Jimmy Gordon recalled as Olongapo City turns 35

On June 1, 1966, Olongapo became a city.

Olongapo, the last place ceded back by the Americans to the Philippine government, became so because a man who was born an American, but who chose to live as a Filipino, dared to make a difference.

That man, James Leonard Gordon, renounced his American citizenship, in pursuit of his dream of an Olongapo free from the clutches of the Americans and the United States Navy.

In this all-consuming vision, Jimmy Gordon, as he is still fondly called, fought the good fight, without counting the cost, without heeding the wounds.

He and his wife, Amelia Juico Gordon, and their friends organized socio-civic associations which served and cared for the residents of Olongapo, the town and the city.

He and his friends were the founding fathers of the Rotary Club of Olongapo, the mother club of four other Rotary Clubs. They also organized the Olongapo Civic Action Group (OCAG) which, in turn, sponsored the establishment of Boys Town/Girls Home, which continues to give love, shelter, care and a future for the orphaned and the abandoned.

Jimmy Gordon fought for justice. He battled the imposition of a waiver fee in exchange for the compulsory labor required of an Olongapo resident one day a week. He fought the illegal body searches and the interference of the US Navy in local government.

Finally, Jimmy Gordon’s crusade succeeded, and Olongapo became a municipality on Dec. 7, 1959.

Yet politics soon tainted this development. Political warlords used every trick in the book to stay in power and to delay elections. Yet Jimmy Gordon persisted, and, in 1963, he was elected mayor of Olongapo.

As mayor, Gordon fought dirty politicians all the way.

He exposed the rape of the forests, even carrying the fight to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. He exposed the outrageous sale of the Olongapo power plant, he battled smuggling of firearms and cigarettes, all forms of immorality, graft and corruption.

At the same time, he drew up a master plan whereby Olongapo would be weaned away from the influence of the US Navy. He titled his vision "Blueprint for Tomorrow," the same title given by his son Richard when he, in turn, drew up a plan for the Subic Freeport, which the young Gordon envisioned as a robust alternative to the American presence.

In fighting the good fight, Jimmy Gordon naturally incurred powerful enemies. Twice, they tried to silence him.

They failed, and Jimmy Gordon continued to toil, deep into the night to make his vision leap out from his blueprint.

But on Feb. 26, 1967, an assassin’s bullet ended Jimmy Gordon’s storied life, right on the steps of City Hall.

His funeral march was the longest ever, as people from all walks of life bade him farewell. They mourned his passing, but they celebrated his dreams, his accomplishments.

Said the late Sen. Jose W. Diokno of Jimmy Gordon: "He was born to an American father, chose to be a Filipino, raised his children as Filipinos, served his country as a Filipino and died a Filipino hero."

Today, Olongapo celebrates — and remembers the man who defied all odds, who served and served extremely well.