Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Dateline LIBACAO BY ALEX E. DIONELA
The 11th of February is marked every year as Evelio B. Javier Day which was made an official non-working holiday in the whole island of Panay consisting of Aklan, Antique, Capiz and Iloilo provinces by virtue of an Executive Order issued by then President Corazon C. Aquino in recognition of his heroic death and martyrdom in fighting for freedom and democracy.Many had been said about Evelio as a public official, a martyr and a hero, a man who became great and more popular in death than in life. And to pay tribute to this honorable man as we celebrate this year his death anniversary hence, let me also share with you my personal knowledge about him and his life.I first saw Evelio, as a candidate for Governor of Antique province in 1971 when he was already ending his campaign trail in the northernmost town of Libertad, my hometown. He was young, undeniably handsome, intelligent, a good public speaker and was even so in private conversations except that he has a bad sinus.These and more has made him very appealing to everyone; men, women, young and old including children, the poor, the uneducated, students and the professionals, including priests and nuns. I could still vividly recall the parting words of his political mentor then Antique Cong. Enrique Zaldivar at the end of that campaign saying; “Congratulations, Governor-elect Evelio B. Javier”, which he gladly laughs out loud. And true enough, Evelio at age 28 won by a big landslide over then incumbent Governor Julian Pacificador who at the start merely belittled him saying, he would rather play ‘majong’ and need not campaign anymore with only Evelio as his political opponent. His father named Everardo, was a lawyer who became a judge and his mother, a school teacher by the surname “Bellaflor” was a native of Mabilo, Kalibo, Aklan. He grew up in Hamtic town of decent family, in a home that had inculcated in him the teachings of the catholic faith. His wife, Precious, was a beautiful and equally intelligent woman who came from the landed gentry in Sibalom town who was then a professor at the University of Santo Tomas when he married her.They have two children, all boys; Gideon and David. Gideon when still learning how to speak called Karbaw (carabao) “Kabraw” and David when just about to walk was already shaking the hands of everyone in the house imitating his Governor-father. Evelio would often jokingly complain in public that people would come to him and say that he is so lucky to have married Precious – beautiful, intelligent and good-hearted.But no one had ever told Precious of the same thing on him. He would say, “How could that be when he was also handsome and intelligent and he being the Governor and Precious was only a plain housewife”. Yes, he too was a professor at the Ateneo Law School before he joined politics and was the Editor-in-Chief of the college paper when he was still a law student. After passing the bar he joined the law office of Sen. Raul Manglapus and later as legal counsel of the Free Farmers Federation (FFF).From nowhere, he ran as Delegate to the Constitutional Convention in 1970 and lost to Arturo Pacificador and Angel Salazar, Jr. – the 2 slots the province is entitled to. Yet his having ranked number 5 in the multi-race was considered remarkable by many and was already very encouraging for him to pursue his luck in politics.Hence, a year after he was picked-up by Antique Liberal Party stalwart and Supreme Court Justice Calixto O. Zaldivar as the opposition party’s bet for Governor in that local elections where the political landscape was pre-dominantly controlled nationwide by the Nationalista Party under then President Ferdinand Marcos. Obviously, the wave of political change and militant activism prevailing at that time had enabled all the opposition gubernatorial bets in Panay to win by a landslide; Evelio in Antique, Nono Garcia in Aklan, Dodoy Villareal in Capiz and Conrado Norada in Iloilo. Evelio was barely one year in office as Governor of Antique when martial law was imposed in the country where opposition leaders, activists and suspected subversives were arrested unceremoniously by the military regime including some priests, nuns and religious leaders and in Antique, notably Bishop Cornelio De Witt, who was a Dutch national.Evelio was about to leave and hide in the hills in order to evade possible arrest when his lawyer-father prevailed over him to stay put in his office and face his eventual arrest should there it be But, luckily, no arrest was ever made on him. And so he stayed on reluctantly as Governor of Antique but of course not without any discomfort.As the protégée of then Ambassador Roberto Benedicto, the acknowledged political leader in Western Visayas, Evelio was supposed to run unopposed for re-election under the administration KBL party in 1980 elections.But disapproving of the existing dispensation at that time he relinquished the gubernatorial post to his political mentor former Cong. Enrique Zaldivar and for him to take a fellowship at the Harvard University in the US joining his colleagues in the opposition there, notably Ninoy Aquino and Raul Manglapus where together they conducted symposiums relating to political issues obtaining in the Philippines back home under the Marcos dictatorship.Inspired by the martyrdom of Ninoy Aquino in 1983 Evelio went home to Antique in 1984 to run for Assemblymen in the regular Batasang Pambansa and was pitted against incumbent Assemblyman Arturo Pacificador, a strong political leader and a formidable KBL stalwart. The political contest that ensued was so fierce and heated that it ended in the infamous Pangpang massacre in Sibalom town on the eve of that election with Evelio’s political leaders and supporters as victims. He questionably lost to Pacificador in that election. And in the election protest that followed, yes Evelio finally won but long after his death and already under the administration of President Cory Aquino.In the 1986 snap presidential election, Evelio was Cory Aquino’s campaigner in the whole of Panay Island. It was when he was in the midst of protecting the sanctity of the ballot and ensuring that votes intended for Cory Aquino are correctly counted at the canvassing held at the provincial capitol in the capital town of San Jose when Evelio was shot to death in the front grounds of that building in broad daylight and before the bare eyes of his beloved people.His loving wife Precious has this to say about his death, “The evil of darkness had not crushed Evelio to the ground but rather had elevated him to the galaxy together with the stars in the universe”.Like Ninoy Aquino, Evelio’s favorite song was also the “Impossible Dream” which became his signature music in his campaign caravan and rallies. His birth place of barangay Lanag in Hamtic town was named after him and the plaza fronting the Antique provincial capitol in San Jose is now officially called the, “Evelio B. Javier Freedom Park” where his monument is stately installed.Then Antique Bishop Cornelio De Witt was Evelio’s spiritual adviser. And in his speeches he often uses biblical passages and papal encyclicals as references of his thoughts and ideas. He was a very prayerful person and while serving as Governor he had set the example of honesty in public office. That is why in death he has nothing in his pocket except a rosary.And in his desire to bring about positive change in Philippine politics together with Sen. Raul Manglapus they introduced in the country the values and doctrine of Christian Democrats which is popular in western countries and which became the frontrunner of the National Union of Christian Democrats (NUCD), the party that catapulted former President Fidel Ramos to Malacanang in 1992. Evelio’s dream for Antique is summed-up by his administration platform thus, “Our aim is to establish a just and humane society where everyone could dream and will be able to attain those dreams”. He was pro-environment and wanted Antique to remain a rural community vis-à-vis the race towards the ghastly economic development and urbanization of its neighbors.He was very much against political dynasty and wanted everyone to have equal opportunity in politics and in government service. He was fond of wearing casual wear, boots shoes and pants with big pockets.He drives a vehicle fast but ironically always comes out late in almost all occasions to the dismay of his fans and admirers. And when confronted about it, he would just smile back sweetly. He died at age 42. So far, this is all I could remember of Evelio – Antique’s folk hero..
Note: This writer was Evelio’s private secretary when he ran for Assemblyman in the regular Batasan Pambansa election in 1984.