Ipinanganak si Claro M. Recto noong ika-8 ng Pebrero 1890 sa Tiaong, Tayabas (o ngayon ay Quezon province). Siya ay galing sa edukado at medyo elit na pamilya. Ipinangalang siya sa kanyang ama na si Claro Recto [Sr.] at ang kanyang ina naman ay si Micaela Mayo na tubong Lipa, Batangas.
Achievements
Isang abodago, jurist, manunula, plawyright, at essayist, at politiko si Recto. Tiningala siya bilang isa sa mga pinakamatalas ang isip ng kanyang henerasyon. Nanalong mambabatas ng ikalawang distrito ng Batangas noong 1919 at naging minority floor leader hanggang 1925. Naging kasapi siya ng American Bar noon 1924 at nagbiyahe rin sa Kalbong Agila bilang kasapi ng Independence Mission. Pansamantalang namahinga sa mundo ng pulitika, ini.appoint siya ng Pangulo ng Estados Unidos, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, bilang Associate Justice ng kolonyal na Korte Suprema noong 1935. Noong taon ding iyon, siya na nahalal bilang pangulo ng asembliya na sumulat ng draft ng Saligang Batas ng (kolonyang) Pilipinas.
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| Claro Recto y Mayo |
May isang sinulat si CM Recto na masasabing kontrobersyal. Sinulat o ginawa niya ang "The Filipinos' greatest jurist" na binasa niya sa isang opisyal na okasyon kung saan binibigyang pugay niya si Cayetano Arellano, ang unang Punong Hukom ng Pilipinas noong panahon ng imperyalistang Amerikano. Tandaan na si Arellano ay isang maagang collaborator ng Kalbong Agila na tinanggap ang appointment bilang pinuno ng isang reorganisadong kolonyal na Korte Suprema wala pang isang taong pumuputok ang Digmaang Pilipino-Amerikano (1899-1914). Ang ginawang ito ni Arellano ay mariing matatawag na pagtataksil hindi lamang dahil Pilipino siya kundi naging opisyal siya ng Republika ng Pilipinas sa ilalim ni Emilio F. Aguinaldo. Si Arellano ay naging Kalihim ng Ugnayang Panlabas at naging delegado ng Kongreso ng Malolos na ratipika ng kalayaan ng Pilipinas na idineklara noong Hunyo 12, 1898. Worse, Arellano was responsible for affirming the death sentence handed to the great anti-imperialist hero, Gen. Macario Sakay, President of the Katagalugan Republic who continued to fight the enemy Bald Eagle invaders and surrendered only in 1906 after the vile American officials conned him with promises of amnesty and the establishment of a congress of elected Filipino representatives.
Anupaman, sinulat ni Recto ang nasabing talumpati noong 1922 noong bata-bata pa siya, noong ordinaryong kasapi pa siya ng Kongreso. Dagdag pa, maaring hindi na tiningnan ni Recto ang naging kataksilan ni Arellano at bagkus ay tumuon lamang ito sa ipinakita raw na "strict principles, his sterling qualities, and his humble and simple life" ni Arellano (baka nakonsensya sa pagtataksil niya sa Republika kaya nagtino?).
Nasyonalista
Sa dami ng kanyang mga naging posisyon at katanyagang nakamit, sa saling-lahi ngayon ay mas tanyag si Recto bilang isang nasyonalista. Specifically, later generations would hold Recto in high esteem for his anti-U.S. Military Bases stance and his bold criticisms of "America's anti-industrialization policy for the Philippines."
Recto became an outspoken nationalist and critic of the United States Military Bases, attacking the 1947 Military Bases Agreement and the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty. Additionally, he condemned and the Tydings Rehabilitation Act requiring the controversial and inimical-to-the-Filipinos Parity Rights amendment to the 1935 Charter.
The World Encyclopedia sums up Recto's legacy as of prime importance to the Filipino nation:
In perspective, Recto revived the tradition of the radical dissenter fighting against feudal backwardness, clericofascist authoritarianism, and neocolonial mentality and imperialism. He strove to reawaken the consciousness of the Filipinos to the greatness of their revolutionary heritage and emphasized the need to transform the character of the national life by reaffirming their solidarity as a sovereign, free people.
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| CIA Recto murder plot operative US Ambassador Admiral Raymond Spruance |
Mainam sana kung ang isang Claro M. Recto ay nanalong pangulo ng bansa. Sa sinamaang palad ay hindi nangyari ito. Tinangka niyang makuha ang pinakamataas at pinakamahalagang posisyon sa bansa subali't hindi ito natupad. Ang isang dahilan (o maaring pangunahing dahilan) ay ang ginawang pagsabotahe ng kinatatakuang Central Intelligence Agency o CIA ng imperyalistang Kalbong Agila.
During a Cold War period when clandestine CIA operations were marked by intervention, deception, psychological warfare, instigations of military coup d'état and even the assassinations of foreign political leaders such as Chile's Salvador Allende (contained in the 1975 Church Committee Report of the US congressional investigations), the price of displeasing Uncle Sam was tough. Nationalist Filipino Senator Claro M. Recto would run for president during the November 12, 1957 Philippine elections but would pay the price with having to endure a bag of dirty tricks propaganda, and later, with his life.
For having actively opposed the military presence of the US in his country, his presidential campaign was immorally and deviously sabotaged by the CIA. This agency-apparatus of US imperialism ran foul operations that included the distribution of holed condoms sealed in packages labeled with "Courtesy of Claro M. Recto--the People's Friend." During a more conservative era, just the condom themselves would have repulsed Filipinos, and having them holes would have been seen as most obscene.
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| Centennial stamp for CM Recto |
Sinasabing naghahanda si CM Recto ng ilunsad ang kanyang Filipinist na krusada sa tradisyon ng Propaganda Movement noong dekada 1880 nang siya ay mamatay sa "sakit sa puso." Hanggang ngayon, sa kabila ng paglabas ng murder plan laban kay Recto ng CIA, ay wala pang imbestigasyon sa tunay na pangyayari sa pagkamatay ng pinagpipitagang nasyonalista.
Mga Batis:
http://www.nhi.gov.ph//index.php?option=com_today_in_history&th_days=30&th_month=7&Itemid=1&thAction=thDetailView&th_id=1096
http://www.filipiniana.net/ArtifactView.do?artifactID=SE0000000002
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleid=398995
Encyclopedia of World Biography. http://www.bookrags.com/biography/claro-m-recto/
Claro M. Recto. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claro_M._Recto
Elbaum, Max. Vivid Images Bring Hidden History to Light. Book Review of The Forbidden Book: The Philippine American War in Political Cartoons, by Abe Ignacio, Enrique de la Cruz, Jorge Emmanuel and Helen Toribio. http://www.revolutionintheair.com/histstrategy/forbidbk.html
G. R. No. 3621. July 26, 1907.] THE UNITED STATES, Plaintiff-Appellee, vs. MACARIO SAKAY, JULIAN MONTALBAN, LEON VILLAFUERTE, and LUCIO DE VEGA, Defendants-Appellants. http://www.chanrobles.com/cralaw/1907julydecisions.php?id=8
Memorabilia Room, Chief Justices' List. http://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/index3.php?justicetype=Chief+Justice&justiceid=a45475a11ec72b843d74959b60fd7bd645550260501c1
Pforr, Chris. The Philippines is a Neocolonial State. http://www.chrispforr.net/row2/chrisphil7/neocolonial/neocolonial.htm
Simbulan, Roland. Covert Operations and the CIA's Hidden History in the Philippines. 18 Aug. 2000. Retrieved March 17, 2009,http://www.derechos.org/nizkor/filipinas/doc/cia.html.
The Worst Book of 2002. Review of The Savage Wars of Peace: Small Wars and the Rise of American Power, by Max Boot. 2003. http://www.main.nc.us/books/books.cgi?theworstbookof2002.
Transcript from Philippine Senate Resolution No. 121, September 16, 2008, http://www.senate.gov.ph/14th_congress/resolutions/resno121.pdf
Photo credits:
Philatelist blog. http://vincemd.blogspot.com/
Wikipedia