Ignacio Dante Cantos Simbulan Sr. (May 3, 1930 – October 12, 2024)[1][2][3][4] was a Filipino educator, author, and military officer best known for his influential role as a voice of social conscience for the generation of cadets who studied at the Philippine Military Academy in the days just prior to the beginning of the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos[5][6][7] — an influence and reputation which led to his being held by the Marcos regime as a political prisoner at Fort Bonifacio and Camp Crame for more than two years without charges.[2][8]
Dante C. Simbulan Sr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ignacio Dante Cantos Simbulan May 3, 1930 |
| Died | October 12, 2024 (aged 94) Fairfax County, Virginia, U.S. |
| Nationality | Filipino |
| Occupation(s) | Soldier, academic, political scientist |
| Known for | Advocating for social justice and critical scholarship on the Philippine socio-economic elite |
| Children | Roland, Alfred, Dante Jr., Elizabeth,Josephine,Teresa, Erwin |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | Philippine Military Academy (BS) University of the Philippines (MA) Australian National University (PhD) |
| Academic work | |
| Notable works | The Modern Principalia: The Historical Evolution of the Philippine Ruling Oligarchy |
| Signature | |
 | |
Early life and education
editSimbulan was born on May 3, 1930, at Barangay San Miguel, San Simon, Pampanga, to Ignacio Simbulan y de los Santos, also of San Simon, Pampanga, and Apolonia Cantos y Untalán, of Batangas City.[1][3] He studied at the Philippine Military Academy, graduating in 1952.[3][6] He later pursued a Master of Arts in Political Science at the University of the Philippines. In May 1965, he completed his Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science at the Australian National University with a dissertation titled, A Study of the Socio-Economic Elite in Philippine Politics and Government, 1946–1963.
Career
editSimbulan entered the service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines after graduating in the PMA Class of 1952, and then joined the Philippine Scout Rangers a year later, in 1953, as an intelligence officer.[3][6]
Simbulan was increasingly disillusioned, however, by what he experienced in the field, including financial practices which were unfair to the rank and file, lack of respect for AFP personnel by American forces stationed in the Philippines at the time, and the fact that people ran away in fear whenever soldiers arrived in their villages.[2][3][9] So he accepted an invitation to become an instructor at the PMA in 1955.[3]
During this time he became a strong influence on a number of cadets who would later play significant roles in Philippine history, including Victor Corpus and Crispin Tagamolila, who would later defect to the New People's Army; Rodolfo Biazon who would become Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff and later a two-term Senator.[10] He was also known for inviting Communist Party of the Philippines chair Jose Maria Sison to deliver a lecture at the PMA titled The mercenary tradition of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Despite already being a full Colonel, Simbulan resigned his commission and his teaching post in the years leading up to Martial Law.[2] To make a living, he took various teaching posts at the Ateneo de Manila University, Maryknoll College (now known as Miriam College), the University of the Philippines, and the Philippine College of Commerce (now Polytechnic University of the Philippines)[11] where he eventually became the Dean of the Liberal Arts College.[12]
He was imprisoned from 1972 to 1974 he went into exile for the rest of the Marcos administration.[9][7][6]
Simbulan authored several books on Philippine political history, including his memoir Whose Side are We On?, which detailed the events leading up to the declaration of Martial Law from the perspective of a PMA insider;[13] and his 2005 book The Modern Principalia: the Historical Evolution of the Philippine Ruling Oligarchy.[14][15]
Death
editSimbulan died in Fairfax County, Virginia on October 12, 2024, at the age of 94.[6][16]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Birth register of Dante Simbulan. National Archives of the Philippines.
- ^ a b c d Orejas, Tonette (November 5, 2016). "Ex-soldier to military, police: Serve the people, not the elite". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Tadem, Eduardo C. (June 2019). "A Military Officer Explores the Roots of Social Unrest" (PDF). Philippine Journal of Public Policy. Diliman, Quezon City: University of the Philippines Center for Integrative and Development Studies.
- ^ Ileto, Reynaldo Clemeña (2018). "The Centennial of Cacique Democracy". In Cristóbal, Celina S. (ed.). The Adrián Cristóbal Lectures. Makati City: Inyan.
- ^ "Dante Simbulan's Book on the Red Scare". Bantayog ng mga Bayani. May 23, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Inquirer, Philippine Daily (October 14, 2024). "Dante Simbulan, soldier turned activist; 94". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
- ^ a b "Dr. Dante Simbulan here to speak on Military Coups". The Philippine Reporter. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
- ^ "Report of an Amnesty International Mission to The Republicof the Philippines 22 November 5 December 1975" (PDF). Amnesty International.
- ^ a b Simbulan, Dante C. (2015). Whose side are we on? memoirs of a PMAer. Quezon City: Center for People Empowerment in Governance. ISBN 978-971-95488-5-0.
- ^ Gloria, Glenda (April 7, 2024). "'What are the Americans doing in Vietnam, anyway?'". Retrieved October 18, 2024.
- ^ https://www.karapatan.org/media_release/karapatan-salutes-soldier-turned-activist-dante-simbulan/
- ^ https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/springfield-va/dante-simbulan-12026215
- ^ "Former PMA professor and Marcos political prisoner launches book of memoirs". www.cenpeg.org. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
- ^ Simbulan, Dante C. (2005). The modern principalia: the historical evolution of the Philippine ruling oligarchy. Quezon City: Univ. of the Philippines Press. ISBN 978-971-542-496-7.
- ^ Villegas, Edberto M.; Simbulan, Roland G.; Amul, Gianna Gayle H. "Book Reviews". Philippine Political Science Journal. 30 (53): 123–134. doi:10.1080/01154451.2009.9723519. ISSN 0115-4451.
- ^ Villanueva, Raymund B. "Soldier-Turned-Activist Dante Simbulan Dies". Kodao. Retrieved October 13, 2024.