MW Jose Abad Santos, PGM

LIFE AND MASONIC JOURNEY OF MW JOSE ABAD SANTOS, PGM

Memorialized in the P1000 peso bank notes are Jose Abad Santos, Gen. Vicente Lim and Josefa LlanesEscoda (founder of Girl Scouts of the Philippines), who all died resisting and defying Japanese colonial military encroachment of the Philippines during the Second World War. Two were brother masons: Jose Abad Santos and Vicente Lim. Bro Jose Abad Santos was the fifth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. Before his departure for the United States, Bro./President Manuel L. Quezon left a letter dated March 17, 1942 to Bro. Abad Santos with the following instructions: “In addition to your duties as Chief Justice and acting Secretary of Finance, Agriculture and Commerce, I hereby designate you as my delegate with power to act on all matters of government which involve no change in the fundamental policies of my administration of which you are familiar. Where circumstances are such as to preclude previous consultation with me, you may act on urgent questions of local administration without my previous approval. In such cases, you are to use your own best judgment and sound discretion. “With reference to the government-owned corporations, you are also authorized to take such steps as will protect the interest of the government either by continuing, curtailing or terminating their operations as circumstances warrant.”

MASONIC LIFE

Bro. Jose Abad Santos filed his petition for membership in Bagumbayan Lodge No. 4 on Feb. 23, 1919 and was elected on April 19, 1919. As he was in the United States with the first Independence Mission, Bro. Abad Santos was initiated as Entered Apprentice in March by courtesy of a Masonic Lodge in Washington, D.C. Upon returning to the Philippines, he was passed to the Fellowcraft on Aug. 27, 1919 and raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason on Sept. 6, 1919. In 1934, Bro. Abad Santos was Grand Orator of the Grand Lodge of the Philippine Islands, Junior Grand Warden in 1935, Senior Grand Warden in 1936, Deputy Grand Master in 1937, and Most Worshipful Grand Master in 1938. In 1938, the Grand Lodge declared Plaridel Temple its official home. MW Reynold S. Fajardo, PGM, writes that during the Annual Communication in 1938, “the Grand Lodge approved plans for the renovation of the Plaridel Temple to make it more suitable for Masonic needs. The alterations were completed during the term of Grand Master Jose Abad Santos. A two-storey addition was made along the entire width of the building facing San Marcelino St., and a second floor was constructed over the Social Hall in the north wing. On October 15, 1938, the first meeting in the renovated building was held. Lakandula Lodge of Perfection conferred the 14th degree in full ceremonial form upon a class which included Grand Master Abad Santos himself.” The Philippine Bodies of the Scottish Rite elected Bro. Jose Abad Santos to receive the degrees from 4th to 32nd. He was made Master of the Royal Secret on October 22 of the same year. Then at their session in 1941, the Supreme Council 33rd, Southern Jurisdiction, USA, invested him as Knight Commander of the Court of Honor. In honor of MW Abad Santos, the biggest hall at the new Plaridel Masonic Temple was named after him. In 1946, the Philippine Bodies sponsored the organization of Jose Abad Santos Chapter, Order of DeMolay. In my article “Jose Abad Santos, Martyr and Hero,” in the book entitled Kinship to Greatness (1983), published by MW Rosendo C. Herrera, PGM, I concluded my essay thus: “In war and in peace, he (Bro. Abad Santos) was a natural leader. In peace, he used his high office for serving his people. In war, together with other patriots, he .struggled to preserve his government against seemingly unsurmountable odds. Though physically frail, he chose to remain with his captive people rather than escape to safety in

the United States. In captivity, he was faithful to his oath of allegiance; executed, he remain truly noble.” Had it not been for his premature but heroic death in 1942, he would have served Masonry longer.

EARLY LIFE

Bro. Jose Abad Santos was born on February 19, 1886 in San Fernando, Pampanga to Vicente Abad Santos and Toribia Basco. He took his segunda enseňanza at the private school of Roman Velez. In 1904, the Philippine government sent him to the United States where he was a student in Santa Clara College, San Jose, California. He studied law in the University of Illinois and later transferred to the law school of Northwestern University, where he received his Bachelor of Laws on June 4, 1908. Bro. Abad Santos then pursued his graduate studies at George Washington University and received his Master of Laws on June 19, 1909. As a government pensionado, Bro. Abad Santos was obligated to serve the government for a certain length of time, and so upon his return to the Philippines, he entered the government service on December 1, 1909 as a temporary clerk in the Archives Division of the Executive Bureau. After passing the bar examinations in September 1911, he became a clerk of the Bureau of Justice. On April 22, 1922, he was appointed Secretary of Justice. On December 24, 1941, Bro./President Manuel Quezon appointed Bro. Abad Santos as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. In all these positions, Bro./Justice Abad Santos served with honesty and faithfulness, never taking advantage of the trust bestowed on him.

FAMILY LIFE

Bro./Justice Jose Abad Santos married the former Amanda Topacio in 1918, his loving inspiring wife. The couple had five children: two boys (Jose and Osmundo) and three girls (Luz, Amanda and Victoria). A devout and ardent Methodist, Bro. Abad Santos worshiped at Central United Methodist Church along T.M. Kalaw St., Ermita, Manila (then known as Central Methodist Episcopal Church). Bro. Abad Santos was a quiet-spoken individual. He was deeply religious in the best sense of that term, and had no heart for bigotry or intolerance.

WORLD WAR II

On December 8, 1941, the Pacific War broke out. Bro./President Manuel L. Quezon was advised by Bro./Gen Douglas MacArthur to establish a government in exile. On December 24, 1941, Bro./President Quezon moved out to Corregidor bringing with him his war cabinet. On December 30, 1941, Bro./Chief Justice Abad Santos administered the oath of office to Bro./President Quezon and Vice President Osmena. On March 17, 1942, Bro. Abad Santos bade goodbye to Bro./President Quezon at Zamboangita Point (Oriental Negros). In the words of Bro./President Quezon, Bro. Abad Santos was “one of the noblest, purest, and ablest men in the government service.” On April 11, 1942, Bro. Abad Santos, his son, Jose Jr (nicknamed Pepito), Col. Benito Valeriano and two other enlisted men were captured by the Japanese in barangay Tubod, in Barili, Cebu. On April 26, 1942, Major General Kiyotake Kawaguchi took Bro. Abad Santos aboard a ship and arrived on April 28 at Parang, Cotabato (now Maguindanao). The next day, father and son were brought to Malabang, Lanao. On May 2, 1942, Bro. Abad Santos was brought to Gen. Kawaguchi who informed the jurist of his execution orders by the Japanese Command. Bro. Abad Santos requested the General for a few minutes to see his son, which was granted in the fine tradition of Buchido (samurai’s code). Bro. Abad Santos told Pepito: “I am going to be executed.” The son burst into tears. Bro. Abad Santos comforted him thus: “Do not cry, Pepito. Show these people that you are brave. It is a rare opportunity for me to die for our country. Not everyone is given that chance.” Bro. Abad Santos and son, Pepito, knelt down and prayed together and after praying the jurist told his son: “Tell your mother, brothers and sisters not to grieve over my passing. Tell them that we shall be together again in the next life. From your strength, let them draw theirs. Teach them to be brave.” Bro. Jose Abad Santos was, decidedly, a patriot, a jurist, an educator, a statesman, and a Mason. In patriotic tribute, the Brethren of Mabalacat, Pampanga named their blue lodge, Jose Abad Santos Masonic Lodge No. 333.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Abad_Santos Fajardo, Reynold S., The Brethren In the days of Empire, published by Enrique L. Locsin and the Grand Lodge of the Philippines Filipino in History, Vol 1, National Historical Institute, 1989. The Golden Harvest, Philippine Bodies, A&ASR, Plaridel Masonic Temple, 1440 San Marcelino St., Manila, 1967. Kinship to Greatness, a tribute to the past Grand Masters, 1983. Zaide, Gregorio F., Sonia M., Rizal and Other Great Filipinos, National Book Store, 1988.