Spain's Juan Carlos lauds Max Soliven

Because of his "permanent defense of democracy," STAR chairman and publisher Max V. Soliven was honored by King Juan Carlos of Spain with one of the kingdom's oldest and most prestigious awards, the Order of Isabel la Catolica.

"Filipinos and Spaniards have finally succeeded in our aspirations. We now enjoy our democracy, our liberties, our human rights... and all this, thanks to men, to fighters like Max Soliven," Ambassador Delfin Colome, representing the Spanish king, said during rites at the embassy residence in Makati City graced by stalwarts of government, business and the arts community.

Colome said that though his "sometimes terribly strong, outspoken words" and "clever articles," Soliven has encouraged the Filipino people "to fight, like himself for these principles."

Also honored was Spanish journalist and long-time Manila resident Jose "Pepe" Rodriguez.

Soliven was also cited by the Spanish government for his efforts to enhance Philippine-Spanish ties.

"Max Soliven is also fighting for something very important, which is the recognition of the Hispanic dimension in the Philippines," Colome said.

In his response, delivered in flawless Spanish, Soliven said Filipinos "will forever carry the Spanish fervor, the love of life, the scorn of death, the devotion to courage against overwhelming odds and the reverence for God that was the trademark of the Spanish nation."

He said that though Filipinos have "regrettably" lost their fluency in the Spanish language, "we cherish in our hearts this precious (Spanish) heritage."

"We Filipinos are ever appreciative and always conscious of the legacy Madre España has bequeathed us -- in religion, in our thinking, in the fabric of our very lives," Soliven, whose late parents Benito and Pelagia were Spanish-speaking, added.

While Soliven delivered his speech in Spanish, Rodriguez delivered his response in perfect English.

"We should always try and find even the slightest excuses to commemorate or celebrate our bond of friendship, and each opportunity that comes along should not be ignored or missed," Rodriguez, who is married to Filipino portrait artist Lulu Coching, said.

Rodriguez, former bureau chief of the Spanish news agency EFE and president of the Academia Filipina de la Lengua Española, vowed to do his best in bringing about a renaissance of the Spanish culture "in my adopted homeland, the Philippines."

"Because, after all, what matters is not what has transpired in the past, or is going on at present, but what can become the day after," he said.

Colome, in honoring both Soliven and Rodriguez, said both men "are real fighters, each one in his own field."

"In their fights, both have used the same weapon: the word. This word that, according to the Bible, is at the very beginning of everything. This powerful word that the French poet Guillaume Apollinaire describes as able to 'build and destroy the universe'," Colome said.

Among those present were Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon Jr., Agriculture Secretary Edgardo Angara, Interior and Local Governments Secretary Alfredo Lim, Quezon City Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr., Presidential Legislative Liaison Office Secretary Jose Jaime Policarpio, former Vice President Salvador Laurel, former Speaker Jose de Venecia, Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Ramon Cardenas, Assistant Press Secretary Mike Toledo, Manila Bulletin publisher Napoleon Rama, Inquirer chairwoman Marixi Prieto, Philippine Airlines chairman Lucio Tan, Petron chairman Jose Syjuco, San Miguel Corp. president Francisco Eizmendi, FCB chairman Jose Manuel Romualdez, members of the diplomatic corps, Don Francisco Delgado and his wife former First Lady Vicky Quirino, daughter of the late President Elpidio Quirino, and philanthropist Rose Marie Arenas.

Also present were Soliven's wife Preciosa and children Marinella Pascual and Sara and Jon de Guzman, and Rodriguez's wife Lulu and children Lara and Jose Francisco.