Arsenio Lacson

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Sisonand the surname or paternal family name is Lacson.

Lacson has sedulously cultivated the "yahoo" manner, the siga-siga style, but one suspects that the bristles on the surface do not go all the way down; for this guy with a pug's battered nose comes from a good family and went to the right schools; this character who talks like a stevedore is a literate, even a literary, man; and this toughie who has often been accused of being too chummy with the underworld belonged to the most "idealistic" of the wartime underground groups: the Free Philippines. ^[15]

Peak years

In 1953, Lacson actively campaigned for Nacionalista presidential candidate Ramon Magsaysay, who went on to defeat the incumbent Quirino. After President Magsaysay's death in a plane crash months before the 1957 presidential election, Lacson claimed that Magsaysay had offered to name him as the Nacionalista candidate for vice president, in lieu of incumbent Vice-President Carlos P. Garcia. ^[15] According to Lacson, he declined the offer, telling Magsaysay "the time has not yet come". ^[17]

Nonetheless, after Magsaysay's death, Lacson turned against the newly installed President Garcia, and considered running against Garcia in the 1957 election. In April 1957, Lacson went on a national tour in order to gauge his nationwide strength as a presidential candidate. ^[15] While the tour indicated considerable popularity of Lacson in the provinces, his potential run was hampered by a lack of funding and a party machinery. ^[15] It was believed that Lacson would have easily won the presidency in 1957 had he obtained the nomination of either the Nacionalista Party, then committed to Garcia, or the rival Liberal Party, ^[22] which selected Jose Yulo as its candidate. The American expatriate and tobacco industrialist Harry Stonehill, who was later indicted by Justice Secretary José W. Diokno for bribing officials, falsely claimed that Lacson had asked him to finance his campaign against Garcia. ^[23] When Stonehill refused, Lacson decided not to run, and thereafter, staged a rally at Plaza Miranda where he denounced the United States and what he perceived as the subservience of the Philippine government to the Americans. ^[24] In his career, Lacson was frequently tagged as anti-American, ^[15] and he criticized the United States for having no foreign policy "but just a pathological fear of communism". ^[18]

Meteoric rise and proposed presidential campaign with José W. Diokno

Garcia won in the 1957 election, and Lacson became a persistent critic of the President throughout his four-year term. In 1961, Lacson turned against the Nacionalista Party and supported the presidential candidacy of Vice-President Diosdado Macapagal of the Liberal Party. He was named Macapagal's national campaign manager and was attributed as "the moving spirit behind a nationwide drive that led to Macapagal's victory at the polls". ^[18] Not long after Macapagal's election, Lacson returned to the Nacionalista Party and became increasingly critical of the President, explaining "I only promised to make Macapagal President, not agree with him forever." ^[18] Lacson was considered as the likely presidential candidate of the Nacionalistas for the 1965 election, with his close friend José Wright Diokno as his intended running mate. Before becoming the justice secretary through Lacson's endorsement, Diokno previously defended the mayor and radio personality for libel charges against his talk show. Lacson in turn often visited Diokno's Parañaque home in the wee hours to make breakfast for Diokno and his wife Carmen. The lawyer and future senator often volunteered to edit Lacson's newspaper articles. ^{[4] [25]} Lacson garnered a huge level of fame that would have allowed him to win as president in the 1965 election. Unfortunately Lacson suddenly died, allowing the party to select Ferdinand Marcos, an Ilocano politician who left the Liberal Party to give him an opportunity to run against partymate Macapagal. Lacson was also Marcos's lawyer when he was tried for the murder of Julio Nalundasan in the 1930s. Lacson often chided Marcos for this to which the latter often lost his temper and consequently lost debates to Lacson. ^[26]

Death

As mayor, Lacson had faced several attempts on his life. He twice disarmed gunmen who had attacked him, and survived an ambush as he was driving home one night. ^[1] Around 5:40 P.M. of August 15, 1962, a hotel boy named Pablo Olazo, who was asked by Lacson to get him some ice, saw him almost at the end of his bed and he was profusely perspiring. Olazo, then fetched for the aides of Lacson, and later called Mario Tintiangco, his personal physician, but it was Godofredo Banzon, who was the first doctor arrived around 5:50 in the afternoon. Around fifteen minutes later, Banzon pronounced Lacson dead. By that time, a secondary physician named Baltazar Villaraza arrived, and he and Banzon thought that the cause of Lacson's death was coronary thrombosis. ^[27] Lacson's died at the age of 49. Some sources claimed that he was fatally stricken at a hotel suite while in the company of Charito Solis, but the records show that he was alone in his hotel room and did not log Solis's name. ^{[8] [18]} Lacson was buried at the Manila North Cemetery. ^[28] His official cause of death surprised his relatives, claiming that Lacson had undergone a routine medical check-up shortly before his death, which showed that his heart was in perfect condition. ^[29]

Personal life

Lacson was only 21 when he married 18-year-old Sampaloc scion Luz Santiago in 1932 and had four children, including Gigi Santiago and Arsenio Jr. ^[30]

Legacy

Monument to Arsenio S. Lacson at Plaza Lacson

Places named after Lacson include the Lacson Underpass in Quiapo, while Plaza Goiti in Santa Cruz was renamed "Plaza Lacson", and Governor Forbes Avenue in Sampaloc and Santa Cruz was renamed "Lacson Avenue". ^[31] In Plaza Lacson is one of Lacson's statues; another statue was erected along Roxas Boulevard facing Manila Bay, this time of him seated on a bench reading a newspaper. Lacson was later honored with a statue outside Manila City Hall. ^[32]

Notes

1. "Fiorello in Manila". Time . April 16, 1962. Archived from the original on December 3, 2007. Retrieved February 2, 2008.
2. "Arsenio S. Lacson of Manila Dead". The New York Times . April 16, 1962. Retrieved February 2, 2008. The death of Mr. Lacson, who was an active and pugnacious city executive in the tradition of Fiorello La Guardia, marked the end of an era.
3. Hancock, Rose (April 2000). "April Was a Cruel Month for the Greatest Manila Mayor Ever Had". 1898: The Shaping of Philippine History. 35. Vol. II. Manila: Asia Pacific Communications Network, Inc. p. 16.
4. "Arsenio Lacson of Manila Dead (pay site)". The New York Times . April 16, 1962. Retrieved February 2, 2008. Mr. Lacson had returned to the Nacionalista party, now in opposition, and was considered likely to be its Presidential candidate in 1965
5. Brioso Jr., p. 23
6. Brioso Jr., Amador F. (2017). Arsenio H. Lacson of Manila. Anvil Publishing. ISBN   9789712731815.
7. Brioso Jr., p. 27
8. Hancock, p. 15
9. Doronila, Amando (April 26, 2015). "The 'Arsenic' made Manila among the world's finest". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
10. Henson, Joaquin (December 26, 2003). "Readers Take Over". The Philippine Star. Vanzi, Sol Jose. Archived from the original on April 27, 2004. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
11. Ramirez, Bert (2016). "Looking Back (chapter author)". Philippine Football: Its Past, Its Future. By Villegas, Bernardo. University of Asia and the Pacific. p. 37. ISBN   978-621-8002-29-6.
12. Brosio, Amador F. Jr. (2017). Arsenio H. Lacson of Manila. Anvil Publishing. ISBN   9712731812.
13. Hancock, p. 18
14. Hancock, p. 17
15. Nick Joaquin (May 11, 1957). "In this corner: Lacson". Quezon.ph. Philippine Free Press. Archived from the original on January 9, 2008. Retrieved February 3, 2008.
16. "ABOUT LOCSIN". September 15, 2012.
17. Hancock, p. 19
18. The New York Times (April 16, 1962)
19. Hancock, p. 20
20. "The Mayor Returns". Time. January 26, 1953. Archived from the original on February 18, 2007. Retrieved February 3, 2008.
21. Lacson v. Roque, 92Phil.456 ( Supreme Court of the Philippines January 10, 1943).
22. Gleeck Jr., Lewis E. (1993). The Third Philippine Republic: 1946–1972. Quezon City: New Day Publishers. pp. 214–215. ISBN   971-10-0473-9.
23. Gleeck, p. 216
24. Gleeck, p. 216-217
25. "José W. Diokno: The Scholar-Warrior by Jose Dalisay, Jr". Facebook. May 23, 2011.
26. Lustre Jr., Philip M. (September 20, 2017). "Arsenio H. Lacson, The Best President The Philippines Never Had".
27. Brioso Jr., pp. 296–297
28. Bermudo, Doris Franche-Borja at Ludy. "1.7M dumalaw sa puntod sa Manila North Cemetery". Philstar.com. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
29. Brioso Jr., p. 318
30. "Arsenio Hilario Sison Lacson, Sr". July 29, 2022.
31. "Significance of April 15 in PH history cited". www.pna.gov.ph. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
32. "Estrada orders repair of Lacson statues". INQUIRER.net. August 6, 2013. Retrieved April 15, 2022.

References

• Hancock, Rose (April 2000). "April Was a Cruel Month for the Greatest Manila Mayor Ever Had". 1898:The Shaping of Philippine History. 35. Vol. II. Manila: Asia Pacific Communications Network, Inc. pp. 15–20.
• Valmero, Anna (February 14, 2012). "Revisiting the life of Manila's first elected mayor Arsenio S. Lacson". LoQal.ph. Quezon City: Filquest Media, Inc. pp. 15–20.

The Honorable Arsenio Lacson
Lacson official portrait during the 2nd Congress.
17th Mayor of Manila
In office January 1, 1952 –April 15, 1962

Political offices
Preceded by Manuel dela Fuente	Mayor of Manila 1952–1962	Succeeded by Antonio Villegas
House of Representatives of the Philippines
Preceded by Hermenegildo Atienza	Member of the House of Representatives from Manila's 2nd district 1949–1952	Succeeded by Joaquin Roces