29 MAY

Sen. Lorenzo Tanada y Martinez

1992 - Ex-Sen. Lorenzo Tanada, y Martinez, Filipino nationalist crusader and civil rights defender dubbed the "Grand Old Man of Philippine Politics," dies at the ripe old age of 94; the son of the last gobernardorcillo of Gumaca, Quezon during the Spanish colonial rule, he lived a life guided by a philosophy that led him to develop a principled nationalist resolve, as early on seen in his exhortation to fellow University of the Philippines Reserved Officer’s Training Course (ROTC) cadets to take their training seriously in case such would be needed to fight the Americans in case independence is not granted; a pensionado who earned his law degree from Harvard University during the American colonial rule, he became a relentless crusader against imperialist United States' interference in Philippine affairs even after the Bald Eagle's granting of "independence" to the Southeast Asian nation; Tanada's vision and crusade will  eventually see some light several months before his death with the September 16, 1991  rejection of the Philippine-US Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Security [read: American imperialist military right to Philippine territory] that was supposed to take the place of the expiring RP-US Military Bases Agreement: Tanada, already old and sickly, attended the Senate discussions on the Bases Treaty, mustering all his breath in shouting "Mabuhay" upon the reading of the Senate vote rejecting the said military agreement.



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