A President and his sons

Title

Language

English

Year

1945

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

A President and His Sons President Sergio Osmeiia is called 1'he Sphinx, because of his nrnderateness, hi" quietness, his aversion to c>lear-~·ut c>ornmitments ·and his general unassuming attitude. Even in America, where the Coolidge type of politician is not usual, journalists have dubbed him "genial" and "smiling" but because of his· natural reticence they have called him the prototype of the oriental statesman. After more than three years of tinge of melancholy? absence, dUTing which he toiled • Sergi'O Osmeiia, by his first marand suffered in a f'Oreign land, riage, had several daughters and bu.rderied by sorrow and grief at six sons. Of the latter, he has the mere thought of the atrocities li>st five. Three are dead and two and devastation wrought upon his are now in prison. His eldest, rbeloved ccuntl'y by a ruthless in- Nicasio, was a constant h~dache vader, he has come back t'O his to his ·father. He still is today. native soil laden with the tremen- An inveterate playboy and a dous responsibilities of the Pre- spendthrift he threw away his insidenr.y. His beaming smiles, his heritance in a couple of years. hearty handshake and his outward During the Nip occupati-on, he was manifestations of joy for the often seen around with important liberation of his country, have not Japs and he occupied the luxurious . wiped out the deep wrinkles in his offices of the late ~ajor Stevenot face nor the worried look in his in the Long Distance Telephone eyes. Those who know him and Building. In 1944, he was shot in love him can not b'\t think that the Trocadero Night Club by somehere is a man, a brave old man, body, presumably a guerillero. He over grieved and over burdened is now languishing in Muntingwith work, facing the monumental lupa, accused of collaboration with task of guiding the destinies of a the Japs. His brother, Sergio jr., nation in the most crucial period a graduate of an American Uniof its history. versity, shares the same fate. But it is not only Osmeiia the During the Jap 'regime, he had a President who bears a heavy load big "buy and si;ll" business in the of worries and responsibilities. Escolta and he is l\CCused of sellOsmeria the man, Osmeiia the ing war materials to the· enemy. father, has been badly hit by the J'Ose Osmeiia, another playboy, wa.r, for in truth he can face his was killed in Negros during the countrymen and tell them that he, first months of the Jap occupaas much as any Filipino ~s offered tion, together with a former coloat the altars of the Fatherland his nel of the Philippine Constabulary. generous sacrifice of "blood, sweat This colonel and the young Osmeiia and tears". Are there many Filipino were sent by the Japs to pacify parents who have lost five sons in the Negros region. They were this war? That has been exactly provided with an armed escort of the contribution of Osmeiia to the Filipinos, but it turned out that common cause. Is it, therefore, the guards were undercover guersurpr1smg that he looks 1 today rillas, and so one l'Onely night, in more gloomy and reticent and that a secluded spot, they turned their even his famous smile carries a guns on the heads of the expediJUL Y, 1945 By ANTONIO ZACARIAS * * * tion. "Feodora and Emilio died a hero's death. Teodoro was leader of a guerrilla outfit. In an encounter with the J aps he was killed together with some of his men. Emilio, who was a doctor, belonged to the U.S. army. Sometime after the occupation of Cebu, he was caught by the Japs. He was offered release if he would sign a document pledging allegiance to the J ap regime and promising never again to take arms against Japan. He firmly refused, alleging that he was an officer of the U.S. Army and that he was honor bound to maintain his oath of loyalty. He claimed that he should be treated ~s a priS'Oner of war. He was executed. 'fhis is the intimate, poignant, story of the President and his sons. The sheer weight of the work and the responsibilities of the Presidency is enough' to break down any man, but if to this weighl; you add the continuous worri\S and the constant bleeding of a. £8ther's heart you ma' have a clearer picture of the man who heads the Commonwealth to4ay.

Media