CARLOS Polistico Garcia, was born on November 4, 1896 in Talibon, Bohol. His parents were Policronio Garcia and Ambrosia Polistico. In 1924, he married Leonila Dimataga and had a daughter named Linda Garcia-Ocampos. He died at the age of 74 last June 14, 1971, in Quezon City because of a heart attack. He was the fourth president of the Republic of the Philippines. He became the president after the death of former President Ramon Magsaysay and was elected to a full-year term the same year. His administration was praised by Filipinos for his Filipino First Policy and the assistance of Filipino entrepreneurs to make ventures in industries dominated by non-Filipinos.
He was a teacher, poet, orator, lawyer, public official, political economist, organized guerrilla, and Commonwealth military leader. In 1925, he resigned from teaching to run for Congress. He entered politics in 1926 as a member of the Philippine House of Representatives and served until 1932. He was the governor of the Province of Bohol from 1932 to 1942. He was also a member of the Philippine Senate from 1942 to 1953. During World War II ( 1939-1945 ), he resisted Japanese occupation as a member of guerrilla forces based in Bohol. In 1946, he became Senate minority leader. In 1953, he was nominated for vice president as part of the Nationalist ticket headed by Ramon Magsaysay who had organized and led the guerrilla force that fought the Japanese occupation. In 1954, Garcia became vice president and minister of foreign affairs. In March 1957, he became president after Magsaysay was killed in a plane crash, and won an elected term as president in November of 1957. In 1961, he was defeated by Diosdado Macapagal when he ran for re-election because he was criticized for inefficiency and corruption.
During World War II, in May 1942, Garcia was haunted by the Japanese military authority because of his loyalty to the Allied cause and his refusal to surrender and cooperate with the government. After the war, he participated in several missions to Washington to work for the approval of the Philippine Rehabilitation and War Damage Claims. He was a delegate to the World Conference in San Francisco to draft the charter of the United Nations Organization in May 1945. He acted as the presiding officer of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization Conference in Manila in 1954, which produced the Manila Treaty and the Pacific Charter (Carlos P. Garcia- Biography, October 31, 2022).
Garcia was known for his “Filipino First Policy”. He established the Austerity Program focusing on Filipino trade and commerce. He was known as the “Prince of Visayan Poets” and the “Bard from Bohol”. Cultural Arts were revived during his term. He was the first president to have his remains buried at the Libingan ng Mga Bayani ( Carlos P. Garcia- Ameripphine-Weebly, October 31, 2022 ).
Carlos P. Garcia took law courses at Silliman University from 1918-1919 and graduated with a law degree from the Philippine Law School. He topped the bar examination in 1923. He also served the Filipino people through politics. He was elected as the representative of the third congressional district of Bohol for three consecutive terms. He served also as the governor of the Province of Bohol for three consecutive terms. He served also as a member of the Senate of the Philippines for 13 years.
Garcia was known for his eloquence in writing and delivering Balak (poems) during his time and earned the nickname “Prince of Visayas Poets”. One of the poems that Garcia wrote was “Dalagang Pilipinhon”. He is considered Bohol’s most illustrious son ( Carlos P. Garcia is the real “lodi”, November 1, 2022 ).
As Boholanos, we must be proud of Carlos P. Garcia who is the one and only president of the Philippines from Bohol. He had achieved plenty of achievements during his time and had served the country and the Filipino people. He is Bohol’s most illustrious son and a proud Boholano. Let us make the younger generations of Boholanos familiar with Carlos P. Garcia so that he will become familiar to their generation and to the generations to come.
