LONG before email, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, our lolos and lolas communicated via snail mail. Letters and postcards sent across the oceans took months to deliver. Of course, local mails were delivered much faster but never, as today, at the speed of light.

The bulk of the mail for delivery within Luzon was carried by trains of the Philippine National Railways and the rest of the way by buses.

Young readers may not believe it. But back in the 1920s, we had an efficient rail system (which doubled as mail carrier) that ran from Manila to Pangasinan and years later from Manila to Bicol.

Visayas- and Mindanao-bound mail were carried by inter-island ships.

Long before instant messaging, very short and urgent messages were sent via telegram.

Letters and telegrams were finally delivered to their intended recipients by uniformed carteros.

In the 1920s, Filipinos were already schooled in English. But most citizens, natural-born or otherwise, still preferred to speak and write in Spanish. A husband would thus write to his wife as “Mi Querida (...Name).” I am not sure if a husband can do that now and get away with it.

That was the situation in the Philippines in the 1920s wherein Elpidio Quirino found himself.

Quirino would rise to become the 6th President of the Philippines. But back then, he was a struggling young lawyer in Manila. He had to temporarily leave behind his very young bride (barely 17) and his young son to seek his fortune in the big city. In a sense, Quirino was very much like a lonely OFW.

His wife Alicia -- scion of the very wealthy Syquia family -- stayed behind in Vigan, Ilocos Sur. Once, or at most twice a month, Quirino would visit Vigan.

They had a whirlwind courtship if you can call it that. According to one anecdote, Quirino was in the house of the Syquias one evening when all of a sudden, the lights went out. When the lights were restored, Quirino and Alicia were found in each other’s arms.

To cut a long story short, Elpidio and Alicia were married soon after. But Quirino had to leave shortly for Manila. Separated by distance, Elpidio and Alicia began a “proper courtship” through letters.

The newly-published book “Elpidio and Alicia – The Love Letters” (written by Rene E. Guatlo and published by the President Elpidio Quirino Foundation and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines) is a very interesting read.

It incorporates texts of the letters of the Elpidio and Alicia to one another. They were translated from the original Spanish by Conchita Razon.

Through the letters, one could feel the love, during difficult times, of Alicia and Elpidio for each other. Very much felt was the pain of their involuntary separation. The letters not only touched on family life but even mundane matters such as problems of a new law office, politics, price of tobacco, request for pasalubongs, hospitalization of a relative, sales at the Ilocos Sur Pavilion, etc.

Two years into their marriage, Alicia turned 18. On that day (October 20, 1924) Elpidio wrote:

“Today is your birthday. I deeply regret that my duties here have prevented me from joining in the celebration of your coming of age and gaining your complete independence.

“I expected to touch your fresh young cheeks with my kisses, your last kisses as a minor.

Yes, Alicia, you are a woman now, respectable and respected. On this day, you begin a life that is broader and more sober than you have known, with a more complex and nurtured sense of responsibility.”

On one New Year’s Eve, (December 31, 1925) Elpidio wrote:

“My dearest Alicia,

“Now I am alone at home while the whole world makes noise on the streets at this moment because it is midnight and the New Year has arrived. This is when I long to be with my children and you, all of us together. That would such a wonderful beginning of year for us. We would start the year kissing one another, the four of us.”

On another lonely night (August 24, 1926), Elpidio wrote:

“I am extremely eager to see you and kiss the children. Last night, in my nostalgia, and even after dinner, I had to go bowling just to get my mind off these things. A house without the wife and children, even when it has everything one needs cannot be a happy home. I need to have you with me.”

Letters were exchanged between Alicia and Elpidio. But they could very well have told, as author Rene Guatlo wrote, “the story of every Filipino living in their times -- facing the difficulties of the day, yet looking forward to the future -- a bright and promising era of plenty, and love and happiness.”

Elpidio Quirino went on to become congressman, senator, department secretary, Vice President and President. The Quirino years spanned the period which saw post-war rebuilding of the country, the establishment of the foreign service, the establishment of the Central Bank and the strengthening of the education system.

Alicia did not live long enough to see Quirino ascend to the Presidency. She and three of her children were killed by the Japanese during the Battle for Manila.

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