Palace confers Legion of Honor on Solarz

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino posthumously conferred the Philippine Legion of Honor with the rank of chief commander on former New York representative Stephen J. Solarz in recognition of his life achievements as an outstanding public servant.

The award is the highest that can be accorded by Malacañang to a Filipino or a foreigner, according to deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte.

Solarz, considered a true friend of the Philippines for fighting for democracy in the country during martial law, died on Monday at the age of 70 after a four-year battle with cancer of the esophagus.

Valte said the award would be transmitted to Solarz’s widow in the United States.

A ceremony to hand the award to Solarz’s family had yet to be set, she added.

In the citation, Aquino said the award was given to Solarz “in appreciation for his solidarity with the Filipino people, as they fought to restore democracy, and his sustained interest and support for the Philippines in the years since the Edsa Revolution” in 1986.

Aquino said Solarz must be commended for his eloquent and principled defense of democracy, his advocacy of good government and his pursuit of a policy for his country that would honor and give life to the shared principles and liberty and democracy of the Filipino and American peoples.

“For all these achievements and for his always being a steadfast friend of the Filipino people, of our democracy, and a mutually-respectful relationship between Filipinos and Americans anchored on self-determination and respect for human rights, it is just proper to pay tribute to his contributions to the restoration and defense of our democracy, by honoring him with the highest recognition a grateful Republic can bestow,” he said.

Solarz was a foreign affairs expert who in 1986 revealed the extravagance of then first lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos, including her 3,000 pairs of shoes.

He also angered many of his fellow Democrats when in 1991 he co-sponsored the resolution authorizing President George H. W. Bush to wage the first war against Iraq.

A year later, he lost his seat in a dramatically redrawn Brooklyn district that he had served since 1974.

Solarz’s son-in-law Glen Prickett called Solarz a “great champion of human rights” and a “great opponent of repressive regimes.”

His most well known battle was in 1986, when Solarz held highly publicized hearings to prove that Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos had looted the Philippine treasury of millions of dollars to buy real estate in the US.

He led the congressional movement to withhold military aid to the Philippines until Marcos could be driven out and Corazon Aquino installed as president.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Solarz was a true friend of the Philippines.

“Solarz fought for democracy in the Philippines during the dark days of martial law even when his own government’s policy was to support the Marcos regime,” he said.

During the hearings, Solarz accused Marcos of running a “kleptocracy” and enriching himself and his wife at the expense of his country’s citizens. Solarz said in March 1986 after a visit to Manila that Versailles, the palace of French King Louis XVI, looked like an “Appalachian hovel” in comparison to Malacañang Palace, where the Marcoses lived.