Blas Ople
Manuel Villar | |
---|---|
22nd
Adrian E. Cristobal | |
Mambabatas Pambansa (Assemblyman) from Bulacan | |
In office June 30, 1984 – March 25, 1986 Served with: Jesus S. Hipolito Rogaciano M. Mercado Teodulo C. Natividad | |
Mambabatas Pambansa (Assemblyman) from Central Luzon | |
In office June 12, 1978 – June 5, 1984 | |
Member of the Philippine Constitutional Commission | |
In office June 2, 1986 – October 15, 1986 | |
President | Corazon Aquino |
Personal details | |
Born | Blas Fajardo Ople February 3, 1927 Hagonoy, Bulacan, Philippine Islands |
Died | December 14, 2003 Taoyuan, Taiwan | (aged 76)
Resting place | Libingan ng mga Bayani 14°31′16″N 121°2′34″E / 14.52111°N 121.04278°E |
Political party | Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (1992–2003) |
Other political affiliations | Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (1978–1992) Nacionalista (until 1972) |
Spouse | Susana Ople |
Children | 7, including Susan |
Alma mater | Manuel L. Quezon University (BA) |
Occupation | Journalist; Politician |
Blas Fajardo Ople (February 3, 1927 – December 14, 2003) was a Filipino journalist and politician who held several high-ranking positions in the
Ople's most enduring role was his nineteen years as Secretary (later Minister) of Labor and Employment during the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos, when Philippine labor laws were overhauled through the enactment of the Labor Code of the Philippines that he had helped author.
Early life and career
Ople was born in
In 1948, he finished his high school studies at the
He soon became known for his nationalist views. He co-founded the Kilusang Makabansa (National Progress Movement), an organization which frequently spoke out on issues of nationalism and social justice in the 1950s.[2] In 1953, he joined the Magsaysay-for-President Movement, a volunteer group supporting the presidential campaign of Ramon Magsaysay, heading its Executive Planning Committee and working as a speechwriter for candidates of the Nacionalista Party.[2][3] After Magsaysay's election, he joined the government as special assistant to the Secretary of Labor and technical assistant on labor and agrarian affairs.
Secretary of Labor
In 1965, Ople was appointed as Social Security Commissioner by President
As Labor Secretary, Ka Blas was instrumental in the framing of the
In 1978, Ople was elected an assemblyman of the
1986 Constitutional Commission Member
Following the success of the People Power Revolution and the installation to the presidency of Corazon Aquino, Ople was relieved of his Cabinet post. Ople returned to the Philippines and immediately attempted to position himself as the leader of the political opposition against Aquino.[10] Nonetheless in May 1986, Ople accepted an offer by President Aquino to serve in the Constitutional Commission that drafted a new Philippine Constitution.[2]
In the 1987 congressional elections, Ople ran a second time for the Philippine Senate, under the banner of the Grand Alliance for Democracy coalition. He was defeated in this attempt, and returned to private life, serving as chairman of the Institute for Public Policy (IPP), a policy research institute.[2]
Senator of the Philippines
In 1992, he ran again for the Senate under the
Ople won a re-election for the senate in 1998, under the Laban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino. In 1999, upon the resignation of the terminally-ill
Later that year, he sat as one of the senator-judges in the impeachment trial of his ally, President Joseph Estrada. He was one of the eleven votes during the trial that successfully voted to block the opening of an envelope that was believed to contain proof of the corruption charges against Estrada.[12] Public anger over the Senate vote triggered the EDSA Revolution of 2001, leading to the ouster of Estrada and the accession of Vice-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to the presidency.
Secretary of Foreign Affairs
In July 2002, President
During his stint as Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Ople was at the forefront of the negotiations that led to the deployment of American military forces inside the Philippines, though he insisted that the American troops would not participate in combat missions.[14] Under his watch, the American and Filipino governments signed an agreement that provided immunity to each other's citizens facing charges before international tribunals such as the International Criminal Court.[15] Ople was also a vocal supporter of the Iraq War, and pushed for the deployment of a small Filipino contingent in Iraq.[16] He predicted in November 2003, "Baghdad will be transformed from a symbol of brutal despotism to a new, shining symbol of human freedom. The sacrifices invested in the liberation of Iraq, to which Filipinos made a significant contribution, will be fully vindicated and cherished for all time."[17]
Death and legacy
In the months prior to his death, Ople, a longtime
President Arroyo mourned Ople as "an architect of Philippine foreign policy in the finest tradition of enlightened and pragmatic diplomacy",
Ople was eulogized in Time magazine, which recalled his erudition, his skill at political survival, and his trademark "extraordinary baritone".[6] The eulogy also said that at the height of the People Power Revolution, Ople in Washington, D.C. had reported to Marcos in Manila that the President's support within the Reagan administration was falling. Marcos responded by asking Ople to reach out to his contacts in the Soviet government.[6] Ople rebuffed Marcos, and as Time noted, declined "to help make the Philippines a Soviet colony three years before the Berlin Wall fell".[6]
Ople is buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. In 2004, President Arroyo named Ople's daughter, Susan Ople, as Undersecretary of the Department of Labor and Employment.[21]
The building housing the former Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and currently the Department of Migrant Workers at the corner of EDSA and Ortigas Avenue in Mandaluyong was renamed Blas F. Ople Building in his honor on February 4, 2004.[22]
References
- ^ "Biography of Senate President Ople – Senate of the Philippines" Archived March 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. senate.gov.ph.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Biography of Senate President Blas Ople". Official Website of the Senate of the Philippines. Senate of the Philippines. Archived from the original on March 17, 2008. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
- ^ Alfredo G. Rosario (January 31, 2008). "Little known Ople anecdotes". The Manila Times. Retrieved March 19, 2009.[dead link]
- ISBN 971-10-0473-9.
- ^ Gleeck, Jr., p. 387
- ^ a b c d e Anthony Spaeth (December 20, 2003). "Eulogy: Blas Ople". Time. Archived from the original on November 23, 2008. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
- ^ "Aide Confirms Illness of Marcos". The New York Times. December 4, 1984. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
- ^ Henry Giniger; Milt Freudenheim (December 9, 1984). "Marcos Fights Illness Rumors". The New York Times. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
- ISBN 0-345-32816-7.
- ^ Leslie Gelb (February 27, 1986). "Problems Already Popping Up; Ex-Marcos Cabinet Official Hopes to Lead Opposition (pay site)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
- ^ a b "Philippines foreign minister named". BBC News. July 25, 2002. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
- ^ "Estrada v. Desierto, 445 SCRA 655". Supreme Court of the Philippines. March 2, 2001. Archived from the original on December 31, 2004. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
- ^ "Philippine foreign minister resigns". BBC News. July 2, 2002. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
- ^ Seth Mydans (February 25, 2003). "Combat Role For the G.I.'s In Philippines Left Unclear". The New York Times. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
- ^ Carlos Conde (June 3, 2003). "Pact with U.S. on Tribunals". The New York Times. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
- ^ a b c Agence France Presse (December 15, 2003). "Blas Ople succumbs to heart attack". Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
- ^ a b Colin Powell (December 15, 2003). "Statement on the Death of Foreign Secretary Blas Ople". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
- ^ a b Melody Chen (December 15, 2003). "Philippine foreign minister dies in Taiwan hospital". Taipei Times. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
- ^ a b c "A Philippine Official Dies While on a Trip". The New York Times. December 15, 2003. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
- ^ a b c Carlos H. Conde (December 16, 2003). "Blas Ople, Philippine secretary, dies at 76". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on May 20, 2011. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
- ^ "GMA names Susan Ople as new DOLE undersecretary". The Official Website of the Government of the Philippines. January 6, 2004. Retrieved April 27, 2008.[dead link]
- ^ Jaymalin, Mayen (February 3, 2004). "POEA building named after Ople". The Philippine Star. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
External links
- Senate of the Philippines – Biography of Blas Ople
- Blas F. Ople Policy Center and Training Institute