ilokanopoetreneboyabiva

January 21, 2023

NON OMNIS MORIAR

by Sir Rene Boy E. Abiva, KCR

Last January 18, the Manuel V. Gallego Foundation Colleges (MVGFC) commemorates the 130^th nativity of its founder, Dr. Manuel Viola Gallego. Students and faculty at the secondary and tertiary levels attended the said event. The Order of the Knights of Rizal- Cabanatuan City Chapter also joined the ceremony. Their presence was to facilitate the posthumous award from the Order to the late Dr. Manuel Viola Gallego. The posthumous award was received by his great-grandson, Dr. Joseph L. Gallego, functioning now as the president of MVGFC.

Who is Dr. Manuel Viola Gallego? Try to ponder on the initial result of my historical digging on the archives of the Violas and Gallegos located at the Main Library of the MVGFC at Purok Zulueta, Barangay Kapitan Pepe, Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija.

Dr. Manuel Viola Gallego was a high-caliber lawyer, diplomat, statesman, and educator. On January 18, 1893, Julio Gallego and Inocencia Viola welcomed a son named Manuel Viola Gallego. He completed his studies at the University of the Philippines, where he earned three degrees: a Bachelor's in Arts (1915), a Bachelor's in Law (1918), and a Master's in Law (1923). In that same year, he graduated from the University of Santo Tomas with a Licenciado in Jurisprudencia. His ancestry can be traced down to Maximo Sison Viola, one of Dr. Jose P. Rizal's contemporaneous individuals who lent him P300 and helped Noli Me Tangere (1887) be produced and published in Germany and upon traveled back to the Philippines that, according to historians, ignited the First Philippine Revolution for independence led by Andres Bonifacio through the secret society Kataastaasan, Kagangalanggalangan, Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK).

He took a plane to the United States of America, where he enrolled in Chicago Northwestern University, where he earned his Juris Doctor in 1928, and traveled back to his own country to continue his education. His dissertation, "A Critical Study of the Usury Laws (ACT 2655)" was turned into a book that later functioned as a resource in the various law schools in the Philippines.

He traveled to Spain in 1919 to begin his postgraduate legal studies at the Universidad Central de Madrid before returning to the United States. He began his busy legal career and quickly became known for his brilliant and vigilant case management. When he was chosen as an assemblyman for Nueva Ecija's first district in 1931, he officially began his political career. In 1941, when Japan was occupying the country, he was once more elected and worked for the Laurel Administration. Some of the efforts for land reform were started by him as an assemblyman.

Along with Tagalog being the official language, he worked on the use of dialects as a teaching tool in Philippine schools. Scholars’ believed that Dr. Gallego’s effort to radicalize the use of dialects influenced Filipino linguists and scholars like Jose V. Aguilar’s “Iloilo Experiment”, Dr. Pedro G. Guiang’s “Mother Tounge experiment at Ilocos Norte Agricultural College,” and Pedro T. Orata’s experiment in Cebu 1948.

Both the House Bill that allowed land taxes to be partially paid in installments and the House Bill that gave women the right to vote was written by him and both became laws. He also contributed to the Rice Tariff Bill, which was passed into law.

In the House of Representatives at the time, he was the sponsor of most labor laws. In recognition of his contributions to the nation in 1931, he placed fifth among lawmakers in the 1942–1945 Philippine Free Press rating of lawmakers. He was named to the Philippine Congressional

Rehabilitation Reconstruction Commission in 1945, which discussed strategies to reconstruct the nation after the carnage and destruction of World War 2 with members of the US government.

Under the Osmena Administration, Dr. Gallego served as the Commonwealth's final secretary of instruction. Under the Manuel Roxas Administration, he served as the Third Republic of the Philippines' first secretary of education. As secretary of education, he fostered cultural growth by introducing new textbooks written by Filipinos on Philippine politics, history, social science, and other pertinent topics, such as Rizal's writings and correspondence.

The School Health Act of 1946 was enacted by the legislature in response to his suggestions, requiring the creation of medical and dental services for students in all educational institutions offering secondary and tertiary degrees. Additionally, he played a key role in the legislation that altered the curriculum to include values education. His approach led to Congress passing a bill raising teacher pay to entice talented men and women to enter and stay in the teaching profession. He established the National Cooperative for Teachers (NCT) to aid teachers financially, especially in securing loans. He created and implemented a program that allows educators to pursue studies overseas in technical fields and on cutting-edge technologies and systems for the management of the educational process. As a result, the United States and the Philippines signed the Fulbright Pact in March 1948, which provided funding for Filipino educators' and students' studies abroad from a special fund created from the sale of surplus American property.

Dr. Gallego participated in numerous international endeavors as a diplomat, representing his nation. At the First Oriental Tourist Conferences in 1935, he was in Tokyo serving as the Philippine delegate. He was a member of the Far Eastern Commission (FEC), which pressed the Japanese government for significant reparations for the pillage that Japanese invaders had inflicted on occupied countries during World War 2. To further the peace between Korea and the Philippines in 1946, he traveled to Korea. He attended the First United Nations Assembly, which was held in London that same year, as one of the delegates. He led the team from the Philippines to the ECAPE Conference in Australia three years later, in 1949, where he spoke out in favor of the country's economic rights. To legally negotiate a Treaty of Friendships and Amity (TFA) between Indonesia and the Philippines, he was in Indonesia in 1950, once more serving as the mission's leader. The endeavor was successful.

Dr. Gallego was chosen to lead the board of regents at the University of the Philippines because of his expertise in education and his role as a member of the Council of State. He was a Professor and Dean at the College of Law before becoming president of the University of Manila (UM). Additionally, he held the position of Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the Manila College of Pharmacy and Dentistry (MCPD). Later, he was appointed Chancellor of the Manila Central University (MCU).

Both the Central Luzon School of Nursing (CLSN) in Nueva Ecija and the Central Luzon Educational Center (CLEC), which is today known as the Manuel V. Gallego Foundation Colleges (MVGFC) in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija, were founded by Dr. Gallego. He served as president of several organizations due to his wide range of interests, including the Manila Tobacco

Association (MTA), the Philippine Constitutional Association (PCA), the National Rice and Corn Growers Association (NRCGA), and the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU). He also served as vice president of the Homeowners Association (HA) and the Foreign Affairs Associations of the Philippines (FAAP).

Dr. Gallego was a prolific author who wrote several books, including The Philippine Election Law, Dictatorship Under the Mask of Democracy, The Philippine Language Problem, Economic Emancipation, The Price of the Philippine Independence, The Philippine Trade Act in the Light of History, A Critical Study of the Philippine Usury Act, Bar Evidence, and The Philippine Law of Water and Water Rights. He also contributed to the Law on Obligations.

Gallego was the recipient of several awards and citations from various organizations: for his role as an eminent legislator and erudite thinker, author and writer, Philippine Association of Doctor of Civil Laws (1967); for being an outstanding exemplar and benefactor of youth, National Executive Committee of the National Youth Day Award (1967); for his active participation in and wholehearted support to the commission of Asian and Far Eastern affairs, International Chamber of Commerce (1958); for his ability and exemplary leadership in promoting the rice and corn industry of the Philippines, Association of Rice and Corn Producers of the Philippines, Inc. (1966); for promoting and developing a common national language, Surian ng Wikang Pambansa (1967); for his valuable participation in the Seminar of the Philippine Constitution Association on the proposed amendments to the constitution, Philippine Constitution Association (1968); for promoting the cause of Philippine education, Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (1967); for his outstanding service as Dean of the College of Law, Manila University (1970); for being an outstanding PHILCONSA governor, United Commentators Award (1965); and for being a distinguished educator and as Doctor of Leadership in International Relations and as UNAP president, International Academy of Leadership (1967) and (1969), respectively.

On the commemoration of his 130^th nativity, January 18, 2023, the Order of the Knights of Rizal (OKOR)- Cabanatuan City Chapter under the leadership of Sir Rene Boy E. Abiva, KCR, and through the illustrious supervision of Sir Paul G. Bilaoen, KGOR (Regional Commander for Central Luzon) and Sir Gerardo V. Calderon, KGCR (Supreme Commander), the Order released its Posthumous Award to Manuel Viola Gallego on the following grounds: in recognition for the meritorious service and signal accomplishments in promoting Rizalism through education which is the supreme goal of our National Hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal in liberating our sacred motherland, the Pearl of the Orient Sea; for the incontestable genealogical lineage to our fellow patriot, reformist, revolutionary, and illustrious Maximo Sison Viola; for the concrete emulation of Rizalian virtues, philosophies, morals, and values while in the field of public service from 1931 up to the time of his death; for the formation of the Manuel V. Gallego Foundation Colleges in 1963 that marked his position in Philippine education in the pursuit of higher nationhood and identity building amidst the presence of new and old local and global colonial masters; for the ironed commitment in honing nationalism and universal fraternalism through diplomatic work and ties within and beyond the national border in the name of an ethical community; for the authorship of the book “The Problem of the Philippine Language” that contributed a giant leap in the intellectualization of the Philippine language; and for the commitment in uplifting the lives of the toiling Filipinos and defending democracy at all costs is highly creditable.

The intellectual and professional educator and servant Gallego passed away on August 13^th, 1976. The Manuel Viola Gallego commemorative stamp was formally released by the Philippine Postal Services on July 11, 1993, as a mark of appreciation and respect for this admirable and multifaceted individual.

According to Sir Paul Bilaoen, KGOR, “It is with great pride and honor that the Order of the Knights of Rizal - Central Luzon Command, thru Cabanatuan City Chapter under the leadership of Sir Rene Boy E. Abiva, KCR is giving this recognition to the Viola-Gallego Families. Maximo Viola, the man who saved the Noli Me Tangere, subsequently set forth the Philippine Revolution and later its independence. Maximo Viola's contribution may seem small, but it is the fulcrum that moved a great idea forward. Viola is also a member of the Propaganda Movement and earned his Medical Degree from the UST. After the Philippine Independence, his love for his country has even flourished. He practiced medicine for the less fortunate and even defended the plight of rice farmers against abusive hacienderos. This love of country, love for fellowmen, is something that we ought to emulate. Rizal immortalized these words, ‘A life that is not consecrated to a great ideal is like a stone wasted in the field, never to become part of an edifice.’ May the life of works of Dr. Maximo Viola, and Dr. Manuel Viola Gallego live on forevermore and their enduring love for the country be emulated by generations to come.”

This coming January 30, 2023, the International Headquarters of the Order of the Knights of Rizal will grant International Recognition to Dr. Manuel Viola Gallego due to his gigantic achievements and contributions to Rizalism and nation-building. The awarding will be done at the 23 International Assembly of the Order of Knights of Rizal at Centennial Hall, Manila Hotel.

This is just the alpha of our historic milestone and research in our beloved province, Nueva Ecija. I think, there will be more discoveries to come. Thanks to the immortal spirit of Dr. Jose P. Rizal for he is the one beyond our collective efforts to regain and reclaim our past. Another good thing is that when you hear the name “Nueva Ecija”, it will not just be any more connected to these sacred names of revolutionary Generals: Heneral Luna, Heneral Llanera, and Heneral Valmonte, or be the name of National Artists for Literature Lazaro Francisco. Why? Because of a new giant that we have discovered. And who is he? He is no other than Dr. Manuel Viola Gallego, the founder of Manuel V. Gallego Foundation Colleges. ###