Romulo Mercader Espaldon (September 16, 1925 – August 27, 2005) was a Filipino politician, military officer, civil servant and diplomat. He was the first naval officer to attain the rank of Rear Admiral in the Philippine Navy. He became overall military commander in Mindanao at the height of the Muslim secessionist movement led by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in the mid-1970s, during which he promoted a "Policy of Attraction" which won the respect of many Muslims and led 35,411 rebels to return to the fold of law by late 1978, and over 40,000 rebels by the early 1980s.
Early life and education Espaldon was the son of Christian Bicolano teachers Cipriano Espaldon and Claudia Mercader. Heeding the call of the government to serve in the remotest places in the Philippines in the early part of the 20th century, his family moved from Sorsogon to Tawi-Tawi where his parents were pioneer educators. His ability to speak Tausug and Sinama, and his understanding of Muslim custom would later prove indispensable during his military and civilian career. He would eventually embrace Islam.
He graduated as valedictorian from Bongao Elementary School in Tawi-Tawi in 1938, and with honors from Sulu High School in 1942.
After World War II, Espaldon was sent to the Cooks and Bakers School of the Philippine Army at Camp Olivas where he graduated First Honor. On March 23, 1946, as he and his classmates were about to board a Douglas C-47 plane to return to Mindanao after graduation, he received orders that he would be retained as instructor at the school for having topped his class; hence, he remained at Camp Olivas. That day, the plane that he was supposed to board crashed on Mount Banahaw, killing most of the military passengers on board.
After instructing at Camp Olivas, he attended FEATI University as a scholar and pursued a degree in aeronautical engineering.
In 1947, Espaldon was one of fifty Filipino scholars selected by nationwide competitive examinations for midshipman training at the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) at Kings Point, New York pursuant to the Philippine Rehabilitation Act of 1946. Among his classmates were notable political activists Nemesio Prudente and Navy Capt. Danilo Vizmanos. An honor student and cadet officer, he eventually graduated valedictorian of the USMMA Deck Class of 1950 with an average of 90%. In 1995, he made history in the Academy as being only the third alumnus inducted into its Hall of Distinguished Graduates for being the first Academy graduate to attain the rank of Rear Admiral and for his successful efforts in bringing peace to Southern Philippines.
In 1952, he took up the Anti-Submarine Warfare Deck Officers Course at the Naval Training College and finished first with a rating of 99%.
In 1968, he graduated from the Naval Command Course at the US Naval War College. A few years later, he obtained his master's degree in National Security Administration from the National Defense College of the Philippines where his academic performance was rated as "Superior." Out of thirteen foreign and local courses that he took, he topped six of them and the rest with honors.
In 1981, the Western Mindanao State University (WMSU) conferred upon him a Doctor of Humanities honoris causa for his role in elevating Zamboanga State College into WMSU.
Military career Espaldon's military career began at the age of 16 when he volunteered in the USAFFE as a member of the Bolo Battalion Unit in 1941 to fight the invading Japanese forces. During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, he was a teenage guerrilla leader in Sulu and Tawi-Tawi under Lieutenant Colonel Alejandro Suarez commander of Sulu Area Command. He also served as intelligence officer of the 1st Battalion, 125th Infantry Regiment and as liaison officer between the Sulu Area Command under Colonel Alejandro Suarez and American landing forces (Sulu White Task Force) in Tawi-Tawi during the liberation campaign. He was later assigned as Garrison Commander of the Cagayan de Sulu Forces. After World War II, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Philippine Army.
Shortly after graduating from Kings Point in 1950, he was commissioned as an ensign in the Philippine Navy and became commanding officer of RPS Capiz and later RPS Iloilo. A decade later, he was appointed as naval attaché to Indonesia and Malaysia, and became fluent in Bahasa Indonesia.
After returning to the Philippines, he served as Chief of Naval Intelligence in 1966, as Acting Chief of the Intelligence Service of the AFP (ISAFP) in 1969, then as Vice Commander of the Philippine Navy in 1971.
In 1972, he would become Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), only to be deprived of the top post because the Marcos administration reportedly preferred a super-loyalist like General Fabian Ver. Veteran Associated Press correspondent Gil Santos noted that Espaldon was one of the few "good guys" who wanted to restore professionalism in the military and got sidelined by Marcos and Ver.
That same year, the MNLF was founded by Nur Misuari as a splinter group of the Muslim Independence Movement. At its peak in 1974, it was able to field between 50,000 and 60,000 rebels, and as many as 20,000 were reportedly trained in Sabah with financial assistance from Libya.
From October 25, 1972, to August 31, 1973, Espaldon was designated as military supervisor of the Bureau of Customs due to the extortion syndicate and rampant smuggling that plagued the Bureau. He would later be conferred the Outstanding Achievement Medal for his wide-ranging reforms which led to a 24% increase in revenue collection from the previous year, reduction in processing time from the usual ten (10) days to seventy-two (72) hours through the implementation of a computer-based Entry Control System, the elimination of the "cabo" system at the North Harbor, and the investigation and prosecution of thirty-seven cases involving customs irregularities.AFP General Orders No. 89 dated August 31, 1973
In 1973, Espaldon replaced his fellow Kings Point cadet Commodore Gil Fernandez as commanding officer of the AFP Southwest Command (SOWESCOM) reportedly to satisfy the terms of surrender of the MNLF Magic Eight rebel commanders. They had previously sought the relief of Fernandez who allegedly lacked sympathy for the Muslims. This signaled a desire for a changed approach in Mindanao from that of hard-lining Fernandez. With the assumption of Espaldon, his predecessor's Vietnam-style tactics of Body count and Search and destroy were abandoned in favor of his policy of attraction and peaceful reconciliation.
In addition to his military duties, Espaldon was appointed as the first governor of Tawi-Tawi when it became a province on September 11, 1973. During the first 730 days of Tawi-Tawi as a province, he spearheaded over 100 civilian infrastructure projects, including the construction of the provincial capitol, provincial hospital, public market, mosques, school houses, radio station, airstrips, piers, houses, bridges, roads, and water system.
The following year, he was designated as the second military governor of the newly-created province of Basilan, but administered the affairs of government through Colonel Florencio E. Magsino.
On December 29, 1973, Espaldon became the first naval officer to be donned the rank of rear admiral in the Philippine Navy. That same day, Commodore Hilario Ruiz, then Flag Officer-in-Command of the Philippine Navy, was likewise promoted to rear admiral.
On July 7, 1975, the Office of the Regional Commissioner for Region IX was created within the policy of rapprochement, in reversal of the iron-fist approach and Espaldon served as its first and only commissioner until it was abolished and replaced with the Lupong Tagapagpaganap Ng Pook (LTP) in 1979. He was succeeded by Ulbert Ulama "Bob" Tugung.
That same month, he led the signing and implementation of the Philippines-Indonesia Agreements on Border Crossing and Border Patrol which enhanced the maritime security cooperation between the two countries, for which he would later be awarded the Bintang Yudha Dharma Pratama, Indonesia's second highest military order of merit.
In 1976, SOWESCOM would become the AFP Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) with Espaldon as its first commander. As overall military commander in Mindanao, he was given full authority to command all forces in the south without the need to seek clearance from service chiefs to deploy troops. The doubling of Espaldon's authority reportedly resulted from the fact that his tactics had reduced the war in the SOWESCOM area, while the achievements of the AFP Central Mindanao Command (CEMCOM) under Gen. Fortunato Abat had been less notable.
That same year, he was appointed as member of the Agency for the Development and Welfare of Muslims in the Philippines which was chaired by Ambassador Lininding Pangandaman.
Following the execution of the Tripoli Agreement in Libya on December 23, 1976, a ceasefire agreement was signed in Zamboanga City on January 20, 1977, between Espaldon and Dr. Tham Manjoorsa, authorized representative of the MNLF. A subsequent plebiscite led to the creation of two autonomous regions, Regions IX and XII, in Mindanao.
By late 1978, Espaldon announced the collapse of the Northern Mindanao Revolutionary Command led by Abul Khayr Alonto and the surrender of 1,215 rebels, bringing the total to 35,411.
Throughout his stint as overall military commander in Mindanao, Espaldon's "Policy of Attraction" saw over 40,000 rebels lay down their arms, although some non-government and non-MNLF skeptics feel that these figures may have been overstated. Respected for both his competence and fairness, Espaldon had succeeded in persuading many MNLF personnel to accept amnesty and had reduced the level of fighting in the three Zamboanga provinces and in the Sulu archipelago.
Many rebels also underwent officer training for integration into the AFP as part of its effort to restore peace in Mindanao. Amilpasa "Caloy" Bandaying, who once belonged to the elite Top 90 of the MNLF before his surrender, was designated by Espaldon as his aide-de-camp despite being cautioned by his officers at SOUTHCOM. Bandaying, in his article "The Bangsamoro Story (The Real Story Behind The Struggle)," would later write: Before his retirement on December 31, 1980, he was conferred the honorary title of Sultan Makasanyang (Sultan of Peace) by the Muslim communities of Autonomous Region IX. The Citation reads:
Civilian career In 1979, Espaldon was appointed as the first commissioner of the Commission on Islamic Affairs, which became the Ministry of Muslim Affairs in 1981. Under his leadership, the Philippine Shari'ah Institute was launched and spearheaded the translation of the Code of Muslim Personal Laws from English to Arabic, and the first Madrasa policy conference was held to discuss the integration of Madrasa-type education into the Philippine Educational System. He was also chairman of the Philippine Pilgrimage Authority and served as Amirul Hajj in 1981 and 1984.
He likewise became active in civic organizations such as the Boy Scouts of the Philippines where he served as Vice-President from 1981 to 1984, and Lions Clubs International where he served as District Governor from 1983 to 1984.
In 1990, he served as representative of the lone Legislative district of Tawi-Tawi during the 8th Congress of the Philippines after winning his election protest against Alawadin T. Bandon, Jr., making him the first elected representative of Tawi-Tawi. Among the bills that he filed were House Bill No. 35166 (An Act Creating the Sulu Archipelago Development Authority) and House Bill No. 35187 (An Act Requiring Conspicuous Identification Markings on Water Vessels).