President Laurel’s message read by Commissioner Paulino Gullas

During the Japanese occupation, the Japanese imposed the creation of an organization to serve as its political arm and support the government structure they envisioned for the Philippines. On April 13, 1944 President Jose P. Laurel who was not able to attend the convention of provincial governors, Constabulary Inspectors, municipal mayors, and Kalibapi leaders of the Visayan provinces tasked Atty. Paulino Gullas to read his message. It was held in Cebu City.

The President's message was this:

"Today the Republic is faced with the recurrent problem of peace and order and the problem of food. Foodstuffs we must produce if we are to save our people from possible starvation, if we want our Republic to survive its severest test of fitness. Every piece of land must be cultivated. We have enough land to make us self-sufficient. Our salvation lies in our ability to produce. Determined as the Filipino people are to survive as a nation, I have no doubt that our countrymen will not fail their fatherland in the supreme hour of need. As head of the Republic, I appeal to every Filipino worthy of his race to exert his utmost to make his soil productive, to render himself useful to the community. Let us all stick together as one people happen what may. That is the true Filipino- spirit the spirit that animates us all today. It is the spirit that wills to succeed whatever be the obstacles- the spirit that rises superior to every adversity.

Another important problem is unification. A house divided against itself cannot long stand. After having fought so long for independence, freely shedding the blood of heroes and martyrs, the Filipino should stand united now that we are independent. Both duty and loyalty demand that we work for the uplift of our people and devote everything to the up building of a strong, great, progressive and enduring Republic. Before we can be true to others we must be true to ourselves. I ask each and all members of the convention and those under them to help their Government in uniting our people, in restoring peace and order, and in producing all foodstuffs our country needs. Let us all be one in our national aspiration and endeavor whatever political differences we may have had or now have."

Atty. Paulino Gullas, the first Cebuano to place first in the Bar Examinations (1916) and founder of the The Freeman (first printed in 1919), Cebu's oldest newspaper, delivered an emotional speech on August 10, 1944 at the San Nicolas Church Patio. Jovito Abellana (father of Cebuano veteran lawyer, Gines Abellana), who served as councilor of the Municipal Board of Cebu in his book, "My Moments of War to Remember By" narrated the speech of Gullas:

"Dear brothers and sisters, of happiness and sorrows; of love or hate and life or death, we must prepare." Here, Atty. Gullas, without fear or reservation shed his tears while he said further "I pray that God be willing to cherish our countrymen and women, old or young, that the sinister and direful destructions of our lives and material things be avoided. We have suffered too much. From high heavens we still hope that the merciful God will care for us." Abellana continued his recollection of the speech of Gullas who cried more, "We have been very tired of our sufferings and pains, during this chaotic conditions of our country, let there be, Oh God, peace, peace and as we are waiting for our liberation, I do hope that we the people of the Philippines may survive this gruesome event so that we can witness the long expected salvation of our people."

Abellana wrote that many applauded after the speech of Gullas, who was given the difficult obligation in the Cabinet as Minister of the KALIBAPI or the Kapisanan sa Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas also as its Visayas commissioner.

Atty. Paulino Arandia Gullas died as a martyr, executed by the Japanese Imperial Army when the Americans came to liberate Cebu. Though a street (formerly known as Nueva) is named after him many are unaware that just like Governors Jose Leyson and Hilario Abellana, Don Paulino served his country not just by making speeches and putting up a newspaper but by giving up his life. May we honor him by spreading his life story to today's youth.