THE National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) will celebrate the 107th birth anniversary of former governor and congressman Jose B. Lingad.
The honor rites will be held at the Jose Lingad Park and Museum in Lubao on Wednesday, November 24, 2021.
In the 1947 general elections, Lingad was elected governor of Pampanga as a member of the Liberal Party at the age of 33. In 1969, Lingad was elected to the House of Representatives under the Liberal Party banner representing the First District of Pampanga.
Lingad's congressional career was abbreviated with the abolition of Congress following the declaration of martial law by Marcos in 1972. Lingad, a member of the political opposition against Marcos, was among the first political figures to be arrested and imprisoned on the day martial law was declared.
Lingad was released from prison after three months and he retired to his Pampanga farm. He was called out of retirement by the opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr., who urged him to run for Pampanga governor in the January 1980 local elections as a candidate of the anti-Marcos opposition.
On December 16, 1980, Lingad was shot. His assassin, who died in a vehicular accident before being prosecuted, was identified as a member of the Philippine Constabulary.
Highlights of the celebration are the unveiling of the historical marker “Jose B. Lingad (1914-1980)” and the opening of the “Faces of Heroism During the Second World War” exhibit which features Jose Lingad as a war veteran.
Lingad was a lawyer and became the head of the Southern district, East Central Luzon Guerrilla Area, USAFFE, during World War II. He was also a local leader and became known as one of the martyrs during the martial law regime. The museum will soon introduce Lingad as a democratic icon, hero, advocate for farmers and statement, and a Kapampangan figure in public service worthy of emulation.