“Veritas et fortitudo, pro Deo et patria” (Truth and fortitude, for God and country) are words etched in the seal of the Lyceum of the Philippines University. Even in English, “fortitude” is a word already lost to many of us. Also, not so many people outside Lyceum know that the school was founded by President José P. Laurel, whose 130th birth anniversary will be commemorated on March 9, 2021. Only when you connect the concept to his story can we truly understand how “fortitude” should mean a lot not just to Lyceans but to all Filipinos.
Yet for decades, Laurel’s name was tainted because of his role as the president of what is historically known as the Second Philippine Republic, otherwise known as “The Japanese-sponsored Republic,” also known as the “Puppet Republic” from 1943 to 1945. Even today, people assume that because that republic was sponsored by the Japanese, Laurel was thus subservient to them. But this I have to clarify, the republic may have been a “puppet,” but the president was not!
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