Gen. Santos, A Nat’l Hero By Elinando B. Cinco Published: August 12, 2013 He was not as well-known as the city named after him – General Santos City in South Cotabato. But the exploits of Gen. Paulino Santos, commanding major-general of the Philippine Army in 1936, are of epic proportions, so to speak. They can only be described as multi-faceted in every sense of the word. And his saga in the annals of Philippine pre-war and war history installs him as a national hero. I, for one, was an ignorant student of history when it came to the biographical record of this gallant soldier and a foresighted builder. Until last July 27 when Ms. Isabel A. Santos (“Tita Bills” to many, including this columnist) sent me a book entitled, “General Paulino Santos – His Journey Through History.” Tita Bills, one of the pioneering officials of the Bayanihan Folk Arts Foundation, a second daughter of Gen. Santos, co-wrote the well-chronicled accounts of her father, together with Rosa Santos Munda, eldest daughter, and Amado Santos Munda Jr., a grandson. In capsule, Gen. Paulino Santos was a brilliant military officer, anti-insurgency campaigner, an advocate of modern penology management, and a pioneering resettlement builder. It is no wonder that the distinguished reputation in his military and civilian career preceded him in war and in peace. He was a fearless soldier whose triumphs in the Lanao and Sulu insurgency campaigns in the 1920s earned him commendations from the country’s Filipino and American government officials. He also won the hearts of Muslim leaders in Mindanao in that era. It was through his whole-hearted support and sponsorship that doors opened doors to young Muslim students to receive education in Manila’s finest universities. He became the first Filipino military provincial commander and concurrent provincial governor of Lanao province in August, 1920. President Manuel Quezon designated Gen. Santos director of the Bureau of Prisons in December, 1930. He was a penology and rehabilitation innovator. It was his idea to transfer the Bilibid Prisons from its cramped compound on Azcarraga Street in Manila to its present site in Muntinlupa. Then, followed his building of the model Davao Penal Colony in January, 1932. In March,1933, the Commonwealth government sent Gen. Santos to various model prison institutions in Europe and the United States. There he observed modern and scientific penal rehabilitation procedures, innovations, and management. He ended his tour in August of the same year. Upon his return to the country, Gen. Santos immediately went to work improving the physical conditions of the Iwahig and San Ramon penal colonies, including the introduction of rehabilitation programs for inmates. These initiatives earned him kudos. A day after his retirement from the Philippine Army, the now colorful general was appointed manager of the National Land Settlement Administration by President Quezon. He built resettlements in Isabela and in Cotabato, specifically in the Koronadal Valley, Buayan, Lagao, Marbel and Dadiangas (which is now General Santos City, chartered in 1968). For all intents and purposes, Gen. Santos was the builder of Mindanao’s new frontiers. Cognizant of the heroic exploits of the intrepid soldier from Tarlac, now a Mindanaoan, as evidenced by both his military and civilian achievements, Gen. Santos received numerous admiring letters of commendation from President Quezon, Governor General William Taft, Governor Leonard Wood, Governor General Francis Burton Harrison, Secretary of Justice Jose Abad Santos, Brig. Gen. Charles E. Nathorst, High Commissioner Frank Murphy, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, and Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower. On November 14, 1935, Gen. Paulino Santos was awarded the Medal For Valor by High Commissioner Frank Murphy. It is the highest American military honor given to a Filipino soldier. Gen. Santos was born in Camiling, Tarlac, on June 22, 1890. He married Elisa Angeles of Bulacan on January 22, 1918. They had seven children: Rosa, Isabel, Lourdes, Paulino Jr., Remigio, Elisa, and Jose. Gen. Santos died a POW in Barrio Calapang, Bontoc, Mountain Province, on August 29, 1945. He was only 55 years old. The myriads of friends and relatives of the Santos-Angeles family all over the country and abroad, are one in saying this book was long overdue.
Posted on: Mon, 12 Aug 2013 13:26:31 +0000