Raul Manglapus - Statesman, Author, Politician

Statesman, Author, Politician

Manglapus, in some regards, stood apart from his political peers, though not always to his advantage. A linguist and a snappy dresser, he sometimes conveyed the persona of an upstart elitist, an image which was not helped by a fluent American-tinged accent hallmarked by his education at the Ateneo de Manila, which awarded him an honorary doctor of laws degree in 1965. The lack of a traditional political machinery to support him contributed to early electoral defeats. Nonetheless, by the time of the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos, he had attained prominence and stability in the Filipino political arena.

Fortuitously, Manglapus was on a speaking engagement in the United States when Marcos declared martial law in 1972. Marcos refused to allow Manglapus' wife and children to join him in exile, and they were forced to flee the country by the backdoor, leapfrogging even by small raft to freedom. Manglapus remained in exile for 14 years, dissuaded by an outstanding warrant of arrest should he return to the country. Even in exile, Manglapus remained as one of the leading Filipino opposition figures along with Benigno Aquino, Jr., Jovito Salonga and Jose Diokno. During his years as an expatriate, Manglapus founded the Movement for a Free Philippines (MFP). He served as president of Democracy International, an organization of exiled world leaders seeking the restoration of democratic institutions in their respective countries, and president of the Washington-based International Center for Development Policy from 1981-1986. In an interview in March 1981, he voiced his strong revulsion of Marcos' violation of the Constitution and his manipulation of the political scene as a ploy to the declaration of martial law as a means to entrench himself and his cronies:

"Martial law pure and simple has been a facade masking the exploitation of our people and their natural resources by Marcos, his family and close friends. Any benefits, and there have been few, that have reached the people have been accidental and not the result of deliberate martial law policy."