Today is Jose Ma. Navas 123rd birthday (1891-2014) Jose Ma. Nava is one of the greatest labor union leaders our country has ever had. For his detractors, he could be unpopular. But for the masses who were under severe socio-economic condition, he was a hero. Jose Ma. Nava founded the largest labor union in central and southern part of our country – the Federacion Obrera de Filipinas (FOF), covering 18 provinces with nearly half a million members. Though known for his labor rights activism, Jose Ma. Nava was a natural artist. He was a painter, playwright, opera singer, and a journalist. Known for his hard-hitting expose against abusive public officials, he was among the contending editors during his time. He was the editor of three newspapers – the Prensa Libre, which was printed before the Second World War, the Liberator and Kirab during and after the war. Jose Ma. Nava was one of the prominent zarzuelista in his time. He had written many plays about romance, tragedy and nationalism. In 1942 Jose Ma. Nava organized a guerrilla unit to fight against the Japanese forces that was going to invade Iloilo. While his friends were cooperating with the Japs, he and his family and members of the FOF went to the mountains to resist the foreign occupation. In 1951, Jose Ma. Nava was linked to a rebellion case of his sons. The court found him guilty of the accusation. While waiting for the final judgment of the Supreme Court on his appeal, he died from heart disease in 1954. Thirteen years after guilty verdict of the lower court, the Supreme Court dismissed the rebellion case of his sons, thus dissolving his connection to the said crime. Once Jose Ma. Nava told his sons that justice will prevail. And indeed it prevailed but only too late for him to witness it.
Posted on: Thu, 31 Jul 2014 01:59:33 +0000
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