Don Antonio de las Alas: A tribute from his kin

Don Antonio de las Alas and my father were close friends, calling each other “primo”. Don Antonio’s daughter Menchu A. Concepcion has often told me we are related.

For this reason, I was anxious to attend the launching of the book on Don Antonio co-authored by his daughters Menchu and Ching A. Montinola, but my prolonged illness prevented me from doing so. At any rate, herewith are the book’s prologue and epilogue.

Prologue

“We all have happy memories of good men gone to their reward” proverbs 10:7”

In this current day and age of Philippine History, it leaves many of us Filipinos looking to find stories that are able to inspire us to be the great nation we are. We crave to hear about those so called “good men” whose actions are seen in actual results. The question we ask ourselves is “Where have these great men of true and honorable character gone?”

In the case of the de las Alas sisters (Ching and Menchu), they did not have to look far.

One day, browsing through some old family papers and photos, the sisters stumbled upon the true life their father lived.

Of course they only knew him as Papa — loving, caring and always looking out for his family but little did they know about the life of service that he lived. Paper after paper and documents after documents, his life in exceptional public and private service unfolded before them. It took over a year to finally document all of their father’s achievements and involvements. At the end, they had discovered a completely different man from the person they simply knew as ‘PAPA’.

This book is about two children who have found hope in the ‘other life’ their father lived outside of their home. It is about their desire that this book inspire others as much as it did them, it is about their renewed belief that there are great men who exist and often times, one does not have to look far to find them. Often times, these men are as close as those you would call — PAPA.

“We, his children discovered most of these materials, awards, speeches, newspaper clippings and other memorabilia in old boxes. Unfortunately, much more testimonial evidence of Papa’s colorful and intensive involvement with the Filipino people could not be found anymore. But we went through museums, magazines, interviews — whatever could fill us with more data. “The more we saw, the more we fell in love with my father”.

We would like to pay the Tribute and share the life of a man who has left a rich legacy of righteousness, integrity and love of his country and his fellowmen. We can only hope that his life of dedication and sacrifice will encourage others to do the same. It is thus with deep pride and honor that our family presents Don Antonio de las Alas’ inspiring story. We are proud to be the children of … ‘this small man with a tall shadow.’

As Menchu and I were doing this book, we couldn’t help but feel some degree of sadness and regret. It is regrettable that my elder kin did not write this book, they could have done much better. I regret not being there during his days of recognition and accolades. I regret, I was not present when wealthier, more prominent, taller and fairer personages than he gave him due respect and admiration. I regret not having accompanied him more often to give my moral support, praise him in his glory and comfort him in his grief. I regret not having understood his need when he decided to take a new wife. I regret not having been with him when he passed away. I regret that when I saw him last, he was in a casket draped with the Filipino flag he fervently served.

In closing, I would like to say this to Papa: “I can only thank you for setting my standards of true love for country, a relentless passion for work in public service and an undying dedication to family. Accept this final gift between my sister and myself to you. In the sunset of our lives, all we can do is express our deep appreciation for the legacy of a good name which we proudly wear as our Badge of Honor. We love you for all that you were and for all we wish we could have shared with you.”

And to all those who take time to read this book, I would like to thank you for allowing us to share with you the life of our beloved PAPA. – Ching A. Montinola

Menchu’s epilogue

Papa has long been gone but my love and gratitude for him lives forever. Our family had long wanted to publish a book on the life of our father. Somehow it never materialized. Now that only three of the 12 children are left, Ching and I were more determined to finally do the book. And now that the book is finally a reality, I thank the Lord for giving us the fortitude and discernment to just do it. It was not difficult to write about Papa. On the contrary it was an uplifting experience.

Being the youngest in the family, Papa was just Papa to me. I was sheltered, pampered and doted upon. And as I went about doing my share of going through all the pictures and documents that formed a rich patchwork of Papa’s life, I was awed and then glad that I was Papa’s child.

His life was multifaceted yet he excelled in all. He walked the corridors of power and breathed the rarefied air of success yet he remained humble and unassuming. Papa gave me a name I am proud of. A name that is untainted and respected.

It is my fervent wish that the story of my father will be an inspiration to all.

I love you, Papa!