THE IDEA OF PUBLISHING THE NAMES OF BAR EXAMINERS.
Abad Santos believed that to ensure clean examinations, the names of the bar examiners should be published. This innovation was adopted by the Supreme Court in 1934. Beginning with Vol. 56 of the Philippine Reports, the names of the members of the Bar Exams Committee have appeared on print. However, the Supreme Court in recent years, found it unwise to reveal the names of the examiners bfore the actual exams, as this has resulted in leakages.

 13. ABAD SANTOS SHARES A BIRTHDAY WITH THE FIRST LADY, AURORA ARAGON-QUEZON.
Jose Abad Santos was born on 19 February 1886. He shares his birthday with the Philippine First Lady, Aurora Aragon-Quezon (born 19 February 1888), whose husband, Pres. Quezon, he had dutifully served. It was also on 19 February 1942 that the evacuation of civilians from Corregidor—where Quezon and his wartime cabinet were holed up--began.

 14. ABAD SANTOS BRIEFLY SERVED AS THE ACTING PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINE COMMONWEALTH. 
On 17 March 1942, Pres. Manuel L. Quezon designated Abad Santos as the Acting President with full authority to act in the name of, and on behalf of the President of the Philippine Commonwealth in areas unoccupied by the Japanese. This appointment was made through a letter written by Quezon in Negros Occidental, en route to his escape to the U.S. via Australia.

L-R: Last photo of Abad Santos with Japanese capt., son Pepito,Pampanga Capitol monument

 15. ABAD SANTOS' LAST LETTER TO HIS FAMILY WAS WRITTEN IN KAPAMPANGAN.
 The last letter of Abad Santos to his family was dated 16 April 1942, written in Cebu, just a little over 2 weeks before he was executed. It was delivered to the family in Manila by a kind Japanese Christian, Capt. Watanabe. The short letter, in Kapampangan, reads: Caluguran cung Mandang, Ing magdala caniti yapin ing Captain Watanabe a aquilala ming Pepito queni Cebu.Mayap ya tratus a papaquit quecami. Masalese que bili queni at eyu que pigaganacan. Panayan cu ing agad tang miquit queni. Yanamu, at masalese congan sanang dasnan mi.  Ing maligud queca, Jose A.

 16. PEPITO, ABAD SANTOS' SON, WAS ORIGINALLY PLANNED TO BE EXECUTED WITH HIS FATHER.
Keiji Fukui was an interpreter of Maj. Gen. Kiyotake Kawaguchi that led the Japanese forces in the conquest of Cebu. He testified during the war crimes trial that Gen. Masaharu Homma’s execution order originally included Pepito. However, Gen. Kawaguchi, “on his own discretion” decided to spare his son. Pepito was told to change his name to avoid detection (he chose, “Jose Francisco”, from his Christian name and the surname of his friend Rudy Francisco, aka actor Fred Montilla).

 17. GEN. HOMMA'S WAR CRIMES DID NOT ORIGINALLY INCLUDE THE CASE OF ABAD SANTOS.
 When Col. Manuel Lim was named as Chief of the Philippine War Crimes Commission, he was surprised to know that, of the 42 crimes against Gen. Masaharu Homma, no reference was made about the Abad Santos case. Lim brought the matter to the attention of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who gave him full authority to conduct a thorough investigation. Four days before Homma was arraigned, Macarthur authorized the inclusion of Abad Santos’ execution in the charges against him. Homma was found guilty and executed on 3 April 1946.

 18. THE WHEREABOUTS OF ABAD SANTOS' GRAVE REMAINS UNKNOWN.
Abad Santos, his son Pepito and Col. Benito Valeriano were captured by the Japanese on 11 April 1942 in Barili, Cebu. Refusing to cooperate with the Japanese, Abad Santos was ordered executed by Gen. Homma, imputing the destruction of the bridges and other public works in Cebu to him. They were taken first to Parang, Cotabato then brought to Malabang, Lanao on 30 April, where Abad Santos was informed of his execution. Abad Santos was executed on 2 May 1942 under a tall coconut tree near a river bank. In the afternoon, Pepito was taken to his father's grave that the son thought was too small to hold his body. The grave was marked by a rock. After the war, an intensive search for Jose’s burial ground was launched but by then, the terrain had been cultivated and planted with crops, and the reference points—like the hut and the trees—were all gone.

L-R: Marina Benipayo, Manuel Abad Santos, Jamby Madrigal, Roxanne Abad
Santos, bust at Luneta, JASMS-QC, commemorative stamp.

 19. ABAD SANTOS AND HIS FAMOUS RELATIONS: 
 • Manuel Dizon Abad Santos Sr., Mayor of Angeles ( nephew of Jose Abad Santos, his father Irineo Basco Abad Santos, was Jose’s elder brother)
 • Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal, Senator (granddaughter of Jose Abad Santos, daughter of Amanda Jr. with Vicente Madrigal)
 • Rosanna Pangilinan Abad Santos, Actress (screen name: Roxanne Abad Santos, great grandniece of Jose Abad Santos. Daughter of Irineo Atienza Abad Santos, whose father was Manuel Dizon Abad Santos Sr.)
 • Marina Abad Santos-Benipayo, Beauty Queen, Model, TV Personality (grandniece of Jose Abad Santos. Her mother, Nieves Abad Santos-Benipayo, is the daughter of Nieves Dayrit with Quirino Basco Abad Santos, Jose’s younger brother)

 20. TRIBUTES AND HONORS TO ABAD SANTOS.
• Jose Abad Santos is honored with monuments at the Pampanga Provincial Capitol in San Fernando,Pampanga, at the heritage district of Angeles, in Tayabas City, and a bust at Rizal Park.
• Jose Abad Santos Memorial School. The primary and secondary education school of Philippine Women’s University was named after Abad Santos in 1949. JASMS QC was established in 1956.
•The municipality of Trinidad in Davao del Sur, created in 1948, was renamed as Jose Abad Santos in his honor in 1954.
• The Bureau of Posts issued an Abad Santos commemorative stamp in 1960.
• Abad Santos Avenue is the name of the main avenue in San Fernando, Pampanga, (formerly Olongapo-Gapan Rd.). There is also 3-km Abad Santos in Tondo, Manila, and at Clark Freeport Zone.
• Abad Santos is commemorated on the ₱1000-peso bill along with Gen. Vicente Lim and Josefa Llanes Escoda, who were all killed by the Japanese during the World War II.

 Source: 
Aquino, Ramon C., A CHANCE TO DIE, A Biography of Jose Abad Santos, the Late Chief justice of the Philippines, Alemar-Phoenix Publishing House and Jose Abad Santos Memorial Society of the Philippines. 1967 Graphic Magazine

11. Part I, 20 LITTLE-KNOWN THINGS ABOUT JOSE ABAD SANTOS, CHIEF JUSTICE AND HERO

(19 Feb. 1886-d.2 May 1942)

Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos y Basco (b.1886/d/1942), jurist and martyr-hero of the last World War, is perhaps, one of the more nationally-known patriots ever to come from Pampanga. Who can forget his last, parting words to his son?: "Do not cry, Pepito, show to these people that you are brave. It is an honor to die for one's country. Not everybody has that chance”. Here are a few lesser-known aspects of his short, but heroic life

 1. THE DOUBLE SURNAME 'ABAD SANTOS' CAME TO BE, IN COMPLIANCE WITH A LEGAL REQUIREMENT.
“Abad” was added by Vicente (Jose’s father) to his existing Santos surname to differentiate his family from other Santoses, a common patronymic in the country. On the other hand, Esteban, Vicente’s brother, appended “Ferre”, making his surname “Ferre Santos”.

 2. THE YOUNG ABAD SANTOS WAS NICKNAMED ' SENGSENG'.
 Abad Santos was one of 10 children of Vicente Abad Santos and Toribia Basco. His father was already 56 when he was born. Nicknamed “Sengseng”, Jose, together with Quirino and Salvador who followed him, were affectionately called “Los Tres Reyes” by their mother, who was especially fond of the three. When he became a parent, his children addressed him as “Tatang” and their mother, “Ima”, as he preferred.

L-R. Amanda Teopaco, wife of Abad Santos, as a pensionado in the U.S.

3. ABAD SANTOS WAS A 'PENSIONADO' WHOSE BATCH INCLUDED 3 WELL-KNOWN KAPAMPANGANS. 
 Abad Santos was one of 2nd batch of 18 government scholars sent to study in the U.S. in 1904. Included in this group were his own kabalens—Sotero Baluyot, the future Pampanga governor who studied civil engineering in Iowa; Fabian de la Paz of Macabebe, who was enrolled at the Western Illinois State Teachers’ College; and medical student Gervacio Santos Cuyugan, who would become one of Pres. Quezon’s personal physicians. Cuyugan and Abad Santos, both from San Fernando, would become fast friends and roommates while both enrolled at University of Illinois. On his 2nd year, Abad Santos moved to Northwestern University.

 4. ABAD SANTOS FLUNKED THE 1910 BAR EXAMS.
Abad Santos returned to the Philippines in 1909 to become a member of the bar. He took the 1910 Bar Exams—but failed. That was because the test covered Spanish codes while his training abroad emphasized American laws. The next year in September, he again, took the bar exams, and this time, passed it. He was admitted to the bar on 12 October 1911.

 5.AMANDA TEOPACO, THE WIFE OF ABAD SANTOS WAS A NATIONAL BEAUTY QUEEN.

Amanda Teopaco (b.1901) was the daughter of the revolutionist Pedro Teopaco and Miguela Hizon, sister of patriot Gen. Maximino Hizon. While an “interna” at the Centro Escolar de Señoritas in Manila, her pictures would often appear in newspapers like El Renacimiento and La Vanguardia, often with poems dedicated to her. One picture of hers found its way to the Philippine Free Press which was then conducting a beauty search. The winners were selected by the Free Press readers at the end of 1909. Amanda finished in 6th place among the Top 13 Beauties.

 6. THOUGH A KAPAMPANGAN, ABAD SANTOS HAD A TASTE FOR SIMPLE, NATIVE FOOD. 
At home, Abad Santos favored simple native food. For dessert, he preferred “panocha” (peanut candy) over leche flan. he was fond of “pindang” and “halo-halo”. His breakfast consisted of fried rice, tuyo, coffee and fruit—a regular morning fare that he never got tired of eating.

L-R. Daughters Luz and Amanda, national swimmers;

 7. THE DAUGHTERS OF ABAD SANTOS WERE MEMBERS OF THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL SWIMMING TEAM. 
Amanda Jr. was a member of the 1934 Far Eastern Games swimming team representing the Philippines in the 50-meter free style and 100-meter backstroke with sister Luz Abad Santos. Both were champion swimmers of Philippine Women’s College. This skill was learned from their father, who learned to swim in the San Fernando river. When Abad Santos had their house built in San Juan, he also had a swimming pool added, where he trained his daughters to swim.

 8. JOSE'S BROTHER, ANTONIO, MARRIED AMANDA' SISTER, RAMONA, MAKING HIM HIS BROTHER'S OWN BROTHER-IN-LAW.
 Amanda Teopaco was actually a distant cousin of Abad Santos. The sponsors at their wedding on 21 September 1918 were Pedro Abad Santos and Mrs. Aurea Ocampo- Escaler. When Jose’s elder brother Antonio married Ramona Teopaco, he became his brother’s own brother-in-law and Ramona, became his sister-in-law twice. By coincidence, two Abad Santos daughters married two brothers.

 9. TWO ABAD SANTOS DAUGHTERS MARRIED TO TWO MADRIGAL BROTHERS.
Amanda Jr. married industrialist Antonio Paterno Madrigal ( he founded Consolidated Bank and Trust Company, East-Asia Capital Corporation, Susana Realty Incorporated, Rizal Cement Company and Corinthian Gardens). Victoria, married Jose Paterno Madrigal who was at the helm of Madrigal Properties. Both brothers were sons of business tycoon and Senator Vicente Madrigal and Susana Paterno.

 10. ABAD SANTOS HELD THE POSITION OF SECRETARY OF JUSTICE THREE TIMES.
Under Gov. Gen. Leonard Wood (1922-1923, resigned due to a conflict with Wood), Under Gov. Generals Henly L. Stimson, Dwight F. Davis and Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (1928-1932), and finally under Pres. Manuel L. Quezon (1938-1941). In between, Abad Santos engaged in private practice, first with brother Pedro, then partnered with Dean Conrado Benitez. He later joined the law firm of Camus, Delgado & Recto.

Sources:

Aquino, Ramon C., A CHANCE TO DIE, A Biography of Jose Abad Santos, the Late Chief justice of the Philippines, Alemar-Phoenix Publishing House and Jose Abad Santos Memorial Society of the Philippines. 1967

Graphic Magazine