Many has been said about my brother the late Dr. Agaton Palen Pal, to be a man with a razor brain. Records showed that he was always at the top of his class since grade school up to the time he finished college, with the degree of Bachelor in Science in Education, History major at Silliman University in Dumaguete City, in 1956.
Little has been known about him as a young man. When the Second World War broke out, he was third year high school. The mayor of Matalom, Leyte was the late Geremias Paez Pal, a relative of Agaton’s father asked him to work as his secretary for he was a fast typist during his time. He learned typing because his brother in-law, the late Gregorio Golo was a policeman. At times policeman Golo was assigned as guard in the office of the police department, he would invite his brother in-law Agaton to accompany him in the evening and it was during those times that he got to practice his typing lesson. The mayor being his distant uncle introduced Agaton to different personalities, like the Guerilla leaders. He was designated by no less than Col. Ruperto Kangleon, the recognized guerrilla leader of the province as the Assistant Auditor of the Leyte Guerillas. His immediate boss was the late Enrique Granados who became a board member after the war in the province of Leyte.
During those days, most people in the town have evacuated to the hinterlands. His father Felipe evacuated in Elevado and the house was located in a little valley which later on became the meeting place of guerilla leaders. One evening, a medium size American who can speak different Philippine dialects, escorted by two guerrillas arrived in their evacuation house. The American who visited to contact Agaton was no other than Chick Parson, the man who was assigned by Pentagon to contact guerrilla leaders by submarine. After contacting Col. Kangleon in Malitbog, Southern Leyte, he was accompanied by two escorts to Matalom, on his way to Hinunangan Southern Leyte where he was picked up by the same submarine that delivered him in Malitbog. Before going to Hinunangan, Chick Parson visited the Municipal Hall and instructed the treasurer to release whatever collection he can gather to help finance the guerrilla movement. After staying one day and one night in Matalom, Chick Parson aside from his two escorts were also accompanied by two volunteer guards on instruction of Agaton Pal. The two volunteer guards were the late Graciano Pal, his younger brother and the late Eliseo Olayvar, the cousin of Agaton to accompany Chick Parson and his two escorts up to barrio Hilaan now a part of Bontoc Southern, Leyte. It was in one of the coastal barrios in Hinunangan a month after when the submarine with Chick Parson delivered guns and ammunitions to the Leyte guerillas with some canned goods and other food stuffs. With the guerillas now complete with arms they became already aggressive and attacked Japanese garrisons in some of the towns of Leyte.
Going back in the little town of Matalom, the first bullet was fired on the wooden bridge killing one Japanese and wounding some others. Now this time after the Japanese and guerilla engaged in the shooting over the wooden bridge of Matalom beside the Matalom market, the puppet mayor of Matalom, the late Antonio Olo on instruction of the commander of Japanese garrison made announcement that all people shall transfer their abode in a particular area in the town called Bahangbahang, part of barrio Agbanga. In Bahangbahang, Agaton and some guerilla leaders contacted all fishermen to sell their fish to Agaton. A great portion of the fish bought by Agaton were supplied to the guerillas. Agaton and his few men known as the food procurement agents of the guerillas never have a problem regarding money matters for Agaton was authorized by his immediate boss Granados to print guerilla notes or money to be used in buying fish and other necessities needed by the guerillas. It was also in Bahangbahang that he had shown his skill in making emergency soap out of coconut oil, ashes and a chemical called sosa. The skill in making soap exhibited by Agaton spread like wildfire to some other places in the municipalities and soap making during that time became a cottage industry,
On October 20, 1944, General Douglas MacArthur landed in Leyte. A week after the Leyte landing two American barges landed in Bahangbahang and inquire the whereabouts Agaton. The purpose of the barge captain was to ask a Philippine map because according to the captain their ships were lost and a map was needed. So people started to inquire what was the role of Agaton for being made reference person regarding those two American barges that were derelict. A month after, the war between Japanese on one hand and the American-Filipino on another side, the province of Leyte was almost cleared. The people returned to their respective homes and Agaton with his wife and child named Aurora about one year old returned to barrio Caridad in the house of Felipe, his father. Upon knowing that the Americans have put up a formal form of government in Tacloban City, which was proclaimed as the temporary capital of the Philippines with President Osmena, as President of the Philippine post war government, Tacloban became a popular trading center. Agaton through his imaginative mind printed maps of Leyte for souvenir. The idea clicked and he got money out of it. He was engaged in business for about two years.
In July 1947, he stopped his buy and sell business and went back to school. That school year 1946-1947 he finished his high school in Maasin Institute now College of Maasin with the honor of class valedictorian closely followed by his younger brother Graciano as the school salutatorian. After graduating from college, he joined the teaching staff of Silliman University High School Department. In the evening he enrolled in the graduate school and wrote a Master’s thesis which became controversial. The title of his thesis was, “Communism: A proposed unit to be incorporated in fourth year high school.” The dean of the graduate school was Dr. Herman C. Gregorio who was reluctant regarding the title, because at that time communism has already started to infiltrate Philippine society. Fortunately, a member of the panel was an American professor, Dr. Long. Dr. Long had a brother who was a member of the U.S. congress and Dr. Long presented a copy of the Master’s thesis to his brother the congressman, who delivered a privilege speech in the U.S. congress regarding a young Oriental who spearheaded a move to study the pros and cons of Communism as a doctrine. When the Master’s thesis was approved, the administrator of the university convinced Agaton to stay as a faculty member in Arts and Sciences Department, where he met Dr. Robert Polson who became his close friend and later on sponsored his scholarship for a Doctoral studies abroad. Their friendship became very strong and Dr. Polson was regarded by Dr. Agaton Pal as his foster father. It was this type of friendship that blossomed between the two families, the Pal’s family and Dr. Polson’s family. On the strength of this ties, Dr. Agaton Pal and Mrs. Calenica Pal received a cordial invitation to visit them in 1969. Since then, Dr. Agaton Pal became a permanent resident in the United States of America, until the time of his death, January 20, 2017.
Narciso Palen Pal
Matalom, Leyte
