Francisco Soc Rodrigo
Encyclopedia
Francisco Soc Rodrigo was a Senator of the Third Congress (1955–1957), Fourth Congress (1958–1961), Fifth Congress (1962–1965), and Sixth Congress (1966–1969) of the Republic of the Philippines
. He was also an accomplished playwright and broadcaster.
, to food vendor Marcela Aldana and horse-carriage driver Melecio Rodrigo. He was a relative to the Filipino heroes Marcelo del Pilar and Gregorio del Pilar
.
Rodrigo finished elementary at Bulacan Elementary School and secondary school at the University of the Philippines High School. He earned his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science in Education degrees from Ateneo de Manila
and University of Santo Tomas
, graduating magna cum laude and valedictorian. While in college, he was captain of the Debating team.
In 1937, Rodrigo married his childhood sweetheart Remedios Enriquez. Prior to this, he took Law at the University of the Philippines, which he finished in 1938.
, with works described as those that distilled within the Filipino soul. His most celebrated play was Sa Pula, Sa Puti while his most popular Kuro – Kuro sa likod ng mga Balita had also won legions of admirers throughout the country. Some other famous works include Tagalog translations of works of Martyr of Golgotha and Cyrano de Bergerac
. Rodrigo was also known for his tanaga, Tagalog poems that dealt with the social and political issues.
During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in World War II, Rodrigo distributed anti-Japanese propaganda materials together with Raul Manglapus
and Manuel Fruto. In his book "Mga Bakas ng Kahapon", Rodrigo reflected on the fate he and his family of four may have suffered had he been implicated by Manglapus and Fruto during their capture. In 1945, he moved his family to the underground basement of the Philippine General Hospital
in Manila
, where they miraculously survived the building’s destruction.
After the war, Rodrigo resumed his law practice by joining the law firm of Francisco Delgado and Lorenzo Tañada
. Then, he opened the Rodrigo Law Office in 1946. Rodrigo authored Philippine Modern Legal Forms and Handbook on the Rules of Court.
In 1951, Rodrigo became the president of the Ateneo Parent-Teacher Association, then became the president of the Ateneo Alumni Association in 1953. In 1953, Rodrigo and Bob Stewart ran an unprecedented 48-hour coverage of the entire proceedings of the 1953 Presidential Elections. Rodrigo was awarded by president Ramon Magsaysay
a Legion of Honor due to this marathon broadcast.
of President Magsaysay. One of Rodrigo’s speehes, "Catholic in Politics" delivered on 7 September 1957, is included in the Anvil Press
book "20 Speeches That Moved a Nation."
Awarded as one of the Ten Outstanding Senators in his time, he was a much invented guest of foreign governments such as the United States
, Britain
and West Germany
, among others. Rodrigo was also awarded a U.S. Government grant under the terms of Public Law 402 (Smith - Mundt) for observation and travel under the auspices of the Governmental Affairs Institute (Nov. 20, 1959 - Jan. 20, 1960).
For the 1959 midterm elections, Rodrigo ran a disappointing campaign for the “Grand Alliance” counting as candidates Emmanuel Pelaez
, Raul Manglapus
and Jorge Vargas, among others. Then in 1961, Rodrigo got the third-most votes to win a second senatorial term as a Liberal Party
candidate with Diosdado Macapagal
. He sought a third term in 1965 but lost. From 1970-1972, Rodrigo hosted the ABS-CBN
program "Mga Kuro-kuro ni Soc Rodrigo."
For their dissent against President Ferdinand Marcos
, Rodrigo, along with Ninoy Aquino and many others, was incarcerated during upon the declaration of Martial Law in 1972. During this time in jail, Rodrigo kept the faith of fellow detainees alive as he led nightly prayers of the rosary. Ninoy Aquino would treasure of the crucifixes that Rodrigo gave him during this time. Rodrigo was released after three months but was detained two more times. In 1978, for writing Tagalog poems attacking the Marcos dictatorship, and in 1982, for his anti-Marcos poems in the We Forum and Philippine Star.
In 1983, Rodrigo was one of the first people allowed to look at the newly assassinated Ninoy Aquino’s body. Rodrigo felt distraught and guilt from this incident because he was one of those who advised Aquino to return to the Philippines from exile in the United States.
After the People Power revolution that sent Marcos to exile, Rodrigo was chosen by President Cory Aquino to be a Commissioner of the 1986 Constitutional Commission. Many of Rodrigo’s children were against him being a member, preferring instead to see him in the Senate one more time. Instead, he joined the commission as he turned his back on politics forever. The new Constitution was ratified by the people in February 1987.
On 4 January 1998, Rodrigo died at age 83 due to complications of cancer. In November that year, his name was inscribed in the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Memorial Hall in Quezon City to honor his role in the long struggle against Marcos.
The Gawad Soc Rodrigo is an award named after him given by the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino
(KWF) and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
A son of his, Francisco Jr., served as legal counsel for Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier in a controversial rape case filed against US servicemen in Subic
, Philippines.
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. He was also an accomplished playwright and broadcaster.
Early life
Soc Rodrigo was born on 29 January 1914 in Bulacan, BulacanBulacan
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...
, to food vendor Marcela Aldana and horse-carriage driver Melecio Rodrigo. He was a relative to the Filipino heroes Marcelo del Pilar and Gregorio del Pilar
Gregorio del Pilar
Gregorio del Pilar y Sempio was one of the youngest generals in the Philippine Revolutionary Forces during the Philippine Revolution and the Philippine-American War. He is most known for his role and death at the Battle of Tirad Pass...
.
Rodrigo finished elementary at Bulacan Elementary School and secondary school at the University of the Philippines High School. He earned his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science in Education degrees from Ateneo de Manila
Ateneo de Manila University
The Ateneo de Manila University is a private teaching and research university run by the Society of Jesus in the Philippines. It began in 1859 when the City of Manila handed control of the Escuela Municipal de Manila in Intramuros, Manila, to the Jesuits...
and University of Santo Tomas
University of Santo Tomas
The Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines , is a private Roman Catholic university run by the Order of Preachers in Manila. Founded on April 28, 1611 by archbishop of Manila Miguel de Benavides, it has the oldest extant university charter in the...
, graduating magna cum laude and valedictorian. While in college, he was captain of the Debating team.
In 1937, Rodrigo married his childhood sweetheart Remedios Enriquez. Prior to this, he took Law at the University of the Philippines, which he finished in 1938.
Career
Rodrigo was a playwright in English and TagalogTagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
, with works described as those that distilled within the Filipino soul. His most celebrated play was Sa Pula, Sa Puti while his most popular Kuro – Kuro sa likod ng mga Balita had also won legions of admirers throughout the country. Some other famous works include Tagalog translations of works of Martyr of Golgotha and Cyrano de Bergerac
Cyrano de Bergerac
Hercule-Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac was a French dramatist and duelist. He is now best remembered for the works of fiction which have been woven, often very loosely, around his life story, most notably the 1897 play by Edmond Rostand...
. Rodrigo was also known for his tanaga, Tagalog poems that dealt with the social and political issues.
During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines in World War II, Rodrigo distributed anti-Japanese propaganda materials together with Raul Manglapus
Raul Manglapus
Raúl Sevilla Manglapus was a prominent post-World War II Filipino politician. He co-founded the reformist Progressive Party of the Philippines and the Christian Democratic Socialist Movement in 1968 .He was appointed as the Philippines' youngest-ever foreign minister in 1957,...
and Manuel Fruto. In his book "Mga Bakas ng Kahapon", Rodrigo reflected on the fate he and his family of four may have suffered had he been implicated by Manglapus and Fruto during their capture. In 1945, he moved his family to the underground basement of the Philippine General Hospital
Philippine General Hospital
The Philippine General Hospital is a tertiary state-owned hospital administered and operated by the University of the Philippines Manila, the University of the Philippines System's Health Sciences Center. It is the largest government hospital administered by the university, and is designated as...
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,...
, where they miraculously survived the building’s destruction.
After the war, Rodrigo resumed his law practice by joining the law firm of Francisco Delgado and Lorenzo Tañada
Lorenzo Tañada
Lorenzo Martinez Tañada was a Filipino politician. Elected to the first Philippine Senate in 1947, he was the longest-serving senator in Philippine history. He served as a Philippine senator for 24 years.-Early life:...
. Then, he opened the Rodrigo Law Office in 1946. Rodrigo authored Philippine Modern Legal Forms and Handbook on the Rules of Court.
In 1951, Rodrigo became the president of the Ateneo Parent-Teacher Association, then became the president of the Ateneo Alumni Association in 1953. In 1953, Rodrigo and Bob Stewart ran an unprecedented 48-hour coverage of the entire proceedings of the 1953 Presidential Elections. Rodrigo was awarded by president 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...
a Legion of Honor due to this marathon broadcast.
Politics
In 1955, Rodrigo won a seat in the Philippine Senate under the Nacionalista PartyNacionalista 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...
of President Magsaysay. One of Rodrigo’s speehes, "Catholic in Politics" delivered on 7 September 1957, is included in the Anvil Press
Anvil press
An anvil press is related to a machine press, and is used to create extraordinarily high pressures on small items.They are often used in artificial diamond creation and research, as they mimic the pressures and temperatures that exist deep in the Earth....
book "20 Speeches That Moved a Nation."
Awarded as one of the Ten Outstanding Senators in his time, he was a much invented guest of foreign governments such as the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
, among others. Rodrigo was also awarded a U.S. Government grant under the terms of Public Law 402 (Smith - Mundt) for observation and travel under the auspices of the Governmental Affairs Institute (Nov. 20, 1959 - Jan. 20, 1960).
For the 1959 midterm elections, Rodrigo ran a disappointing campaign for the “Grand Alliance” counting as candidates Emmanuel Pelaez
Emmanuel Pelaez
Emmanuel Neri Pelaez was a politician and Vice-President of the Philippines.-Early life and career:Pelaez was born in Medina, Misamis Oriental to Gregorio Pelaez, Sr. and Felipa Neri. He was fourth among eight children: Rosario, Concepcion, Gregorio Jr., Emmanuel, Jose Ma., Lourdes , Antonio, and...
, Raul Manglapus
Raul Manglapus
Raúl Sevilla Manglapus was a prominent post-World War II Filipino politician. He co-founded the reformist Progressive Party of the Philippines and the Christian Democratic Socialist Movement in 1968 .He was appointed as the Philippines' youngest-ever foreign minister in 1957,...
and Jorge Vargas, among others. Then in 1961, Rodrigo got the third-most votes to win a second senatorial term as a Liberal Party
Liberal Party (Philippines)
The Liberal Party of the Philippines is a liberal party in the Philippines, founded by then senators Senate President Manuel Roxas, Senate President Pro-Tempore Elpidio Quirino, and former 9th Senatorial District Senator Jose Avelino, on November 24, 1945 by a breakaway Liberal group from the...
candidate with Diosdado Macapagal
Diosdado Macapagal
Diosdado Pangan Macapagal was the ninth President of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the sixth Vice President, serving from 1957 to 1961. He also served as a member of the House of Representatives, and headed the Constitutional Convention of 1970...
. He sought a third term in 1965 but lost. From 1970-1972, Rodrigo hosted the ABS-CBN
ABS-CBN
ABS–CBN Corporation is a Philippine-based media conglomerate. It is the Philippines' largest media and entertainment conglomerate. The corporation was the merger of Alto Broadcasting System which at that time owned by James Lindenberg and Antonio Quirino, and the Chronicle Broadcasting Network ...
program "Mga Kuro-kuro ni Soc Rodrigo."
For their dissent against President 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...
, Rodrigo, along with Ninoy Aquino and many others, was incarcerated during upon the declaration of Martial Law in 1972. During this time in jail, Rodrigo kept the faith of fellow detainees alive as he led nightly prayers of the rosary. Ninoy Aquino would treasure of the crucifixes that Rodrigo gave him during this time. Rodrigo was released after three months but was detained two more times. In 1978, for writing Tagalog poems attacking the Marcos dictatorship, and in 1982, for his anti-Marcos poems in the We Forum and Philippine Star.
In 1983, Rodrigo was one of the first people allowed to look at the newly assassinated Ninoy Aquino’s body. Rodrigo felt distraught and guilt from this incident because he was one of those who advised Aquino to return to the Philippines from exile in the United States.
After the People Power revolution that sent Marcos to exile, Rodrigo was chosen by President Cory Aquino to be a Commissioner of the 1986 Constitutional Commission. Many of Rodrigo’s children were against him being a member, preferring instead to see him in the Senate one more time. Instead, he joined the commission as he turned his back on politics forever. The new Constitution was ratified by the people in February 1987.
Retirement
Thereafter, Rodrigo retired from public life, preferring to live happily with his family. He also wrote columns for the newspapers Malaya (1980–1989) and Philippine Star (1992–1997).On 4 January 1998, Rodrigo died at age 83 due to complications of cancer. In November that year, his name was inscribed in the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Memorial Hall in Quezon City to honor his role in the long struggle against Marcos.
The Gawad Soc Rodrigo is an award named after him given by the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino
Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino
The Commission on the Filipino Language is the official regulating body of the Filipino language and the official government institution tasked with developing, preserving, and promoting the various local Philippine languages. It was established in accord with the 1987 Constitution of the...
(KWF) and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).
A son of his, Francisco Jr., served as legal counsel for Staff Sgt. Chad Carpentier in a controversial rape case filed against US servicemen in Subic
Subic
Subic can mean any of the following:*House of Šubić, a noble clan from Dalmatia.*Subic Bay, in the Philippines.*Subic, Zambales, a municipality in the Philippines.*Subic Bay Freeport Zone , an economic free trade area in the Philippines....
, Philippines.