23 Facts About Romulo Espaldon

Romulo Mercader Espaldon was a Filipino politician, military officer, civil servant and diplomat.

Romulo Espaldon was the first naval officer to attain the rank of Rear Admiral in the Philippine Navy.

Romulo Espaldon became overall military commander in Mindanao at the height of the Muslim secessionist movement led by the Moro National Liberation Front in the mid-1970s, during which he promoted a "Policy of Attraction" which won the respect of many Muslims and led 35,411 rebels to return to the fold of law by late 1978, and over 40,000 rebels by the early 1980s.

Romulo Espaldon graduated as valedictorian from Bongao Elementary School in Tawi-Tawi in 1938, and with honors from Sulu High School in 1942.

In 1947, Romulo Espaldon was one of fifty Filipino scholars selected by nationwide competitive examinations for midshipman training at the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York pursuant to the Philippine Rehabilitation Act of 1946.

Romulo Espaldon served as intelligence officer of the 1st Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment and as liaison officer between the Sulu Area Command and American landing forces in Tawi-Tawi during the liberation campaign.

Romulo Espaldon was later assigned as Garrison Commander of the Cagayan de Sulu Forces.

Veteran Associated Press correspondent Gil Santos noted that Romulo Espaldon was one of the few "good guys" who wanted to restore professionalism in the military and got sidelined by Marcos and Ver.

From October 25,1972, to August 31,1973, Romulo Espaldon was designated as military supervisor of the Bureau of Customs due to the extortion syndicate and rampant smuggling that plagued the Bureau.

In 1973, Romulo Espaldon replaced his fellow Kings Point cadet Commodore Gil Fernandez as commanding officer of the AFP Southwest Command reportedly to satisfy the terms of surrender of the MNLF Magic Eight rebel commanders.

On December 29,1973, Romulo Espaldon became the first naval officer to be donned the rank of rear admiral in the Philippine Navy.

On July 7,1975, the Office of the Regional Commissioner for Region IX was created within the policy of rapprochement, in reversal of the iron-fist approach and Romulo Espaldon served as its first and only commissioner until it was abolished and replaced with the Lupong Tagapagpaganap Ng Pook in 1979.

In 1979, Romulo Espaldon was appointed as the first commissioner of the Commission on Islamic Affairs, which became the Ministry of Muslim Affairs in 1981.

Romulo Espaldon was chairman of the Philippine Pilgrimage Authority and served as Amirul Hajj in 1981 and 1984.

Romulo Espaldon likewise became active in civic organizations such as the Boy Scouts of the Philippines where he served as Vice-President from 1981 to 1984, and Lions Clubs International where he served as District Governor from 1983 to 1984.

Romulo Espaldon was appointed Honorary Ambassador-at-large to Guam in 1990.

Romulo Espaldon lamented the fact that government services would mostly reach Jolo but barely reach Tawi-Tawi when it was still part of the Province of Sulu, which worsened poverty and insurgency in the area.

In October 1973, then Commodore Romulo Espaldon received information that the so-called Magic Eight rebel commanders of the MNLF, composed of Abbas "Maas Bawang" Estino, Gerry Matba, Bagis Hassan, Ahmad Omar, Jairulla Abdurajak, Alih Abubakar and Tupay Loong, wanted to surrender to him, along with their 2,000 fighters.

Romulo Espaldon requested to speak with Espaldon, and in the Tausug dialect, relayed the rebels' request for Espaldon to come ashore and personally accept their surrender.

Romulo Espaldon coordinated with French Ambassador Raphael-Leonard Touze regarding courses of action and eventually secured the peaceful release of Huguet without paying ransom, pursuant to government policy.

Romulo Espaldon appeared in the March 1977 issue of National Geographic.

Romulo Espaldon was married to Eleanor Asistores whom he met on Polillo Island while his ship was assigned to patrol the eastern coast of Luzon.

Romulo Espaldon died due to colon cancer in 2005 at the age of 79 and was given full military honors during his interment at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.