WHAT a relief! For years every Dec. 18 we were appalled by the desecration of the monument of Dr. Graciano Lopez Jaena, Ilonggo hero of national stature, at Iloilo City’s Jaro district plaza. But yesterday, the 166th birth anniversary of Lopez Jaena, the plaza was a refreshing sight. There were no kiosks selling ukay-ukay or stalls peddling beer, perhayan and what not around his monument. The surroundings were spic and span.
Thanks to the city government for rehabilitating Jaro Plaza to bring back its glory days as a true and safe public space for people to converge and relax. Historical markers and monuments deserve respect. We fervently hope that the city government would never again allow the desecration of Lopez Jaena’s monument – or the whole Jaro Plaza itself which has actually been renamed Graciano Lopez Jaena Park in honor of Jaro’s greatest son who was the first editor of reformist newspaper La Solidaridad, the organ of rising Filipino intellectuals that aimed to galvanize the people into demanding for freedom from the colonial Spanish government.
Historians regard Lopez Jaena, along with Marcelo H. del Pilar and Jose Rizal, as the triumvirate of Filipino propagandists. Of these three, Lopez Jaena was the first to arrive in Spain. But in Jaro before leaving for Spain he already wrote the satirical story “Fray Botod”, unmasking the repression and abuses of Spanish rulers and powerful clerico-fascists.
Lopez-Jaena died of tuberculosis in Spain 11 months short of his 40th birthday. He was buried in an unmarked grave at the Cementerio del Sub-Oeste of Barcelona. His remains have not been found but his patriotic legacy lives on. He showed his genius as a communicator in the struggle for freedom. His greatness cannot be disputed.
He expressed his love of country with these words: “Philippines, I salute her with invocation of hope on my lips! The blue sea is her mantle, the most beautiful sky of the world her crown, adorned by resplendent stars. Whoever has not seen her has not seen the loveliest spot on earth.”
In the pantheon of great Filipino heroes, there is one Ilonggo freedom fighter – Graciano Lopez Jaena. His monument proudly stands at Jaro Plaza. It assures the perpetuation of his memory for the coming generations. Let it not be desecrated ever again.
