“Olongapo residents today might not be as ecstatic compared to the atmosphere 58 years ago, but they will not forget the legacy of the late James L. Gordon Sr.”
Today, June 1, is a milestone event in Olongapo, a coastal first class and highly urbanized city which has to date nearly 261,000 population in its 17 barangays.
It adjoins Subic, the erstwhile homeport of the giant Seventh Fleet of the United States until all facilities used by American troops were closed down by the eruption of Mount Pinatubo on June 15, 1991.
This date 58 years ago, Olongapo was in euphoria.
President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. had signed Republic Act 4645 declaring the most progressive municipal town of Zambales into a Chartered City.
It was an apocalyptic occasion for residents of a former US Naval Reservation territory which, seven years earlier, was belatedly granted independence by the Americans and turned over to the Philippine government.
But the road to cityhood was tediously circuitous.
Some Zambales officials tried to prevent the metamorphosis because Olongapo served as the milking cow of the provincial capital as it enjoyed a booming economy, mainly due to the US base presence.
But James Leonard Tagle Gordon Sr., the first elected mayor of Olongapo (Dec 30, 1963-Feb 20, 1967), relentlessly lobbied Congress and Malacañang to grant Olongapo cityhood status to gain autonomy and put a halt to the pillage of the town’s properties and coffers by provincial officials.
His father, New York-born John Jacob Gordon, was an American Marine, while his mother, Veronica Tagle, was a Filipina. He could have chosen to be a US citizen but he chose Filipino citizenship.
In seven years, it was Freedom Day again for Olongapo, an 18,500-hectare area facing the Luzon Bay.
Residents went out on the streets to celebrate and watch a joint civic-military parade with the participation of the US Navy.
That day, a zero-crime rate, the first in any locality in the country, was recorded in the newly minted city as hopes surged for a bright future.
Olongapo residents today might not be as ecstatic compared to the atmosphere 58 years ago, but they will not forget the legacy of the late James L. Gordon Sr. who strived to pave the way for what the city is now.
Gordon, known to have championed freedom and justice, was one of the organizers of the Olongapo Civic Action Group that worked on beautification projects and the general improvement of the city.
One of the founders of the Olongapo Rotary Club, which has given rise to four other Rotary Clubs at present, Gordon fought against political bossism with the battlecry “ang paggogobyerno ay bigay buhay. Hindi hanapbuhay.”.
Today the tribute by then senator Jose Diokno, a former secretary of justice, resonates in every Olongapeño’s heart: “He was born to an American father, chose to be a Filipino, raised his children as Filipinos, served his country as a Filipino and died a Filipino hero.”
(The author was among hundreds of volunteers then Mayor Richard Gordon tapped to help rebuild Olongapo in the aftermath of Mt. Pinatubo’s eruption in 1991.)
