Recently, the Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc., through its Chairman, Renato "Kong Rene" Romero, wrote a letter to the Provincial Board intimating the need to rectify the new name Jose Abad Santos Avenue into Jose Abad Santos Highway.
The said roadway is the former Gapan-San Fernando-Olongapo Road (GSO) or Olongapo-Gapan Road (OG).
In the said letter and by way of the Chamber's research and their thinking minds, they define the Avenue as a road traversing cities just like Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue or Edsa (former Highway 54) that crosses the renowned cities of Metro Manila.
On the other hand, the Highway is a road that negotiates provinces just like McArthur Highway that starts from Caloocan City to Tarlac City passing through Bulacan and Pampanga provinces.
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Did you know that there is a town in the southernmost tip of Davao del Sur, on the north it is bounded by the municipality of Don Marcelino, on the south by the municipality of Sarangani, on the east by the Pacific Ocean and on the west by the Province of Sarangani named Jose Abad Santos?
It is 210 kilometers from Davao City, the seat of Northern Mindanao and 148 kilometers away from Digos, the seat of the Davao del Sur Provincial Government.
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On a one thousand-peso bill can be seen the image of the late hero together with General Vicente Lim and Josefa Llanes Escoda.
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Today is the 66th anniversary of the martyrdom of Jose Abad Santos. He was born in City of San Fernando, Pampanga to Vicente Abad Santos and Toribia Basco. He was the seventh child of 10 children.
His eldest brother, Assemblyman Pedro Abad Santos was the founder of the Socialist Party of the Philippines and a well-known defender of the "poor and the oppressed".
His other siblings were Emilia, Irineo, Escolastica, Antonio, Josefa, Quirino, Salvador and Catalina.
Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos completed his elementary education in the public schools of his hometown, San Fernando, Pampanga.
In 1904, while still a high school undergraduate, the Philippine government selected him as a government-sponsored scholar and sent him to the United States for further education.
He completed his general secondary education school in Santa Clara, California and earned a Bachelor of Laws degree in June 1908 at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
A year after, he received his Master of Laws degree from George Washington University in the capital city of Washington DC in the United States of America.
Returning to the Philippines, he passed the Philippine Bar Examination and commenced his law practice in October 1911. In April 1919, the Supreme Court of the United States of America licensed him to practice law in the United States.
He was among the greatest legal luminaries of the Philippines. After completing his law studies in the United States as a government-sponsored scholar he was also assigned for a few years in the Department of Justice (DOJ).
He was appointed later as the first Filipino corporate lawyer of the Philippine National Bank (PNB), Manila Railroad and other government corporations.
Moving on his professional career, he was recalled at the DOJ as Attorney-General then to the position of Secretary of Justice.
In recognition of the brilliance and dedication to government service of Secretary Jose Abad Santos, President Manuel Quezon of the Philippine Commonwealth appointed him later as Justice in the Supreme Court (SC) and eventually as Chief Justice of the SC.
At the outbreak of World War II, President Quezon temporarily moved the seat of the Philippine government to the USA. Together with Vice President Sergio Osmena and other Cabinet members they escaped by submarine from the invading Japanese Imperial Forces as General Douglas MacArthur transferred his general headquarters to Australia to re-organize the Allied Forces.
Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos chose to remain in the Philippines as caretaker of the National Government administration in the Philippines.
The Japanese Military Command repeatedly approached him to make him pledge allegiance to Japan and to the Japanese flag but he did not swear in. A Japanese colonel and his troops overtook him in Lanao and he was told that he would be shot to death if he would not swear allegiance to the Japanese flag. He did not comply with the request of the Japanese so he was executed on May 7, 1942 in Malabang, Lanao del Sur in Mindanao.
Before he was shot to death, he was able to talk to his young son, Jose Jr. and his last parting words were "Do not cry Jr., show to these people that you are brave. It is an honor to die for one's country. Not everybody has that chance."
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I extend my sincere condolences to the family of the late Dante Fabian.
"Tatang Dants" is a prolific scribe and a sincere friend. He'll be missed.
