Just days apart, the United States of America set up on January 20, 1899, the Schurman Commission, while on January 23, 1899, President/General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed at Malolos, Bulacan, the new Philippine Republic.
I wrote a three-part column two weeks ago and the first and second parts were published on January 11–17 and January 18–24.
It was a round robin of historical people and events from January 1897 to 2021.
My century and a quarter voyage, missed entirely the characters and events of EDSA II from January 16 – 20, Tuesday night to Saturday noon.
We will go back to both EDSA II and EDSA I in our February columns.
Meanwhile, we will continue our story and return to the last year of the 19th century.
Historic January
Just days apart, the United States of America set up on January 20, 1899, the Schurman Commission, while on January 23, 1899, President/General Emilio Aguinaldo proclaimed at Malolos, Bulacan, the new Philippine Republic.
On January 30, 1899, a new Supreme Court was organized under the American Military Government in order to replace the Spanish Judicial System.
Gregorio Araneta
It included my grandfather, Gregorio Araneta y Soriano (April 19, 1869 – 1930). He was a graduate of the Ateneo Municipal and University of Santo Tomas (UST).
As a young lawyer, he became known as a Human Rights Lawyer in a case against an abusive Guardia Civil, joined the Spanish Royal Audiencia as a junior lawyer, was pointed a Mediator in the Pact of Biak-na-Bato, became a member of the Malolos Congress, its Secretary and Secretary of Justice in the Aguinaldo Cabinet.
Ka Atang and Ka Amado
On January 11, 1902 (died July 11, 1991), National Artist Atang de la Rama was born in Pandacan.
In 1932, she married National Artist Amado Hernandez and was living in Gagalangin, Tondo, when I met her and ate dinner at her house several times.
Ka Amado taught at the Ateneo de Manila Graduate School at the same time that Alfredo Saulo also taught History. I enrolled in their classes and became their friends.
That way, I got to know both the Communist side as well as the Catholic and Anti Communist side.
Legal Basis For RP
On January 13, 1932, the Hare Hawes Cutting Law was passed by the US Congress, thus, overriding President Edgar Hoover’s veto. Hoover was a Republican, while Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a Democrat.
Subsequently, Senate President Manuel L. Quezon lobbied and worked for the Tydings-McDuffie Law to replace the HHC Law as the legal basis for the Philippine Commonwealth and Republic.
Notorious Marcoses
On January 11, 1940, the UP College of Law, graduate, Ferdinand Marcos y Edralin and his uncle, Quirino Lizardo, were convicted of the murder of Assemblyman Julio Nalundasan.
The latter had defeated, FM’s father, Mariano Marcos for the position of Ilocos Norte Assemblyman. The original 1935 Constitution had a Unicameral Congress without an Upper House or Senate.
Liberation
On January 3 or 23, 1942, the Imperial Japanese Army’s Commander in the Philippines, Lt. Gen. Masaharu Homma, created the Philippine Executive Council (PEC) and appointed Quezon’s Executive Secretary, Jorge Vargas, as the chairman.
The Liberation of Luzon and Manila started on January 9, 1945, when General Douglas MacArthur landed at Lingayen Gulf with the 6th US Army with two Corps and four Divisions side by side.
It would take the 37th Infantry and 1st Cavalry Divisions 25 days to reach Manila and liberate the UST Internment Camp on February 3.
The Mission
My paternal uncle, Luis de Alcuaz y Tuason, was one of the angels of the internees.
He married one of them, Pomponette Francisco, who was the daughter of the Italian American couple from whom my parents bought our house on Balete Drive, New Manila, Q. C., in April 1941. After Liberation, they migrated to San Francisco/San Mateo in California, USA.
Between February 4 and 8, a Cavalry Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division, liberated New Manila in Quezon City.
Their mission was to capture and protect Manila’s water system.
They captured La Mesa Dam and Reservoir in Novaliches, the Balara Filters in Diliman and the San Juan Reservoir at the southern end of Balete drive corner N. Domingo St. Then, they went on to liberate, on February 9, 1945, Mandaluyong City.
First Execution
On January 20, 1961, FM was elected as President of the Liberal Party.
However, the deal among the three most senior Liberals, Vice President Diosdado Macapagal, Senator Marcos and Capiz Congressman Cornelio ‘Kune’ Villareal, was that Macapagal would be the LP Presidential Candidate in November 1961, serve for just one term if he won and give way to Marcos in November 1965.
After winning re–election in November 1969 over Senator/Congressman/Governor/Mayor Sergio "Serging" Osmena (whose running mate was Senator Genaro Magsaysay), surviving the First Quarter Storm, suspending the Writ of Habeas Corpus in August 1971 and declaring Martial Law in September 21–23, 1972, Dictator Marcos on January 15, 1973, had Chinese Drug Trafficker Lim Seng executed as an example.
Viva Voce Constitution
On January 17, 1981, FM lifted Martial Law formally. However, under the 1973 "Viva Voce" Constitution, he retained vast and extraordinary powers under the Transitory Provisions. The real reason for going through this formality was the forthcoming visit in March of the Pope.
While the month of January, generally represents a new beginning, the USA’s Space Program, had its three worst tragedies at this time of the year:
On January 27, 1967, Apollo XIII, on January 28, 1986, Challenger and on February 1, 2003, Columbia, encountered technical difficulties, burned and exploded and killed all their Astronauts.