Teodoro Kalaw: Aide-de-Camp to Freedom Essay Example

sent to Manila to study, a journey delayed by one year because of the political turmoil caused by the activities of the Katipunan. He returned to Lipa to continue his studies at the prestigious Instituto Rizal, where he first began writing by contributing poems, essays, and short stories to the student paper. I finished my fourth year course with first honors, to the great joy of my parents and other relatives”, he supposed. He was then enroll in the Liceo de Manila by his father and by Hugo Latorre, the prefect of studies in the Instituto Rizal (p. 21).

“After graduating with high honors from the Liceo de Manila, I went on to the Escuela de Derecho, the first Filipino college of law founded by the illustrious Don Felipe G. Calderon”, he narrated. (p. 30) He went back to Manila to take the required examinations for the degree of Licenciado en Ciencias Juridicas (p. 8) and topped the bar examinations that same year with a grade of 100 percent in civil law and three other subjects. With regards to his religion, he is said to be a Mason. He also had the same views as to what Quezon said: You know very well that I am a free thinker. I do not believe in that trash about marriage being an indissoluble tie, in the same way that I do not believe in the need for any religion, whether for individuals or for nations. Science should be, and must be, the religion of the future… (p. 90-91) He even wrote Derecho Parliamentario Masonico, a pamphlet on Masonic parliamentary rules for Masonic deliberative bodies.

He said, “From the utilitarian

point of view, it is the most successful of my books, being the one that has sold most copies. ” (p. 124-125) Also, in March 1920, his book on Masoneria Filipina was published. He even reported that it was the best received of his works. Governor-General Harrison said it was “a most interesting and valuable book, especially the chapters dealing with the early days of Philippine Masonry”. (p. 133) Kalaw narrated, “In 1928, I was elected Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the Philippine Island, the highest honor that can be conferred upon a Mason in a symbolical Lodge.

In that same year, he was also elected as President to the Asociacion Hispano-Filipino which is composed of prominent Spaniards and Filipinos. (p. 214) Teodoro M. Kalaw had a very colored occupation. He first joined the staff of the El Renacimiento, the organ of the Nacionalistas, a political group that advocated the immediate independence of the Philippines from the United States sometime in 1903 or 1904 saying that “the thought of working once more with Guerrero, my former professor, delighted me” (p. 9) Aside from his column, he also took up story-writing – Enrique Gomez Carillo being his favorite author in the branch of literature. (p. 40)

He became the editor of the Renacimiento when Rafael Corpuz resigned. He declared: We fought against caciquism in the provinces, abuses by the Constabulary, rampant banditry everywhere, exploitation by corrupt officials of the ignorance and illiteracy of the people, the slow disappearance of the “Filipino Soul” under the seductive wiles of Anglo-Saxonism, etc. (p. 43) What Kalaw meant by the “Filipino Soul” is the inherent strong virtues of our race.

He

likewise zealously propagated the use of a common national language among Filipinos (one of the first to do so), the “preservation” of the Filipino way of life, and the appointment of more Filipinos to high-ranking and crucial positions in the government. In time, Kalaw developed a close friendship with Guerrero whom he, then only 23, replaced as the paper’s editor in 1907, when Guerrero was elected to the First Philippine Assembly. He took part in Guerrero’s campaign by delivering speeches and even writing a manifesto in support of Guerrero’s independence from the Gran Partido Nacionalista. p. 48-58).

After some time, Manuel Quezon was appointed Philippine delegate to the International Congress on Navigation in St. Petersburg, Russia. To Kalaw’s surprise, he was appointed as his secretary. He even told Quezon, “But I hardly know English” in which Quezon replied, “This is all right, I am appointing you because of your knowledge of constitutional law” (p. 62). Out of his memorable trip Kalaw wrote the book, Hacia La Tierra del Zar, which he dedicated to Quezon. (p. 67) In 1908, He returned to his work as Renacimiento editor.

But in October of the same year, the paper came out with “Aves de Rapina” (Birds of Prey), the controversial editorial which presented a series of tribulations for him. The case, which dragged on for several years, caused the newspaper to be closed, its equipment auctioned off to pay the damages (totaling P60,000) sought by Worcester, and he and Ocampo meted out prison sentences however, Governor General Harrison pardoned them. (p. 69-79) Kalaw decided to run during the second Philippine Assembly elections, as representative of the third district of Batangas, and

won. (p. 80) However, round the middle of December, he conveyed that he “became seriously and gravely ill” (p. 89), resulting in him losing a leg.

In 1913, when his term ended, he was designated Secretary of the Assembly. (p. 90) He held the post until 1916, when he was named director of the National Library and undersecretary of the Interior Department. (p. 118) He became the Interior Secretary himself four years later when Rafael Palma resigned. (p. 135) In 1923, he was appointed by Senate President Manuel L. Quezon and House of Representatives Speaker Manuel A. Roxas as the Executive Secretary and the Chief Adviser of the Independence Commission. p. 173)

His duties were to handle the propaganda and information campaign of the “Philippine cause both in the Philippines” and in the United States, publish periodicals and books supportive of the cause, and to prepare, collate, and disseminate data pertaining to the country. After three years, he resigned from the said post and once again took up Journalism he then said, “Although at first it was difficult for one who had tasted the comforts of high office to be content with the work of a simple newspaperman, I did my best to get adjusted to my new circumstances. (p. 211)

From 1929 to 1939, Kalaw went back into being a director of the National Library, eventually boosting the development of Philippine historical research and writing with the publication of such writings about Gregorio del Pilar, the Katipunan, and Apolinario Mabini. In the last few pages of his book, he expressed his thoughts about two great leaders who have, in one way or another, inspired him - Quezon

and Osmena: When I first knew Quezon, I did not consider him destined for greatness.

Brilliant he was, yes, and highly intelligent, “a born leader,” “a magnetic personality,” “a forceful speaker. ” But I seen many other brilliant personalities fade out or grow lusterless with time with the advent of new and keen competition…. Quezon broke all my rules. I felt I could not rely on his statements because a change in circumstances could eventually make him contradict them. Thus, by nature and by affinity, I fell in with Osmena rather than with Quezon. As the saying goes, “he was a man after my own heart”.

The fact is, whenever Quezon considers matters, he seldom even bothers himself with details…. In contrast, Osmena has the scholars’s love for completeness. That is why those who pretend to know Quezon also pretend to foretell what he will do under certain predicaments. But whether their guesses are right or wrong, Quezon always manages to wriggle himself out of them. He himself has explained how, to Osmena: “The trouble with you is that you take this game of politics too seriously. You look far behind you and too far ahead of you. Our people do not understand that.

They do not want it. All they want is to have the present problem solved, and solved with the least pain. That is all. ” Judging from the results, he must be right. He has done more than we ever dreamed of for the Commonwealth. Osmena would also have done as much. But he would have done it in another matter (p. 267-271) With all that said, one can see how great Teodoro Kalaw’s

role in society is. His life is very inspiring as to how he fought, in his own and alongside great leaders, in advancing the state of our country. Indeed, he has been an Aide-de-Camp to Freedom.