Claro M Recto

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6/20/13 Claro M. Recto - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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He was born in Tiong, Tayabas (now known asQuezon province), Philippines, Spain (The Philippines was not yet

independent) of educated, upper middle-class parents, namely Claro Recto, Sr. ofRosario, Batangas, and Micaela

Mayo ofLipa, Batangas. He studied Latin at the Instituto de Rizal in Lipa, Batangasfrom 1900 to 1901. Further

schooling was at the Colegio del Sagrado Corazn of Don Sebastin Virrey. He moved to Manila to study at

theAteneo de Manila where he consistently obtained outstanding scholastic grades, graduating with a Bachelor of

Arts degreemaxima cum laude. He received a Masters of Laws degree from the University of Santo Toms.

Politician [edit]

Claro M. Recto, Jr. launched his political career as a legal adviser to the first Philippine Senatein 1916. In 1919, he

was elected representative from the second district ofBatangas. He served as minority floor leader for several years

until 1925. His grasp of parliamentary procedures won him the accolades of friends and adversaries alike.

Recto traveled to the United States as a member of the Independence Mission, and was admitted to the American

Bar in 1924. Upon his return he founded the Partido Democrata. In 1928, he temporarily retired from active politics

and dedicated himself to the practice and teaching of law.

Recto found the world of academia restrictive and soporific. Although he still engaged in the practice of law, he

resigned from his teaching job in 1931 and reentered politics when he ran and won a senate seat and was

subsequently elected its majority floor leader in 1934. He was appointedAssociate Justice of the Supreme Court in

1935 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. As a jurist he held his own in famous debates even against the U.S.

Attorney General with whom he waged a war of words on the question of ownership of military bases in the

Philippines.

Recto presided over the assembly that drafted the Philippine Constitution in 1934-35, which was in accordance with

the provisions of theTydingsMcDuffie Act and a preliminary step to independence and self-governance after a 10-yea

transitional period. The TydingsMcDuffie Act was created in response to the HareHawesCutting Act which,

through the urging ofQuezon, was rejected by the Philippine Senate. The original bill would have allowed the

indefinite retention of U.S. military and naval bases in the Philippines and the American imposition of high tariff and

quotas on Philippine exports such as sugar and coconut oil. A few minor changes were made and the Tydings

McDuffie bill was passed and signed into law by President Roosevelt.

Together with then-Senate President Manuel L. Quezon (who eventually was elected first president of the

commonwealth), Recto personally presented the Commonwealth Constitution to U.S. President Roosevelt. The

consensus among many political scholars of today judges the 1935 Constitution as the best-written Philippine charte

ever. Its author was mainly Claro M. Recto.

In the 1953 and 1955 elections, Recto denounced the influence and coercion of the Church on voters' decisionsthe

Philippines having a 90% Catholic majority at the time. In a 1958 article in "The Lawyer's Journal" he suggested that

a constitutional amendment be passed to make the article on Separation of Church and State clearer and more

definitive. He also rallied against the teaching of religion in public schools.

Recto served as Commissioner of Education (194243), Minister of Foreign Affairs (194344), and Cultural Envoy with

the rank of Ambassador on a cultural mission to Europe and Latin America (1960).

In 1941, Recto ran and reaped the highest number of votes among the 24 elected senators. He was re-elected in

1949 as a Nacionalista Party candidate and again in 1955 as a guest candidate of the Liberal Party.

Claro M. Recto, Jr. is considered light-years ahead of his time.

The neutrality of this article is disputed. Relevant

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2012)

He foresaw the demands of a fast-moving global economy which his nation is incapable to meet even to this day. In a

memorable speech on the eve of the 1957 presidential electionwhere he ran against then President Carlos Garcia, he

petitioned all sectors of society, and like Rizal, implored the youth:[3]

The first task to participate seriously in the economic development of our country by pursuing those

professions for which there is a great need during an era of rapid industrialization. Only a

nationalistic administration can inspire a new idealism in our youth, and with its valid economic

program make our youth respond to the challenging jobs and tasks demanding full use of their

talents and energies. Recto was defeated and never became president. Since his time, subsequent administrations practiced with fidelity

and enthusiasm what he called "subservience and colonial mentality", most of them with greed and rapacious intents

To the judgment of Recto and many political gurus, colonial mentality towards America by the sycophant Philippine

government, and its evil twinservility to the almighty dollar, are among the major contributories to graft and

corruption, which in turn have paralyzed the nation's economy.

During the presidency ofCorazon Aquino, however, where Aquino initially fought for the R.P.-U.S Bases Treaty but

ultimately acquiesced to the will of the people, the Philippine Senate rejected its renewal. In September 1991, by a

slim majority led by SenatorJovito Salonga, the lawmaking body rescinded the agreement, effectively ending U.S.

military presence in the Philippines.

Recto the jurist [edit]

In the years before English became the principal tongue of the Filipino elite, Recto was known as an abogado

milagroso (lawyer of miracles), a tribute to his many victories in the judicial court. He wrote a two-volume book on civi

procedures which in the days before World War II was standard textbook for law students.

His prominence as a lawyer parallels his fame as a writer: he was known for his flawless logic and lucidity of mind in

both undertakings. He served the wartime cabinet of PresidentJos P. Laurel during the Japanese occupation.

Together with Laurel, Camilo Osas, andQuintn Paredes, he was taken into custody by the American colonial

government and tried for treason. In his defense, he wrote a treatise entitled "Three Years of Enemy Occupation"

(1946) wherein he convincingly presented the case of patriotic conduct of Filipinos during World War II. He fought his

legal battles and was acquitted.

Poet, playwright, essayist [edit]

He was was reared and schooled in the Spanish language, his mother tongue alongsideTagalog, and he was also

adept in English. His initial fame was as a poet while a student at the University of Santo Toms when he published a

book Bajos los cocoteros (Under the Coconut Trees, 1911), a collection of his poems in Spanish. A staff writer ofEl

Ideal, and laterLa Vanguardia, he wrote a daily column, Primeras Cuartillas (First Sheets), under the nom de plumeAristeo Hilario. They were prose and numerous poems of satirical pieces. Some of his work still grace the classic

poetry anthologies of the Hispanic world.

Among the plays that he authored were La ruta de Damasco (The Route to Damascus, 1918), and Solo entre las

sombras (Alone among the Shadows, 1917), which were lauded not only in the Philippines, but also in Spain and

Latin America. Both were produced and staged in Manila to critical acclaim in the mid 1950s.

In 1929, his article Monroismo asitico (Asiatic Monroism) was published, validating his repute as a political satirist.

In what was claimed as a commendable study in polemics, he proferred his arguments and defenses in a debate with

Dean Mximo Klaw of the University of the Philippines where Klaw championed a version of the Monroe
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Gravesite of Claro M. Recto at the Manila North Cemetery.

Doctrine with its application to the Asian continent, while Recto took the opposing side. The original Monroe doctrine

(1823) was U.S. President Monroe's foreign policy of keeping the Americas off-limits to the influence of the Old

World, and states that the United States, Mexico, and countries in South and Central America were no longer open

to European colonization. Recto was passionately against its implementation in Asia, wary of Japan's preeminence

and its aggressive stance towards its neighbors. In his deliberation he wrote about foreseeing the danger Japan posed

to the Philippines and other Asian countries. His words proved prophetic when Japan invaded and colonized the

region, including the Philippines from 1942-45.

His eloquence and facility with the Spanish language were recognized throughout the Hispanic world.The Enciclopedia Universalsays of him: Recto, more than a politician and lawyer, is a Spanish writer, and that among

those of his race (he is pure Tagalog on both sides), there is not and there has been no one who has surpassed him

in the mastery of the language of his country's former sovereign. [4]

The 'finest mind of his generation' [edit]

Claro M. Recto, Jr. is considered the "finest mind of his generation". [5] Through his speeches and writings, he was

able to mold the mind of his Filipino contemporaries and succeeding generations, a skill "only excelled by Rizal's".[5]

He left a mark on the patriotic climate of his time and a lasting legacy to those who succeeded him. Such icons of

nationalism as Lorenzo Taada, Jos Diokno, Renato Constantino, Jovito Salonga, refer to him as a mentor andforerunner.

Teodoro M. Locsn of the Philippines Free Press, defines Recto's genius, thus:[5]

"Recto is not a good speaker, no. He will arouse no mob. But heaven help the one whose pretensions he chooses to

demolish. His sentences march like ordered battalions against the inmost citadel of the man's arguments, and

reduce them to rubble; meanwhile his reservations stand lik e armed sentries against the most silent approach and

every attempt at encirclement by the adversary. The reduction to absurdity of Nacionalista senator Zulueta's

conception of sound foreign policy was a shattering experience, the sk ill that goes into the cutting of a diamond went

into the work of demolition. There was no slip of the hand, no flaw in the tool. All was delicately, perfectly done...

Recto cannot defend the indefensible, but what can be defended, he will see to it that it will not be taken."

Criticism [edit]

His critics claim that Recto's brilliance is overshadowed by

his inability to capture nationwide acceptance. He could

have been an exceptional leader, perhaps a great president,

but his appeal was limited to the intellectual elite and the

nationalist minority of his time. In the same article, political

editorialist, Manuel L. Quezon III, laments this fact:

"Recto's leadership was the curious k ind that only finds

fulfillment from being at the periphery of power, and not from

being its fulcrum. It was the best occupation suited to the

satirist that he was. His success at the polls would be

limited, his ability to mold the minds of his contemporaries

was only excelled by Rizal's...But he was admired for his

intellect and his dogged determination to never let the

opposition be bereft of a champion, still his opposition was

flawed. For it was one that never bothered to transform itself

into an opposition capable of tak ing power."[5]
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However, one possible explanation as to why Recto was never able to capture full national acceptance was because

he dared to strongly oppose the national security interests of the United States in the Philippines, as when he

campaigned against the US military bases in his country. During the 1957 presidential campaign, the Central

Intelligence Agency (CIA) conducted black propaganda operations to ensure his defeat, including the distribution of

condoms with holes in them and marked with `Courtesy of Claro M. Recto' on the labels. [6][7]

Death [edit]

Claro M. Recto died of a heart attack in Rome, Italy, on October 2, 1960, while on a cultural mission, and en route toSpain, where he was to fulfill a series of speaking engagements.

The US Central Intelligence Agency is suspected of involvement in his death. Recto, who had no known heart

disease, met with two mysterious "Caucasians" wearing business suits before he died. United States government

documents later showed that a plan to murder Recto with a vial ofpoison was discussed by CIA Chief of Station

Ralph Lovett and the US Ambassador to the Philippines Admiral Raymond Spruance years earlier.[8][9]

Recto was married to Aurora Reyes, with whom he had two sons. He had four children in his first marriage with

Angeles Silos.
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Documents

Claro M Recto