This is the story of an unsung hero. He was a hero all right. Eugenio “Nonoy” Adalid Antonio Jr. was municipal mayor of San Carlos, Negros Occidental from 1940-46. He is recognized as the only mayor of the province who did not surrender to the Japanese forces during the Second World War. Instead he brought his entire police force to the mountains and organized them into a guerilla unit.
Times were difficult for the unit. Nonoy and his force were separated from their families. The force stayed on the forested slopes of what they called Sun Valley in Ayungon, and a few hours hike above them were their families who were living in fear of their husbands’, and their own, lives. Food was scarce for the guerilleros who braved sun and rain and cold nights. But under Nonoy’s leadership, they stood firm and strong in their resolve to fight the enemy and prevent it from creeping up the mountains where lived their families. Nonoy told his men to be sparing with their ammunition, making sure that no bullet was wasted and no enemy that approached was spared.
Then the Americans came to drive away the enemy. A US plane flew close to the ground on the mountain top in appreciation for the families’ spreading out the American flag. A few days later, the sixth Antonio child, Gilberta, was born. Obviously Nonoy had stolen into the family’s hideaway from time to time to add another Antonio to the family fold. Taking care of the baby and the older children were the chief concern of Nonoy’s wife, Pacita, and his mother, Agustina. His mother had been reluctant to leave town and hide in the mountains. But Nonoy told her,“ Nanay, you have to go, because if the Japanese came and held you hostage, I will choose not to surrender and leave you in their hands.” The mother understood her son’s determination to fight the enemy to the finish, so she joined Pacita and her brood in the mountains.
Liberation time. Life became normal as the townsfolk took up where they had left off, and heads of families turned to the serious business of providing sustenance for their families, and turning to politics. Nonoy served as deputy district governor for the first district of Negros Occidental from 1952 to 1957. The stint added more years to his government service; he had served as vice-municipal president from 1934 to 1938.
But the end of the war did not mean peace for the people of Negros Occidental. The reign of terrorism in the province under then Gov. Rafael Lacson blacklisted and targeted for annihilation three mayors in the province, including Nonoy because they would not kowtow to Lacson’s orders. Fortunately, Nonoy was able to slip out and go into hiding in Negros Oriental when a special team came for him, thus averting the fate of Moses Padilla who was gunned down by Lacson’s men.
Back in town, Nonoy devoted his energies to promoting the cause of war veterans, as he was District Commander of the Northeastern Command of Negros Occidental and of the Veterans Federation of the Philippines, Chapter Commander of the Philippine Veterans Legion, Chapter Commander of the Veterans Organization of the Philippines, Chapter Commander of the Negros Veteran Association, and Post Commander of the American Legion Post No. 34.
Nonoy’s concern for the welfare of the materially less endowed was manifested in his insistence on the establishment of the San Carlos Planters and Laborer’s Hospital, during which time he was appointed administrative officer. A labor leader, the indefatigable Nonoy worked for workers’ rights while he was serving as president of the San Carlos United Workers Association.
The eldest Antonio daughter, Belinda Menchaca, says as a town executive her father was a disciplinarian. “He was strict, he made everyone toe the line and follow rules.” And he did not appoint any of his relatives to government positions. While he was gentle and soft-spoken, those who crossed him knew not to court his wrath.
His passion to help his poor townmates was further demonstrated when he, with the help of civic-minded friends, established a school in San Carlos in 1952. Nonoy spent much of his back pay and war damage claims to put up Tanon College. There were only three colleges at the time, but the tuition fees were prohibitive. Nonoy, who served as board chairman and director, offered
affordable fees. The school, recalls Cynthia, the second daughter, was called “a poor man’s school.’ People made fun of its unimpressive buildings. Even as tuition fees were low, the students’ parents could not pay for them regularly. To pay the teachers’ salaries and purchase needed equipment, Nonoy made personal sacrifices, including converting the family residence into a school building.
But the school survived. Its standard of instructions was high. When its fourth year students first took the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) , Tanon College topped the exam in the city, with students garnering 99.9 percentile rates. When this trend continued through the next four years, enrollment went up and more students from middle-class families started enrolling in the college. Students won scholarships for prestigious institutions like the University of the Philippines, Silliman University, University of the East, and some of them are working in prestigious institutions abroad.
Belinda, a lawyer by training and now president of Tanon College, says her father chose the school’s name because the word Tanon means “a beacon guiding students to excellence and good moral character.”
While he was overseeing the direction of his beloved college, Nonoy was active in different organizations. He served as president of the San Carlos City Lion’s club and the Y’s Men Club, was president emeritus of the YMCA, and district chairman of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines for 30 years. He received the highest honorary degree in Masonry 33 0 after having been the Venerable Master of the Scottish Rite of Free Masonry from 1972 to 1984. He chaired the board of elders of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines in San Carlos City, was ordained as a lay preacher by the Negros District Conference, was a member of the Silliman University Board of Trustees for 12 years, and board member of the San Carlos Private Schools Association.
Nonoy was born September 4, 1910 to a Caviteno fisherman, Eugenio Antonio Sr., and Agatena Adalid of Barrio Guadalupe, San Carlos He married Pacita Villaester of La Libertad, Negros Oriental. They raised nine children, named in alphabetical order: Alfonso (who died in infancy), Belinda, Cynthia, Diana, Eugenio III, Frances, Gilberta, Hernan and Irene, all of whom became successful professionals. Nonoy finished the A.A. and BS degree in chemistry at Silliman University in Dumaguete City. In loyalty to his alma mater, he sent all his children to Silliman.
Silliman gave him its Outstanding Sillimanian Award (OSA) in the field of community service on August 28, 1992 ”for his immense contribution to the well-being and betterment of life of his fellow Negrenses, oftentimes putting their welfare above his own as manifested in his multifarious achievements as educator, labor leader, municipal mayor and war veteran.”
As he was bedridden, he let his son, Eugenio III, a surgeon, read his message at the OSA ceremonies. It said, “The most important lesson I learned from Silliman is love of God, discipline and concern for others. This has always been the guiding principle in my life. As mayor resistance fighter, administrator and father, I have always believed in discipline as a way of life, for without discipline, there is no order.” Nonoy passed away three months later, on Nov. 22, 1992.
Tanon College will celebrate its golden jubilee on Nonoy’s birthday on September 4.
This is the life story of Nonoy, “the Grand Old Man of San Carlos City.”
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