Roman de la Cruz, Writer, Historian, Journalist

Roman de la Cruz, Writer, Historian, Journalist
by Melchor F. Cichon

I first met Mr. Roman de la Cruz about three decades ago.
By then, he was already known as a journalist, publisher, writer.
The last time I met him, I learned that he was being recommended to the Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Award, known as the Nobel Prize in Asia.
With that information, I gathered everything I know about him and wrote this article. I hope that this article will give you some insights about this great man.

He is known as the Dean of Aklan journalism and the historian of Aklan.

But he is also a poet, a novelist, a politician, an essayist, and a lay minister.

He started writing when he was still in high school. Now at 82 years old, he is still actively writing on his age-old Remington typewriter. “I will not use a computer,” he said. “I do not have time to study that”.

Aside from his weekly editorials and essays in his weekly newspaper, The Aklan Reporter, his major works include Town of A Thousand, a 270-page history of Kalibo, the capital of Aklan, covering the period from the middle of the 13th century up to year 1993. He is presently updating this work. His 618-line epic poem, Song of The Ati-Ati, was published in 1973. His short stories on war and non-war, were compiled in a book entitled: Alone Along A Lonely Road and Other Stories which came out in 1973. His other works are Concordance on the Triune God; Is Christ God; Life with the Family, City World; The Power of Prayer With Praise, The Joy and The Wrath, The Hero Who Was Not, To The Child King: An Image and A Song, The Adventures of Umpag and Bonghayan, Out Of Too Much Grief, and The Filipino Speaks, a 79-page treatise in reaction to a multi-interneted article of an American from Nevada proclaiming “nothing respectable has ever come from the Filipino people during the entire human history. ”

But his monumental contribution to Aklan is his 929-page five-language dictionary that came out in 2004. It includes English, Hiligaynon, Tagalog, Kinaray-a and Aklanon words. His whole collection of works are now being compiled in a two-volume book entitled Legacy. It consists of short stories, novel, historical book, book of poetry, eulogies, speeches and lectures, declamations, essays and others.

His name is Roman A. de la Cruz. Mr. de la Cruz or Tay Omeng to most of his friends was born in Kalibo, Aklan, on August 9, 1923.

He studied at Kalibo Elementary School, then proceeded to Kalibo Institute, and took his Bachelor of Science in Education degree at Northwestern Visayan Colleges also in Kalibo. At the age of 17, his short stories were published in Philippine Commonweal. These were then included in Jose Garcia Villa’s Roll of Honor for Filipino Short Stories , 1940-41. During the war, he enlisted himself as a guerilla in the USAFFE.

His experiences in the war were included in his short story book, Alone along the Lonely Road and Other Stories. One of the stories here had been included in the The Voice of the Veteran (An Anthology of the Best in Song and Story by the Defenders of Freedom) edited by Manuel E. Buenafe in 1946. After the war, Tay Omeng taught in high school from 1950 to 1956.

But he left his teaching career and switched to journalism and politics.

He founded and edited The Aklan Reporter, where he wrote a lot of essays and poems on politics, economics, religion, and other things about the happenings in the Philippines. While editing and publishing this community newsweekly, he wrote short stories, novels, historical materials, and dictionary.

And joined politics.

He was elected as Sangguniang Bayan (SB) Member of Kalibo from 1971 to 1986 (16 years). Tay Omeng is indulging not only in writing, but he is also in sculpture and in sketches. His six-foot cement sculpture of Jesus Christ is in their house, still unfinished. His sketches are found in the covers of his books. He also molded the Madonna and Child which can be seen on the wall of their sala in Kalibo.

A religious and civic minded man, Tay Omeng is involved in the various civic and religious organizations like the Knights of Columbus, Barangay Sang Birhen, Charistmatic Movement, and Aklan Press Club. As a writer, publisher and community leader, his biodata is included in Baron’s “Who’s Who in the Asian Pacific Rim” 1992 international edition. In 1996, the Department of Education and Culture conferred him the Huwarang Pamilyang Pilipino Award (Model Filipino Family) for Western Visayas. On December 14, 2004, the Publishers Association of the Philippines conferred an Award of recognition to Aklan Reporter/Roman A. de la Cruz during its 9th National Press Congress pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 738. And this year (2005), the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Aklan together with the Kalibo Knights of Columbus and the Philippine Association of Publishers, Inc. (PAPI) have endorsed nomination to the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for Literature and Journalism. Dela Cruz is married to Julita O. Ilarina of Banga, Aklan. They have seven children -Vellyzarius, Cortesa, Marlon, Didecas, Sumra, Hagbong and Amihan.

He is the grandson of the late Roman Aguirre of Lezo, Aklan, one of the 19 Martyrs of Aklan.