8 FEBRUARY

1890 - Claro M. Recto, future Filipino nationalist statesman and president of the 1934 Constitutional Convention is born; Recto will be one of the most stern critics of American colonial rule, advocating Philippine autonomy and removal of the US military bases, and the controversial parity rights that gives Americans the right to exploit Philippine natural resources; he will ran for president against then Vice-President Carlos P. Garcia but will lose, with his candidacy suffering from the dirty tricks department of the United States' Central Intelligence Agency that will distribute holed condoms that were labeled  "Courtesy of Claro M. Recto--the People's Friend"; dubbed one of the 'finest minds of his generation,' Recto, who had no known heart disease, will officially die from heart attack in October 1960 but suspicions on his death are cast on the CIA because prior to his death, he met with two mysterious "Caucasians" in business suits before he died, US government documents later showing CIA Chief of Station Ralph Lovett and US Ambassador to the Philippines Admiral Raymond Spruance having earlier discussed plan to murder Recto with a vial of poison.


Photo credit: http://lipatourism.wordpress.com/culture/lipas-famous-families/