On this day, 79 years ago, Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos was executed by the Japanese authorities for consistently refusing to collaborate with Japan.* Before leaving for Australia, then President Manuel Quezon instructed Abad Santos to take charge of the Philippine government on his behalf. Quezon asked Abad Santos to join him to the U.S. but the latter declined the opportunity as he was worried of his own family. He also refused the offer of Manuel Roxas, the future Philippine president, to be taken to Mindanao for safety and had decided to oversee the defense capabilities of Negros Oriental and Cebu Province instead. In Cebu City, Abad Santos rode a car with the plate number one reserved only for the Philippine president.
Since the early weeks of World War II in the Philippines, Abad Santos was already with his son, Lt. Pepito. Before leaving Corregidor, he and his son did burn millions of peso banknotes of the Treasury, this in his capacity as the acting secretary of Justice and Finance.
Unfortunately, a large Japanese fleet landed in Cebu City on 10 April 1942, just a day after Bataan had fallen. Mactan oil depots were already burned by the Americans, signaling that the war in Cebu was imminent and Abad Santos had to be relocated immediately. The Japanese and the Filipino-American forces were racing after Abad Santos.
While on their way to escape for Negros Occidental via Toledo, Cebu, the Abad Santoses and their aids were arrested by the Japanese authorities in Barili, Cebu. The enemies happened to have just landed there.
The chief justice was delivered to the Japanese officials in the abandoned Cebu Provincial Capitol and was asked to cooperate with the new government and convince Roxas to surrender. Unyielding, he was brought to Malabang, Lanao del Sur and there informed him that he was about to be executed.
At 2:00 p.m. of 1 May 1942, Abad Santos was scheduled in a firing squad. Before he was executed, he told his son "Do not cry, Pepito. Show this people that you are brave. It is a rare opportunity for me to die for our country. Not everyone is given that chance."
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*Previously, the death anniversary of Abad Santos was celebrated on May 2 in Pampanga, the honoree's home province. But in 2014, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines ascertained through the Japanese War Crime documents in the National Archives of the Philippines that the correct date of Abad Santos' execution was 1 May 1942.
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Seeing this post? Curious what this is about? This 2021, we will commemorate the Philippine part in the achievement of science and humankind in circumnavigating the planet for the first time. Central in this commemoration is the 500th anniversary of the Victory at Mactan on 27 April 2021. These and more are collectively known as the 2021 Quincentennial Commemorations in the Philippines by virtue of Executive Order No. 103 (2020). Know more about the event here:
About us
[https://nqc.gov.ph/en/about]
Watch our promotional video
[https://youtu.be/ptgU1ZUgFZc]
Listen to Quincentennial Soundtrack
[https://spoti.fi/3nxWXPa]
Watch our lectures [https://portal.nqc.gov.ph/]
Quincentennial activities and materials here [https://bit.ly/3dHrnKF]
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