Teodoro M. Locsin Sr. died exactly 10 years ago this day (or at 8:30 tonight, to be exact, and if we are to go by the late Adrian Cristobal’s article at the time). He was buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, given all the honors and tributes that Ferdinand Marcos would’ve paid several millions for, as one writer at the time observed. According to Manolo Quezon III’s account, “The Poet, the Fighter: The Locsin of Memory” the man remained defiant until the last. “In the end, all he could communicate with were his eyes. There seemed little pain expressed in them but there was anger … Anger at life: he had lived it well; he had no apologies to make; it was time to go — so why was he being detained?” wrote Quezon.
But one needn’t look at how he approached his passing to get the impression that this was a man who joined the guerrilla forces against the Japanese invaders, who commanded the respect and attention of presidents but who refused to be amused by their come-ons. One need only look at the amount of literature he left us: his editorials, his column, which he appropriately titled “The Uneasy Chair,” or the magazine that he steered towards greatness.
As publisher and editor-in-chief of the Philippines Free Press (which is now on 101st year), he established a weekly magazine that published the finest journalism and fiction of our greatest writers. To name but a few, there was Edward Kiunisala, Filemon Tutay, Leon O. Ty, Jose Quirino, Kerima Polotan, Jose Lacaba, Gregorio C. Brillantes and Nick Joaquin writing as Quijano de Manila. (The latter’s crime reportage that first appeared in the Free Press became the basis for classic Filipino films such as Mike de Leon’s Kisapmata and Lino Brocka’s Jaguar. Compiled as “Reportage on Crime,” it’s been recently reprinted and re-published by Anvil.) But as Quezon points out, Locsin was “the star writer of the magazine” who “was given the task of the probing interview … the serious, reflective pieces, the essays on society, sovereignty and liberty…” And as a writer he was one of our best, up there with our literary greats. Unlike a lot of them he was funny, too, even when he was excoriating. This was the man, after all, who coined the term “Tango Filipino — Tañga Na, Gago Pa!” If anything, that’s genius right there.
But one should look even at his fiction, which Brillantes himself proclaims as superb and Locsin as the best fiction writer not given his due by the literary establishment. (When pressed as to why, the acclaimed fictionist, who also served under Locsin as executive editor, says that his strong criticism of other authors’ work served to alienate many.) In his story “A Matter of Necessity” (collected in the book Trial and Error), a guerrilla is tasked to execute a small-town mayor accused of collaborating with the Japanese. He described the scene thus:
“If you were some distance away, the figures would be diminished and the picture in your eyes would include the tremendous fall, the blue pool of water, the great trees encircling it, the overhanging vines, the fine spray from the fall, a patch of sky. The man on his knees would appear to be kneeling to drink, the man behind him having already done so, and you wonder who they were, what brought them here. An idyllic scene with a touch of mystery — something painted on a vase.”
Though I never met him, I’ve come to know Teodoro M. Locsin Sr. not through the many deserved plaudits from his peers nor how he is still highly regarded by those who knew him. Working as an associate editor for the magazine he loved so much he would rather it be closed than let it be an instrument of a dictator and was thrown in jail for his refusal, I’ve had access to the Free Press archive and to the writing of Mr. Locsin. That’s where you can find the character of the man, his adamantine sense of self that wouldn’t allow him to give in or compromise his integrity. In his articles, you find his knowing wit, the product of a first-rate intellect and a mind engaged with the vernacular of his times.
Ten years on, his words still resound and probably for far much longer than our lifetimes. They remain as relevant as ever, which is as much an indictment of the present as much as it is to his talent — truly a man for all seasons even as the country he loved so much seems to have learned little from his lessons.
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To commemorate Teodoro Locsin Sr.’s 10th death anniversary, the Philippines Free Press is releasing a special issue containing a number of his best-known writings as well as a couple more obscure ones. On the cover, there is a painting of Locsin by newly proclaimed National Artist for Painting, Federico Aguilar Alcuaz. It will be available at all National Book Stores.