Leadership: A family legacy

MANILA, Philippines - Drawing on Nueva Ecija’s rich political history and natural wealth, Vice Gov. Edward Thomas Joson was chanced upon by The STAR in a dining nook in Intramuros last week.

He humbly intimated his grandfather’s legacy (six-time governor Eduardo Joson, Sr.) which will live on among Novo Ecijanos for more generations to come. Eduardo Sr.’s 90th birth anniversary was remembered last week, with relatives, political allies and friends in attendance at the local chapel, followed by a short program at the Eduard L. Joson National High School. They were led by his 84-year-old widow, Araceli Noriel, former four-time governor Thomas III, first district Rep. Eduardo Donato II, former vice governors Eduardo IV and Mariano Cristino and wife, former three-term Rep. Josie Manuel and Joson die-hards of the Bagong Lakas ng Nueva Ecija (Balane).

The vice governor said his grandfather was best remembered for his projects that benefited provincemates – social services, health benefits, scholarships and his so-called “womb-to-tomb” assistance to poor provincemates.

Edward Thomas said many consider his grandfather a rare breed because he did his politics with hardly any frills, unlike present-day politicians who are wont to display giant billboards bearing their name for programs and projects funded by government money. Considered the greatest leader to ever come from Nueva Ecija, “my grandfather who, was called ‘Tatang and Ding’ was governor for 31 years (1959 until his death in 1990),” he recalled. His reign was briefly interrupted in 1986 in the aftermath of the EDSA People Power Revolution, when the late President Corazon C. Aquino appointed Emmanuel Santos as OIC-governor.

He recalled, too, that his grandfather gained prominence as Capt. Eduardo Joson, leader of Squadron 213 of the US Armed Forces in the Far East, along with Capt. Juan Pajota, who led the raid in a concentration camp in Cabanatuan on Jan. 30, 1945.

Dubbed “The Great Raid,” the military operation led to the rescue of 516 Filipino prisoners who were about to be executed by their Japanese captors. The raid inspired the making of a Hollywood movie.

 “Banking on the leadership of our grand patriarch, our provincemates look to us to bring back the age-old values of a true-blue Novo Ecijano, reasons perhaps that since then all of us tried to go into politics to continue the legacy left behind by our grandfather,” Edward Thomas said.