Blas Ople
Encyclopedia
Blas Fajardo Ople (ˈople; 1927–2003) was a Filipino
journalist
and politician
who held several high-ranking positions in the executive
and legislative
branches of the Philippine government
, including as Senate President
from 1999 to 2000, and as Secretary of Foreign Affairs
from 2002 until his death. Perceived as a leftist-nationalist
at the onset of his career in public service, Ople was, in his final years, a vocal supporter for allowing a limited United States
military presence in the Philippines, and for American initiatives in the War on Terror
including the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Ople's most enduring role was his nineteen years as Secretary (later Minister) of Labor and Employment
during the administration of President
Ferdinand Marcos
, when Philippine labor laws
were overhauled through the enactment of the Labor Code of the Philippines
that he had helped author.
, Bulacan
on February 3, 1927 to Felix Antonio Ople, a craftsman
who repaired boats, and his wife Segundina Fajardo. He graduated valedictorian of his grade school class at the Hagonoy Elementary School in 1941. Upon the invasion of the Philippines by Japan
during World War II
, the teenage Ople joined the guerilla movement and fought under the Del Pilar Regiment and the Buenavista Regiment of the Bulacan Military Area founded by Alejo Santos
.
In 1948, he finished his high school studies at the Far Eastern University
. He worked towards a degree in liberal arts
at the Educational Center of Asia (formerly Quezon College
) in Manila
. After graduation, Ople pursued a career in journalism
. He became a desk editor at the Daily Mirror and the author of its Jeepney Tales column. Still in his twenties, Ople was one of the youngest newspaper columnists of that era. Ople also established a public relations
consulting firm.
He soon became known for his nationalist
views. He co-founded the Kilusang Makabansa (National Progress Movement), an organization which frequently spoke out on issues of nationalism and social justice in the 1950s. In 1953, he joined the Magsaysay-for-President Movement, a volunteer group supporting the presidential campaign of Ramon Magsaysay
, heading its Executive Planning Committee and working as a speechwriter
for candidates of the Nacionalista Party
. After Magsaysay's election, he joined the government as special assistant to the Secretary of Labor and technical assistant on labor and agrarian affairs.
, but was re-appointed to his post in 1972, retaining the position until 1986. At the time of his appointment, Ople was perceived as a "leftist Nationalist
". His leftist credentials were enhanced when he co-founded, in 1972, the Philippine-Soviet Friendship Society.
As Labor Secretary Ople was instrumental in the framing of the Labor Code of the Philippines
, which codified
the labor laws of the country and introduced innovations such as prohibiting the termination of workers
without legal cause. Ople instituted labor policies institutionalizing the technical education of workers. In 1976, Ople initiated a program for the overseas employment of Filipino workers. It was during his tenure at Labor that the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration were created. Ople obtained recognition from the International Labor Organization during his stint as Labor Minister. In 1975, he was elected president of the 60th general assembly of the ILO, the first Filipino to hold that post. In 1983, that organization awarded Ople a Gold Medal of Appreciation. He was a close adviser of President Marcos, though he was not later to be associated with the corruption of Marcos's government and was perceived as "not corrupt". He created international headlines in December 1984 when he admitted to the press that the lupus
-stricken Marcos was incapacitated to the point of being unable "to take major initiatives", and that the President's illness had placed the Philippines in "a kind of interregnum
". Marcos responded a few days later by baring his chest to his Cabinet before television cameras to dispel rumors that he was seriously ill or had undergone surgery.
In 1978, Ople was elected an Assemblyman of the Interim Batasang Pambansa
representing Central Luzon
, and reelected in 1984. During the 1986 presidential elections
, Ople served as a political campaign manager
of President Marcos, who was running against Corazon Aquino
. Shortly before the outbreak of the 1986 People Power Revolution, Marcos dispatched Ople to Washington D.C. to lobby the American government on behalf of the President. Ople was in Washington D.C. upon the outbreak of the revolt, and was advised by U.S. Secretary of State
, George P. Shultz
, to call on Marcos to resign. Ople publicly reiterated his support for Marcos in the American media in such fora as on This Week with David Brinkley
.
, Ople was relieved of his Cabinet post. Ople returned to the Philippines and immediately attempted to position himself as the leader of the political opposition against Aquino. Nonetheless in May 1986, Ople accepted an offer by President Aquino to serve in the Constitutional Commission that drafted a new Philippine Constitution
.
In the 1987 congressional elections
, Ople ran a second time for the Philippine Senate, under the banner of the nationalist-led Grand Alliance for Democracy coalition. He was defeated in this attempt, and returned to private life, serving as chairman of the Institution for Public Policy, a policy research institute.
. He was elected to a six-year term. In the Senate, Ople served as Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and on the Commission of Appointments. He became Senate President Pro-Tempore in 1998.
Ople won a re-election for the senate in 1998, under the Laban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino
.
In 1999, upon the resignation of the terminally-ill Marcelo Fernan
, Ople became the President of the Senate
. In that capacity, he was a key proponent of the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement between the Philippines and the United States, which allowed American forces to enter the Philippines for short-term training exercises. He yielded the Senate presidency in 2000 to Franklin Drilon
.
Later that year, he sat as one of the senator-judges in the impeachment trial of his ally, President Joseph Estrada
. He was one of the eleven votes during the trial that successfully voted to block the opening of an envelope that was believed to contain proof of the corruption charges against Estrada. Public anger over the Senate vote triggered the EDSA Revolution of 2001, leading to the ouster of Estrada and the accession of Vice-President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
to the presidency.
appointed Ople, a member of the political opposition in the Senate, as Secretary of Foreign Affairs in her cabinet. The appointment was with some controversy. Weeks earlier, Arroyo's hand-picked Vice-President Teofisto Guingona had resigned as Foreign Affairs Secretary after voicing disagreement with the plan of the Philippine and United States governments to allow American troops to help combat Islamic terrorist groups
such as the Abu Sayyaf
as part of the post-9/11
"War on Terror
". Ople, who had earlier been a vocal supporter of the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement, was perceived to be more amenable to the plan. In addition, left-wing
labor activists denounced the appointment of Ople, citing his Marcos-era role in promoting overseas employment
of Filipino workers which, they said, had resulted in abuses inflicted on Filipino workers abroad.
During his stint as Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Ople was at the forefront of the negotiations that led to the deployment of American military forces inside the Philippines, though he insisted that the American troops would not participate in combat missions. Under his watch, the American and Filipino governments signed an agreement that provided immunity
to each other's citizens facing charges before international tribunals such as the International Criminal Court
. Ople was also a vocal supporter of the Iraq War, and pushed for the deployment of a small Filipino contingent in Iraq. He predicted in November 2003, "Baghdad will be transformed from a symbol of brutal despotism to a new, shining symbol of human freedom. The sacrifices invested in the liberation of Iraq, to which Filipinos made a significant contribution, will be fully vindicated and cherished for all time."
In the months prior to his death, Ople, a longtime chain smoker
, had suffered from ill health and often attended international conferences in a wheelchair. On the night of December 13, 2003, Ople had difficulty breathing and lost consciousness while aboard a Japan Asia Airways
flight from Bangkok
to Tokyo
. The flight was diverted to Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taoyuan County, Taiwan
, and Ople was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was initially pronounced dead on arrival, but given medical treatment nonetheless. Efforts to revive him were futile, and his death on Sunday, December 14, 2003 was announced by his family.
President Arroyo mourned Ople as "an architect of Philippine foreign policy in the finest tradition of enlightened and pragmatic diplomacy", while U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell
hailed him as "one of the pivotal figures of the late Twentieth Century for Philippine history". More critical of Ople, Teddy Casiño
, secretary-general of the leftist coalition BAYAN
, called him a "political chameleon" who "tried to pass himself off as a nationalist but [was] most pro-American". Nonetheless, Casiño acknowledged that Ople was "a consistent, brilliant and very astute politician".
Ople was eulogized in Time Magazine, which recalled his erudition, his skill at political survival, and his trademark "extraordinary baritone
". The eulogy also said that at the height of the People Power Revolution, Ople in Washington, D.C. had reported to Marcos in Manila that the President's support within the Reagan administration
was falling. Marcos responded by asking Ople to reach out to his contacts in the Soviet
government. Ople rebuffed Marcos, and as Time noted, declined "to help make the Philippines a Soviet colony three years before the Berlin Wall fell".
Ople is buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani
. In 2004, President Arroyo named Ople's daughter, Susan Ople, as Undersecretary of the Department of Labor and Employment.
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
who held several high-ranking positions in the executive
Executive Departments of the Philippines
The Executive departments of the Philippines is the largest component of the national executive branch of the government of the Philippines. There are a total of nineteen executive departments. The departments comprise the largest part of the country's bureaucracy...
and legislative
Congress of the Philippines
The Congress of the Philippines is the national legislature of the Republic of the Philippines. It is a bicameral body consisting of the Senate , and the House of Representatives although commonly in the Philippines the term congress refers to the latter.The Senate is composed of 24 senators half...
branches of the Philippine government
Politics of the Philippines
The Politics of the Philippines takes place in an organized framework of a presidential, representative, and democratic republic whereby the president is both the head of state and the head of government within a pluriform multi-party system...
, including as Senate President
President of the Senate of the Philippines
The President of the Senate of the Philippines, or more popularly known as the Senate President, is the presiding officer and the highest ranking-official of the Senate of the Philippines. He/she is elected by the entire body to be their leader...
from 1999 to 2000, and as Secretary of Foreign Affairs
Department of Foreign Affairs (Philippines)
The Philippines' Department of Foreign Affairs is the executive department of the Philippine government tasked to contribute to the enhancement of national security and the protection of the territorial integrity and national sovereignty, to participate in the national endeavor of sustaining...
from 2002 until his death. Perceived as a leftist-nationalist
Left-wing nationalism
Left-wing nationalism describes a form of nationalism officially based upon equality, popular sovereignty, and national self-determination. It has its origins in the Jacobinism of the French Revolution. Left-wing nationalism typically espouses anti-imperialism...
at the onset of his career in public service, Ople was, in his final years, a vocal supporter for allowing a limited United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
military presence in the Philippines, and for American initiatives in the War on Terror
War on Terrorism
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
including the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.
Ople's most enduring role was his nineteen years as Secretary (later Minister) of Labor and Employment
Department of Labor and Employment (Philippines)
The Philippines' Department of Labor and Employment is the executive department of the Philippine Government mandated to formulate policies, implement programs and services, and serve as the policy-coordinating arm of the Executive Branch in the field of labor and employment...
during the administration of President
President of the Philippines
The President of the Philippines is the head of state and head of government of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines...
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...
, when Philippine labor laws
Labour law
Labour law is the body of laws, administrative rulings, and precedents which address the legal rights of, and restrictions on, working people and their organizations. As such, it mediates many aspects of the relationship between trade unions, employers and employees...
were overhauled through the enactment of the Labor Code of the Philippines
Labor Code of the Philippines
The Labor Code of the Philippines stands as the law governing employment practices and labor relations in the Philippines. It was enacted on Labor day of 1974 by President Ferdinand Marcos, in the exercise of his then extant legislative powers.-Features:...
that he had helped author.
Early life and career
Ople was born in HagonoyHagonoy, Bulacan
Hagonoy is a 1st class urban municipality in the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2007 NSO census, it has a population of 126,329 inhabitants distributed in 25,900 households. It is the birthplace of Former Senator Blas F...
, Bulacan
Bulacan
Bulacan , officially called the Province of Bulacan or simply Bulacan Province, is a first class province of the Republic of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Region in the island of Luzon, north of Manila , and part of the Metro...
on February 3, 1927 to Felix Antonio Ople, a craftsman
Artisan
An artisan is a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative, including furniture, clothing, jewellery, household items, and tools...
who repaired boats, and his wife Segundina Fajardo. He graduated valedictorian of his grade school class at the Hagonoy Elementary School in 1941. Upon the invasion of the Philippines by Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the teenage Ople joined the guerilla movement and fought under the Del Pilar Regiment and the Buenavista Regiment of the Bulacan Military Area founded by Alejo Santos
Alejo Santos
Alejo S. Santos was a Filipino soldier and World War II hero who parlayed his fame into a political career. His prestige was somewhat marred in later life when he agreed to run as the only candidate against Ferdinand Marcos in the widely-suspect 1981 Philippine presidential election.-Early life...
.
In 1948, he finished his high school studies at the Far Eastern University
Far Eastern University
Far Eastern University in the University Belt area, West Sampaloc, City of Manila, is a nonsectarian, private university in the Philippines. Created by the merger of Far Eastern College and the Institute of Accounts, Business and Finance, FEU became a university in 1934 under the guidance of...
. He worked towards a degree in liberal arts
Liberal arts
The term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
at the Educational Center of Asia (formerly Quezon College
Manuel L. Quezon University
The Manuel L. Quezon University is a private university in Quiapo, Manila, Philippines. It is a member of the Colleges and Universities Sports Association . It offers academic programs at the pre-school, elementary, high school, tertiary, and graduate levels. It is named for Philippine president...
) in Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
. After graduation, Ople pursued a career in journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
. He became a desk editor at the Daily Mirror and the author of its Jeepney Tales column. Still in his twenties, Ople was one of the youngest newspaper columnists of that era. Ople also established a public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
consulting firm.
He soon became known for his nationalist
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
views. He co-founded the Kilusang Makabansa (National Progress Movement), an organization which frequently spoke out on issues of nationalism and social justice in the 1950s. In 1953, he joined the Magsaysay-for-President Movement, a volunteer group supporting the presidential campaign of Ramon Magsaysay
Ramon Magsaysay
Ramón del Fierro Magsaysay was the third President of the Republic of the Philippines from December 30, 1953 until his death in a plane crash in 1957. He was elected President under the banner of the Nacionalista Party.-Early life:Ramon F...
, heading its Executive Planning Committee and working as a speechwriter
Speechwriter
A speechwriter is a person who is hired to prepare and write speeches that will be delivered by another person. Speechwriters are used by many senior-level elected officials and executives in the government and private sectors.-Skills and training:...
for candidates of the Nacionalista Party
Nacionalista Party
The Nacionalista Party is the oldest political party in the Philippines today and was responsible for leading the country throughout the majority of the 20th century since its founding in 1907...
. After Magsaysay's election, he joined the government as special assistant to the Secretary of Labor and technical assistant on labor and agrarian affairs.
Secretary of Labor
In 1965, Ople was appointed as Social Security Commissioner by President Ferdinand E. Marcos. In 1967, he was appointed Secretary of Labor and Employment (in 1978 the position was renamed Minister of Labor and Employment). He resigned briefly in 1971 to run an unsuccessful campaign for election to the Philippine SenateSenate of the Philippines
The Senate of the Philippines is the upper chamber of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, the Congress of the Philippines...
, but was re-appointed to his post in 1972, retaining the position until 1986. At the time of his appointment, Ople was perceived as a "leftist Nationalist
Left-wing nationalism
Left-wing nationalism describes a form of nationalism officially based upon equality, popular sovereignty, and national self-determination. It has its origins in the Jacobinism of the French Revolution. Left-wing nationalism typically espouses anti-imperialism...
". His leftist credentials were enhanced when he co-founded, in 1972, the Philippine-Soviet Friendship Society.
As Labor Secretary Ople was instrumental in the framing of the Labor Code of the Philippines
Labor Code of the Philippines
The Labor Code of the Philippines stands as the law governing employment practices and labor relations in the Philippines. It was enacted on Labor day of 1974 by President Ferdinand Marcos, in the exercise of his then extant legislative powers.-Features:...
, which codified
Philippine legal codes
Codification of laws is a common practice in the Philippines. Many general areas of substantive law, such as criminal law, civil law and labor law are governed by legal codes.-Tradition of codification:...
the labor laws of the country and introduced innovations such as prohibiting the termination of workers
Termination of employment
-Involuntary termination:Involuntary termination is the employee's departure at the hands of the employer. There are two basic types of involuntary termination, known often as being "fired" and "laid off." To be fired, as opposed to being laid off, is generally thought of to be the employee's...
without legal cause. Ople instituted labor policies institutionalizing the technical education of workers. In 1976, Ople initiated a program for the overseas employment of Filipino workers. It was during his tenure at Labor that the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration were created. Ople obtained recognition from the International Labor Organization during his stint as Labor Minister. In 1975, he was elected president of the 60th general assembly of the ILO, the first Filipino to hold that post. In 1983, that organization awarded Ople a Gold Medal of Appreciation. He was a close adviser of President Marcos, though he was not later to be associated with the corruption of Marcos's government and was perceived as "not corrupt". He created international headlines in December 1984 when he admitted to the press that the lupus
Systemic lupus erythematosus
Systemic lupus erythematosus , often abbreviated to SLE or lupus, is a systemic autoimmune disease that can affect any part of the body. As occurs in other autoimmune diseases, the immune system attacks the body's cells and tissue, resulting in inflammation and tissue damage...
-stricken Marcos was incapacitated to the point of being unable "to take major initiatives", and that the President's illness had placed the Philippines in "a kind of interregnum
Interregnum
An interregnum is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order...
". Marcos responded a few days later by baring his chest to his Cabinet before television cameras to dispel rumors that he was seriously ill or had undergone surgery.
In 1978, Ople was elected an Assemblyman of the Interim Batasang Pambansa
Interim Batasang Pambansa
The Interim Batasang Pambansa or the First Batasan was the legislature of the Republic of the Philippines from its inauguration on June 12, 1978 to June 5, 1984...
representing Central Luzon
Central Luzon
Central Luzon , also known as Region III , is an administrative division or region of the Republic of the Philippines, primarily serve to organize the 7 provinces of the vast central plain of the island of Luzon , for administrative convenience...
, and reelected in 1984. During the 1986 presidential elections
Philippine presidential election, 1986
The Presidential and Vice-Presidential snap elections were held on February 7, 1986 in the Philippines.-Background:President Ferdinand E...
, Ople served as a political campaign manager
Campaign manager
A campaign manager is a paid or volunteer individual, whose role is to coordinate the campaign's operations such as fundraising, advertising, polling, getting out the vote , and other activities supporting the effort, directly.Apart from the candidate, they are often a campaign's most visible leader...
of President Marcos, who was running against Corazon Aquino
Corazon Aquino
Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino was the 11th President of the Philippines and the first woman to hold that office in Philippine history. She is best remembered for leading the 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy in the Philippines...
. Shortly before the outbreak of the 1986 People Power Revolution, Marcos dispatched Ople to Washington D.C. to lobby the American government on behalf of the President. Ople was in Washington D.C. upon the outbreak of the revolt, and was advised by U.S. Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
, George P. Shultz
George P. Shultz
George Pratt Shultz is an American economist, statesman, and businessman. He served as the United States Secretary of Labor from 1969 to 1970, as the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury from 1972 to 1974, and as the U.S. Secretary of State from 1982 to 1989...
, to call on Marcos to resign. Ople publicly reiterated his support for Marcos in the American media in such fora as on This Week with David Brinkley
This Week (ABC TV series)
This Week is ABC's Sunday morning political affairs program.The Sunday morning talk show has aired on Sunday mornings on ABC since 1981; the program is initially aired at 9:00 AM ET, although many stations air the program later, especially those in other time zones...
.
1986 Constitutional Commission Member
Following the success of the People Power Revolution and the installation to the presidency of Corazon AquinoCorazon Aquino
Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino was the 11th President of the Philippines and the first woman to hold that office in Philippine history. She is best remembered for leading the 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy in the Philippines...
, Ople was relieved of his Cabinet post. Ople returned to the Philippines and immediately attempted to position himself as the leader of the political opposition against Aquino. Nonetheless in May 1986, Ople accepted an offer by President Aquino to serve in the Constitutional Commission that drafted a new Philippine Constitution
Constitution of the Philippines
The Constitution of the Philippines is the supreme law of the Philippines.The Constitution currently in effect was enacted in 1987, during the administration of President Corazon Aquino, and is popularly known as the "1987 Constitution"...
.
In the 1987 congressional elections
Philippine legislative election, 1987
The election for the Members of the Senate was held in the Philippines on May 11, 1987. The Philippine Senate was re-instituted following the approval of a new constitution in 1987 restoring the bicameral Congress of the Philippines; earlier, a constitution was approved in 1973 that created a...
, Ople ran a second time for the Philippine Senate, under the banner of the nationalist-led Grand Alliance for Democracy coalition. He was defeated in this attempt, and returned to private life, serving as chairman of the Institution for Public Policy, a policy research institute.
Senator of the Philippines
In 1992, he ran again for the Senate under the Laban ng Demokratikong PilipinoLaban ng Demokratikong Pilipino
The Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino is a political party in the Philippines founded in 1988.There are no results available of the last elections for the House of Representatives, but according to the website of the House, the party holds 7 out of 235 seats . The party is divided into two factions...
. He was elected to a six-year term. In the Senate, Ople served as Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and on the Commission of Appointments. He became Senate President Pro-Tempore in 1998.
Ople won a re-election for the senate in 1998, under the Laban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino
Laban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino
Laban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino was the umbrella political coalition party of the opposition during the 1998 Philippine Presidential Elections that led to the presidency of then Vice President Joseph Estrada...
.
In 1999, upon the resignation of the terminally-ill Marcelo Fernan
Marcelo Fernan
Marcelo "Celing" Briones Fernán was a Filipino lawyer and political figure. He is the only Filipino to have served as both Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and as Senate president...
, Ople became the President of the Senate
President of the Senate of the Philippines
The President of the Senate of the Philippines, or more popularly known as the Senate President, is the presiding officer and the highest ranking-official of the Senate of the Philippines. He/she is elected by the entire body to be their leader...
. In that capacity, he was a key proponent of the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement between the Philippines and the United States, which allowed American forces to enter the Philippines for short-term training exercises. He yielded the Senate presidency in 2000 to Franklin Drilon
Franklin Drilon
Franklin Magtunao Drilon is a Filipino politician who served as President of the Senate of the Philippines in 2000 and from 2001 to 2006. Drilon currently serves his third term in the Senate...
.
Later that year, he sat as one of the senator-judges in the impeachment trial of his ally, President Joseph Estrada
Joseph Estrada
Joseph "Erap" Ejercito Estrada was the 13th President of the Philippines, serving from 1998 until 2001. Estrada was the first person in the Post-EDSA era to be elected both to the presidency and vice-presidency.Estrada gained popularity as a film actor, playing the lead role in over 100 films in...
. He was one of the eleven votes during the trial that successfully voted to block the opening of an envelope that was believed to contain proof of the corruption charges against Estrada. Public anger over the Senate vote triggered the EDSA Revolution of 2001, leading to the ouster of Estrada and the accession of Vice-President
Vice President of the Philippines
-Description:The Vice-President is the first in the Philippine line of succession, assuming the Presidency upon the death, resignation, or removal by impeachment and subsequent conviction of the incumbent. The position was abolished by Martial Law in 1972, and was not included in the original text...
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...
to the presidency.
Secretary of Foreign Affairs
In July 2002, President Gloria Macapagal-ArroyoGloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...
appointed Ople, a member of the political opposition in the Senate, as Secretary of Foreign Affairs in her cabinet. The appointment was with some controversy. Weeks earlier, Arroyo's hand-picked Vice-President Teofisto Guingona had resigned as Foreign Affairs Secretary after voicing disagreement with the plan of the Philippine and United States governments to allow American troops to help combat Islamic terrorist groups
Operation Enduring Freedom - Philippines
Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines or Operation Freedom Eagle is part of Operation Enduring Freedom and the U.S. Global War on Terrorism. About 600 U.S. military personnel are advising and assisting the Armed Forces of the Philippines in the Southern Philippines...
such as the Abu Sayyaf
Abu Sayyaf
Abu Sayyaf also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya is one of several military Islamist separatist groups based in and around the southern Philippines, in Bangsamoro where for almost 30 years various Muslim groups have been engaged in an insurgency for an independent province in the country...
as part of the post-9/11
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
"War on Terror
War on Terrorism
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
". Ople, who had earlier been a vocal supporter of the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement, was perceived to be more amenable to the plan. In addition, left-wing
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
labor activists denounced the appointment of Ople, citing his Marcos-era role in promoting overseas employment
Overseas Filipino
An Overseas Filipino is a person of Philippine origin who lives outside of the Philippines. This term applies both to people of Filipino ancestry who are citizens or residents of a different country and to those Filipino citizens abroad on a more temporary status.Most overseas Filipinos migrate to...
of Filipino workers which, they said, had resulted in abuses inflicted on Filipino workers abroad.
During his stint as Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Ople was at the forefront of the negotiations that led to the deployment of American military forces inside the Philippines, though he insisted that the American troops would not participate in combat missions. Under his watch, the American and Filipino governments signed an agreement that provided immunity
Immunity from prosecution (international law)
Immunity from prosecution is a doctrine of international law that allows an accused to avoid prosecution for criminal offences. Immunities are of two types. The first is functional immunity, or immunity ratione materiae. This is an immunity granted to people who perform certain functions of...
to each other's citizens facing charges before international tribunals such as the International Criminal Court
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...
. Ople was also a vocal supporter of the Iraq War, and pushed for the deployment of a small Filipino contingent in Iraq. He predicted in November 2003, "Baghdad will be transformed from a symbol of brutal despotism to a new, shining symbol of human freedom. The sacrifices invested in the liberation of Iraq, to which Filipinos made a significant contribution, will be fully vindicated and cherished for all time."
Death
Chain smoking
Chain smoking is the practice of lighting a new cigarette for personal consumption immediately after one that is finished, sometimes using the finished cigarette to light the next one. It is a common form of addiction.-Causes:...
, had suffered from ill health and often attended international conferences in a wheelchair. On the night of December 13, 2003, Ople had difficulty breathing and lost consciousness while aboard a Japan Asia Airways
Japan Asia Airways
is a defunct subsidiary of Japan Airlines which existed between 1975 and 2008. JAA was headquartered in the Japan Airlines Building in Shinagawa, Tokyo....
flight from Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
to Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. The flight was diverted to Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taoyuan County, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, and Ople was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was initially pronounced dead on arrival, but given medical treatment nonetheless. Efforts to revive him were futile, and his death on Sunday, December 14, 2003 was announced by his family.
President Arroyo mourned Ople as "an architect of Philippine foreign policy in the finest tradition of enlightened and pragmatic diplomacy", while U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
hailed him as "one of the pivotal figures of the late Twentieth Century for Philippine history". More critical of Ople, Teddy Casiño
Teodoro Casiño
Teodoro A. Casiño is a Filipino partylist representative, writer and journalist. He is a member of the House of Representatives for Bayan Muna in the 14th Congress of the Philippines.-Early Biography:...
, secretary-general of the leftist coalition BAYAN
BAYAN
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan or Bayan is a leftist political coalition in the Philippines. Bayan is associated with political parties Alliance of Concerned Teachers, Anakpawis, Bayan Muna, Gabriela Women's party, and Kabataan...
, called him a "political chameleon" who "tried to pass himself off as a nationalist but [was] most pro-American". Nonetheless, Casiño acknowledged that Ople was "a consistent, brilliant and very astute politician".
Ople was eulogized in Time Magazine, which recalled his erudition, his skill at political survival, and his trademark "extraordinary baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
". The eulogy also said that at the height of the People Power Revolution, Ople in Washington, D.C. had reported to Marcos in Manila that the President's support within the Reagan administration
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
was falling. Marcos responded by asking Ople to reach out to his contacts in the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
government. Ople rebuffed Marcos, and as Time noted, declined "to help make the Philippines a Soviet colony three years before the Berlin Wall fell".
Ople is buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani
Libingan ng mga Bayani
is a national cemetery within Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City, Metro Manila in the Philippines. It was established as a fitting resting place for Filipino military personnel from privates to generals, as well as heroes and martyrs...
. In 2004, President Arroyo named Ople's daughter, Susan Ople, as Undersecretary of the Department of Labor and Employment.