Lorenzo "Ka Tanny" Martinez Tañada Sr. CCLH (, born Lorenzo Tañada y Martínez; August 10, 1898 – May 28, 1992) was a Filipino

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicit ...

, solicitor general,

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, national athlete, and

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, cultu ...

and civil rights defender best known for his many contributions to Philippine nationalism and independence. As first post-war solicitor general, longest serving senator for 24 years, and staunch opposition to

martial law under Ferdinand Marcos At 7:17 pm on September 23, 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos announced on television that he had placed the entirety of the Philippines under martial law. This marked the beginning of a 14-year period of one-man rule that would effectively last ...

. He is also equally renowned for his efforts to stop the continued presence of US military bases in the Philippines through the Anti-Bases Coalition (ABC).Lorenzo Tanada, Philippine Politician, 93, Archives, ''The New York Times'' and NYTimes.com, May 29, 1992
retrieved on: July 9, 2007Acosta, Abraham Rey Montecillo. “Super Lolo”, ''A Review of The Odyssey of Lorenzo M. Tañada by Agnes G. Bailen'', UP Press, 1998 (note: Agnes Bailen was a former UP Department of Political Science senior lecturer); “Book Reviews”, the Philippine Collegian, November 23, 1998; and LibraryLink.org, 2004
retrieved on: July 9, 2007 Senator Tañada was a co-founder of the

Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) The Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) is a nationwide organization of human rights lawyers in the Philippines. It was founded in 1974 by Sen. Jose W. Diokno, Lorenzo Tañada and Joker Arroyo during the martial law era under former Presid ...

with friend Jose W. Diokno. FLAG is the largest group of human rights lawyers nationwide. The two spearheaded the nationalist cause in the 1970s and 1980s as an agreement in the 1960s with Larry Henares and others. Tañada was also the chairman of the Justice for Aquino, Justice for All (JAJA) movement that sought to oust Marcos after the assassination of former Sen. Ninoy Aquino. He was also the founding chairman of a merged party called

Bayan Bayan may refer to: Eduational Institutions * Bayan Islamic Graduate School, Chicago, IL Places *Bayan-Aul, Pavlodar, Kazakhstan *Bayan Mountain, an ancient mountain name for part of Tarbagatai Mountains at Kazakhstan in Qing Dynasty period * ...

that opposed Marcos in the 1978 elections, and he founded the Nuclear-Free Philippines Coalition or NFPC, which successfully prevented the opening of the

Bataan Nuclear Power Plant The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant on the Bataan Peninsula, west of Manila, Philippines. Completed but never fueled, it is located on a government reservation at Napot Point in Morong, Bataan. It was the Philippines' onl ...

under the Marcos administration. Serving in the

Philippine Senate The Senate of the Philippines ( Filipino: ''Senado ng Pilipinas'', also ''Mataas na Kapulungan ng Pilipinas'' or "upper chamber") is the upper house of Congress of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines with the House of Representatives a ...

for 24 years beginning in 1947 up until 1971, he is the longest-serving senator in

Philippine history Earliest hominin activity in the Philippine archipelago is dated back to at least 709,000 years ago. ''Homo luzonensis'', a species of archaic humans, was present on the island of Luzon at least 67,000 years ago. The earliest known anatomically ...

and is referred to as the "Grand Old Man of Philippine Politics." In his youth, he was also a national

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

team

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

and was part of the Philippine national team that bagged silver medals at the

1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...

and

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Itali ...

Far Eastern Championship Games The Far Eastern Championship Games (also known as the Far Eastern Championships, Far Eastern Games or Far East Games) was an Asian multi-sport event considered to be a precursor to the Asian Games. History In 1913, Elwood Brown, president of ...

, the precursor to the famous

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

. He is the father of former Philippine Senator

Wigberto Tañada Wigberto "Ka Bobby" Ebarle Tañada Sr. (, born August 13, 1934) is a Filipino politician. He is member of the Liberal Party and a former member of the Senate of the Philippines (1987–1995) and Philippine House of Representatives representing t ...

and the grandfather of former Deputy Speaker Erin Tañada.

Early life

Tañada was born in

Gumaca, Quezon Gumaca, officially the Municipality of Gumaca ( tgl, Bayan ng Gumaca), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Quezon, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 71,942 people. It is located at the mouth of what is ...

on 10 August 1898, the son of Vicente Tañada, who served as the last

gobernadorcillo The ''gobernadorcillo'' (, literally "little governor") was a municipal judge or governor in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period, who carried out in a town the combined charges or responsibilities of leadership, economic, and jud ...

of Gumaca town in Quezon under the Spanish colonial government, and Anastacia Martinez-Tañada. His actions in life were governed by the philosophy ingrained in him by his mother. The phrase "fear of God is the start of wisdom" guided him in all his social dealings. As an elementary student in Gumaca, he joined a protest against his school's

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

principal. The protest was prompted by the principal's order for school children to stay during weekends to build a

playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people ...

, which prevented them from going home to their parents. Tañada said he was the smallest child and remembered when the principal was shocked to see he was one of the complainants. This was considered to be his very first rally. In 1915, Tañada moved to the new De La Salle College, Manila, now called De La Salle University or DLSU, a school run by the Christian Brothers and graduated at the top of the class in 1918. He claimed it was the first time he saw his mother very emotional as she pinned the special medal on Tañada's breast during the ceremony. As a law student at the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 20 ...

(U.P.), Tañada, completed his Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) prior to the academic Philippine educational system and obtained the rank of

major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

, and was a lead actor in plays. He was also a national

team

and was part of the Philippine national team that bagged silver medals at the

and

Far Eastern Championship Games, the precursor to the Asian Games. As a college student, during U.P.'s

Armistice Day Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, Fran ...

, he we would exhort "his fellow cadets to take their training seriously as they will soon be called upon to use their skill against the Americans if the country's

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...

is not granted". He recalled being allowed to make this speech at the request of the Filipino administrators. Though after the speech the Filipino administrators told him to resign from the ROTC before the American general may try to punish him. In 1924 he topped the government's examination for ''

pensionados The Pensionado Act is Act Number 854 of the Philippine Commission, which passed on 26 August 1903. Passed by the United States Congress, it established a scholarship program for Filipinos to attend school in the United States. The program has ...

'' and obtained a free scholarship to study in the U.S. In 1928, he earned his Master of Laws from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

. He was the principal protégé of American

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

justice

Felix Frankfurter Felix Frankfurter (November 15, 1882 – February 22, 1965) was an Austrian-American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1939 until 1962, during which period he was a noted advocate of judic ...

. He also acquired a Doctor in Civil Law ''meritissimus'' from the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Migue ...

. In 1947, together with prominent justices and lawyers, they founded the MLQ Law School, which became the

Manuel L. Quezon University The Manuel L. Quezon University (MLQU) is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational basic and higher education institution in Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines. It is named after the second president of the Philippine Manuel L. Quezon. History O ...

in 1958 upon signing of the charter granted by the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture. The Monzon Hall is currently situated in R. Hidalgo Street while the Law Building is at Arlegui Street. Tañada was also a founder of the Civil Liberties Union in 1937 together with friend J.B.L. Reyes.

Political career

Tañada served as the pre-war and first post-war solicitor general from 1940-1941 and 1945-1947, tasked with the monumental collaboration cases against many prominent figures, where he earned the respect and admiration of many of his peers and countrymen. Tañada was first elected to the Philippine senate in 1947 where he topped the elections, placing 1st among senatorial candidates, the first of his 4 successful senatorial elections. Tañada was the chief prosecutor against

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

collaborators. Due to his political reputation, Tañada became a Filipino praised by all

sector Sector may refer to: Places * Sector, West Virginia, U.S. Geometry * Circular sector, the portion of a disc enclosed by two radii and a circular arc * Hyperbolic sector, a region enclosed by two radii and a hyperbolic arc * Spherical sector, a po ...

s of Philippine society, a person honored by both the

Communist Party of the Philippines The Communist Party of the Philippines ( fil, Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas) is a far-left, Marxist-Leninist-Maoist revolutionary organization and communist party in the Philippines, formed by Jose Maria Sison on 26 December 1968. It is des ...

and the Reform the Armed Forces Movement, and a man who was acknowledged as a man of principles even by Benigno Aquino, Sr., grandfather of Pres. Benigno Aquino, whom Tañada himself once charged as a "collaborator". He was a petitioner in the landmark Supreme Court case ''Tañada vs. Tuvera'', which declared that unpublished laws (a characteristic of the Presidential Decrees of Marcos) are without effect. Tañada was also a longtime opponent of the U.S. role in the Philippines. He was the organizer of the Anti-Bases Coalition (ABC) together with lawyer and former senator Jose W. Diokno and also led other groups that rallied public opposition to the presence of American troops in the Philippines. Tañada is often called the "grand old man of Philippine politics", due to his reputation as one of the Philippine's foremost nationalists. He was a familiar fixture during the

Martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Martia ...

era of

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

, leading rallies and demonstrations being the founding chairperson of

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan () or Bayan is an alliance of left-wing Philippine organizations. It was founded on International Workers' Day, May 1, 1985 as part of the opposition during the Marcos dictatorship. Politics Ideology The prin ...

. Due to his esteem among national democrats, Tañada chaired some national democrats coalitions in his later years to oppose Marcos in the streets. After Marcos' opponent,

Ninoy Aquino Benigno "Ninoy" Simeon Aquino Jr., (; November 27, 1932 – August 21, 1983) was a Filipino politician who served as a senator of the Philippines (1967–1972) and governor of the province of Tarlac. Aquino was the husband of Corazon Aqui ...

, was assassinated, JAJA was formed with co-leader Diokno, who is called the father of human rights advocacy, which made JAJA the first united front built to stop Marcos. Tañada was elected the chair of the alliance. However, JAJA could not unite the different competing groups and ideologies, and eventually former members left to form different alliances, with the largest being the ''Kongreso ng Mamamayang Pilipino'' (Congress of the Filipino People) or "KOMPIL", of which Tañada served as one of the chief delegates. During

Corazon Aquino Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People ...

's presidency, he was a staunch anti-U.S. Bases activist and an anti-

nuclear power plant A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a generator that produces ...

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However ...

. On September 16, 1991, Tañada received a

standing ovation A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim. In Ancient Rome returning military commanders (such as Marcus Licinius Crassus a ...

from the Philippine Senate after its rejection of a new lease for the U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay, which was the last American military installation in the Philippines.

Later life and legacy

Tañada passed away in 1992, on the way to a hospital, at the age of 93. Days before his death, Tañada had already been undergoing

kidney dialysis Kidney dialysis (from Greek , , 'dissolution'; from , , 'through', and , , 'loosening or splitting') is the process of removing excess water, solutes, and toxins from the blood in people whose kidneys can no longer perform these functions natur ...

. He was survived by his wife, Expedita Ebarle-Tañada, nine children, including his son former Senator

, and some grandchildren, and including his grandson Erin Tañada. Tañada also is survived by his great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren. He is buried at Loyola Memorial Park. He received the Philippine Legion of Honor, highest rank of Chief Commander (CCLH) in 1988. In his in hometown of Gumaca, Quezon, August 10 is celebrated every year as Lorenzo M. Tañada Day, a special non-working holiday. He was a 1988 The Outstanding Filipino (TOFIL) awardee for Freedom Advocacy. His son Wigberto Tañada also received a TOFIL award in 1999 for Government and Public Service. Tañada's name is inscribed on the

Bantayog ng mga Bayani The Bantayog ng mga Bayani (), sometimes simply referred to as the Bantayog, is a monument, museum, and historical research center in Quezon City, Philippines, which honors the martyrs and heroes of the struggle against the dictatorship of for ...

Wall of Remembrance, which recognizes heroes who fought against martial law in the Philippines under Ferdinand E. Marcos. There have been movements and calls, as well as bills have been filed in both senate and house of representatives in the 16th Philippine Congress, to rename Commonwealth avenue to Sen. Lorenzo Tañada avenue, to honor his legacy of Filipino nationalism and independence. Other calls have been made to rename Marcos Highway to Lorenzo Tañada Ave.; along with Shaw Blvd. to Jovito Salonga Blvd.; Taft Ave. to Jose Diokno Ave.; and Imelda Ave. to Sen. Geronima Pengson Ave. De La Salle University put up a special museum called the Lorenzo M. Tañada Memorabilia Room as a permanent part of the campus. Visits require early appointments. They have also instituted the Lorenzo M. Tañada CHIMES Award for faculty. The De La Salle University

Tañada-Diokno College of Law The Tañada-Diokno College of Law is the law school and one of the eight colleges of De La Salle University. History The college was founded in 2009 on the principles of human rights and civil liberties by human rights Atty. Jose Manuel I. "Ch ...

was named in his and "Ka Pepe" Diokno's honor on Diokno's centennial on February 26, 2022. Books about his life include; * ''The Essential Tañada'' by Renato Constantino published in 1989 * ''The Odyssey of Lorenzo Tañada'' by Agnes Bailen published 1998 * ''Lorenzo M. Tañada, in celebration of his 100th birth anniversary, 1898-1998'' published by the Lorenzo M. Tañada Foundation in 1998 * ''Lorenzo M. Tañada as Others Saw Him: Contemporaneous Observations on a Filipino Leader and Hero'' by Jose N. Endriga published in 1998 Other features include "Lorenzo Tañada, Brief life of a Philippine patriot: 1898-1992" by Christopher Capozzola, in the Nov-Dec 2020 issue of ''Harvard Magazine'', "Sen. Lorenzo Tañada Sr. – national heartthrob" by Argyll Geducos, Mario Casayuran, and Hannah Torregoza published August 5, 2018, and "A Tañada Dynasty or Legacy?" published by Action for Economic Reforms in March 2013.

Notes

References