Blas Ople

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Blas Ople bigraphy, stories - Filipino journalist and politician

Blas Ople : biography

February 3, 1927 – December 14, 2003

Blas Fajardo Ople ( 1927–2003) was a Filipino journalist and politician who held several high-ranking positions in the executive and legislative branches of the Philippine government, including as Senate President from 1999 to 2000, and as Secretary of Foreign Affairs from 2002 until his death. Perceived as a leftist-nationalist at the onset of his career in public service, Ople was, in his final years, a vocal supporter for allowing a limited United States military presence in the Philippines, and for American initiatives in the War on Terror including the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Ople’s most enduring role was his nineteen years as Secretary (later Minister) of Labor and Employment during the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos, when Philippine labor laws were overhauled through the enactment of the Labor Code of the Philippines that he had helped author.

Secretary of Labor

In 1965, Ople was appointed as Social Security Commissioner by President Ferdinand E. Marcos. In 1967, he was appointed Secretary of Labor and Employment (in 1978 the position was renamed Minister of Labor and Employment). He resigned briefly in 1971 to run an unsuccessful campaign for election to the Philippine Senate, but was re-appointed to his post in 1972, retaining the position until 1986. At the time of his appointment, Ople was perceived as a "leftist Nationalist". His leftist credentials were enhanced when he co-founded, in 1972, the Philippine-Soviet Friendship Society.Gleeck, Jr., p. 387

As Labor Secretary Ople was instrumental in the framing of the Labor Code of the Philippines, which codified the labor laws of the country and introduced innovations such as prohibiting the termination of workers without legal cause. Ople instituted labor policies institutionalizing the technical education of workers. In 1976, Ople initiated a program for the overseas employment of Filipino workers. It was during his tenure at Labor that the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration were created. Ople obtained recognition from the International Labor Organization during his stint as Labor Minister. In 1975, he was elected president of the 60th general assembly of the ILO, the first Filipino to hold that post. In 1983, that organization awarded Ople a Gold Medal of Appreciation. He was a close adviser of President Marcos, though he was not later to be associated with the corruption of Marcos’s government and was perceived as "not corrupt". He created international headlines in December 1984 when he admitted to the press that the lupus-stricken Marcos was incapacitated to the point of being unable "to take major initiatives", and that the President’s illness had placed the Philippines in "a kind of interregnum". Marcos responded a few days later by baring his chest to his Cabinet before television cameras to dispel rumors that he was seriously ill or had undergone surgery.

In 1978, Ople was elected an Assemblyman of the Interim Batasang Pambansa representing Central Luzon, and reelected in 1984. During the 1986 presidential elections, Ople served as a political campaign manager of President Marcos, who was running against Corazon Aquino. Shortly before the outbreak of the 1986 People Power Revolution, Marcos dispatched Ople to Washington D.C. to lobby the American government on behalf of the President. Ople was in Washington D.C. upon the outbreak of the revolt, and was advised by U.S. Secretary of State, George P. Shultz, to call on Marcos to resign. Ople publicly reiterated his support for Marcos in the American media in such fora as on This Week with David Brinkley.

Senator of the Philippines

In 1992, he ran again for the Senate under the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino. He was elected to a six-year term. In the Senate, Ople served as Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and on the Commission of Appointments. He became Senate President Pro-Tempore in 1998.

Ople won a re-election for the senate in 1998, under the Laban ng Makabayang Masang Pilipino. In 1999, upon the resignation of the terminally-ill Marcelo Fernan, Ople became the President of the Senate. In that capacity, he was a key proponent of the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement between the Philippines and the United States, which allowed American forces to enter the Philippines for short-term training exercises. He yielded the Senate presidency in 2000 to Franklin Drilon.