Raul M. Gonzalez (1930-2014)

With gratitude for the gift of 83 years of the life of Raul M. Gonzalez (RMG), his family announces his departure in obedience to the ultimate call of our Creator.  He was a responsible husband and father, an indulgent grandfather, a loyal friend, and a courageous public servant.  Please remember him in your prayers.

Raul Gonzalez has served the Filipino people as an active opponent of dictatorship during the darkest days of Martial Law.  He was the youngest lawyer of Sen. Benigno ‘Ninoy’ Aquino Jr. during his incarceration and trial under Military Commission No. 2.  He represented Ninoy’s mother, Aurora Aquino, in an urgent plea to the Supreme Court to invalidate the Military Commission’s death sentence and to transfer Ninoy’s case to a civilian court.

Gonzalez supported the Cory Aquino – Doy Laurel partnership during the 1986 special presidential and vice-presidential elections, and he admired the sacrifice of Salvador Laurel in agreeing to be Aquino's running-mate, for RMG believed that Laurel was more prepared for the presidency.  After the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos thru the February 1986 “People Power” event, Cory Aquino assumed the presidency and appointed RMG as Tanodbayan (Ombudsman), a responsibility he exercised until September 1988.

From 1995 to 2004, RMG served as Congressman of the Lone District of Iloilo City.  He was one of the prosecutors of the House of Representatives during the impeachment trial of Joseph Ejercito Estrada.  From 2004 to 2009, he headed the Department of Justice in the administration of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Raul M. Gonzalez was born in La Carlota, Negros Occidental, on 03 December 1930.  His father, Delfin Gonzalez, was the last mayor of Jaro, Iloilo, where RMG was raised.  He passed away at around 10:45 in the evening of September 7 owing to multiple organ failure.  He died peacefully, surrounded by his wife, Dr. Pacita Trinidad Gonzalez, and their 3 sons and 2 daughters, after they prayed the holy rosary, his favorite prayer, and recited prayers for the commendation of the dying. 

Raul M. Gonzalez (RMG)

Today, we begin a series on the life and thoughts of my father, Raul Maravilla Gonzalez (RMG).  This series is partly based on the unpublished research manuscript of Ken Ishikawa, a writer and an Asian Public Intellectual grantee.

Raul Gonzalez has served the Filipino people as an active opponent of dictatorship during the darkest days of Martial Law.  After the ouster of Ferdinand Marcos thru the February 1986 “People Power” event, Cory Aquino assumed the presidency and appointed RMG as Tanodbayan (Ombudsman), a responsibility he exercised until September 1988.

From 1995 to 2004, RMG served as Congressman of the Lone District of Iloilo City.  From 2004 to 2009, he headed the Department of Justice in the administration of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Raul M. Gonzalez was born in Hacienda Caiñaman in La Carlota, Negros Occidental, on 03 December 1930.  His father, Delfin Gonzalez, was the administrator of the plantation, which was Spanish-owned.  Delfin was from Jaro, Iloilo.  His wife, Estrella Maravilla, worked as a teacher at the Colegio de San Jose, Jaro.  Delfin and Estrella had 6 children: Ester (Inday), Sergio, Herman, RMG, Milagros (Baby) and Mario.  Herman died as an infant, Mario died in childhood, and Ester passed away in 2001.

Doy Laurel's Ordeal

Perhaps the most painful ordeal in Salvador H. Laurel's political life arose from the broken promises of Corazon C. Aquino very early in her presidency. When on 11 December 1985 she agreed to run under the banner of the UNIDO party, which Laurel organized and led, she promised him that he would be the Prime Minister (under the 1973 Constitution) and that he would be closely consulted for most of the Cabinet appointments. Instead, from the first few months of her presidency, a Palace "cordon sanitaire" gradually and systematically denied him access to her. She also refused to be identified with the UNIDO right after assuming the presidency.
Here is an excerpt from the 13 August 1988 Open Letter that Vice-President Doy sent to President Cory and which concluded with his announcement that he was completely disassociating himself from her administration:
"Despite my limited access to you, I tried to focus your attention on the need for a well-defined program of government. Such a program was made available to you by UNIDO from the very start when it made you its presidential candidate. But in total disregard of all political norms, you completely ignored the party platform, refused to acknowledge your obligations to the party that sponsored your bid for power, and tolerated all open or underhanded assaults against it.
"If I have held my peace until now in spite of your decision to ignore me altogether and to listen instead only to the counsel of those whose political, economic and social interests are more congruent with your own, it is because my sense of responsibility for the new government goes much farther back in time. It was I who, although already nominated for President by the UNIDO National Convention in June 1985, offered you, not a million signatures on a petition, but a solid pre-existing political party with nationwide roots and structures that would assure you of victory and a chance to fulfill the hopes and dreams of our suffering people.
"While I accept my share of moral responsibility for having helped place your administration in power, that responsibility must be proportionate to the actual opportunity given to participate in the decision-making process. That opportunity was close to zero."