AMADO V.

HERNANDEZ

Born: September 13, 1903

Date of Death: 24 March 1970
Place of Death: Manila, Philippines
Cause of Death: Heart Attack

Poet, playwright, and novelist, is among the Filipino writers who practiced “committed art”. In
his view, the function of the writer is to act as the conscience of society and to affirm the
greatness of the human spirit in the face of inequity and oppression. Hernandez’s contribution to
the development of Tagalog prose is considerable — he stripped Tagalog of its ornate character
and wrote in prose closer to the colloquial than the “official” style permitted. His novel Mga
Ibong Mandaragit, first written by Hernandez while in prison, is the first Filipino socio-political
novel that exposes the ills of the society as evident in the agrarian problems of the 50s.

BIOGRAPHY
While still a teenager, he began writing in Tagalog for the newspaper Watawat (Flag). He would
later write a column for the Tagalog publication Pagkakaisa (Unity) and become editor
of Mabuhay (Long Live).His writings gained the attention of Tagalog literaty and some of his
stories and poems were included in anthologies, such as Clodaulo Del Mundo’s Parolang
Ginto and Allejandro Abadilla's Talaang Bughaw. In 1922, at the age of 19, Hernandez became a
member of the literary society Aklatang Bayan which included noted Tagalog writers Lope K.
Santos and Jose Corazon de Jesus. In 1932, he married the Filipino actress Atang De la Rama.
Both of them would later be recognized as National Artists: Hernandez for Literature, de la
Rama for Theater, Dance and Music.
FREDOOM FIGHTER
Hernandez joined the resistance movement when the Japanese invaded in the Philippines in
1941. He was an intelligence operative of the guerilla outfit of Marking and Anderson, whose
operations covered Bulacan and the Sierra Madre mountains, throughout the Second World War.
While he was a guerilla, Hernandez came in contact with guerillas of the Hukbo ng Bayan Laban
sa Hapon (Hukbalahap) which was founded by is Luis Taruc and other communist ideologues
continued by the Philippine Commonwealth troops entered in Bulacan. It is believed that this
was when Hernandez developed sympathies, if not belief, with the communist movement.
LABOR LEADER
After the war, President Sergio Osmeña appointed him councilor of Manila during the
reconstruction of the war-devastated city. He also became president of the defunct Philippine
Newspaper Guild in coordination with its editor in chief, Narjeey Larasa.
But his most significant activities after the war involved organizing labor unions across the
country through the labor federation Congress of Labor Organizations (CLO). Influenced by the
philosophy of Marx he advocated revolution as a means of change. On May 5, 1947, he led the
biggest labor strike to hit Manila at that time. The following year, he became president of the
CLO and led another massive labor demonstration on May 1, 1948.
In 1950, the Philippine military started a crackdown against the communist movement, which
was had sparked open rebellion in some areas on Luzon island, and the CLO headquarters was
raided on January 20, 1951. Hernandez was arrested on January 26 on the suspicion that he was
among the leaders of the rebellion.
IMPRISONMENT
But the authorities could not find evidence to charge him. For six months, he was transferred
from one military camp to another and it took nearly a year before he was indicted on a charge of
rebellion with murder, arson and robbery - a complex crime unheard of in Philippine legal
history.
The case stirred the interest of civil rights activists in the Philippines and Hernandez was assisted
at various times by legal luminaries like Senator Claro M. Recto, former President José P.
Laurel and Claudio Teehankee, who would later become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of
the Philippines. But he remained in prison while his appeal was pending.
It was while he was imprisoned that he wrote his most notable works. He wrote Isang Dipang
Langit (A Stretch of Heaven), which later won a Republic Cultural Heritage Award, and Bayang
Malaya (Free Nation), which later won a Balagtas Award. Also written in prison was his
masterpiece Luha ng Buwaya (Tears of the Crocodile). Portions of his novel Mga Ibong
Mandaragit (Birds of Prey) was also written while he was at the New Bilibid Prison. He also
edited the prison's newspaper Muntinglupa Courier.
After five years of imprisonment, the Supreme Court allowed Hernandez to post bail on June 20,
1956. He then resumed his journalistic career and wrote a column for the Tagalog tabloid Taliba.
He would later be conferred awards in prestigious literary contests, like the Commonwealth
Literary Contest (twice), Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards (four times) and journalism
awards given by the National Press Club of the Philippines (four times).
On May 30, 1964, the Supreme Court acquitted Hernandez in a decision that would be a
landmark in Philippine jurisprudence. The case People of the Philippines vs. Amado V.
Hernandez is now a standard case study in Philippine law schools.
Hernandez continued to write and teach after his acquittal. He was teaching at the University of
the Philippines when he died on March 24, 1970. The University of the Philippines
posthumously conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Humanities honoris causa. The Ateneo
de Manila University awarded him its first Tanglaw ng Lahi award. He was posthumously
honored as National Artist for Literature in 1973. Together with poet José García Villa,
Hernández was the first to receive the title in literature.

AWARD AND RECOGNITIONS

 The University of the Philippines posthumously conferred on him the degree of Doctor of
Humanities honoris causa.
 The Ateneo de Manila University awarded him its first Tanglaw ng Lahi award.
 He was posthumously honored as National Artist for Literature in 1973. Together with
poet José García Villa, Hernández was the first to receive the title in literature.
 He would later be conferred awards in prestigious literary contests, like the
Commonwealth Literary Contest (twice), Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards (four
times) and journalism awards given by the National Press Club of the Philippines (four
times).

HERNANDEZ’S WORKS INCLUDES

Novels
His socio-political novels were based on his experiences as a guerrilla, as a labor leader and as a
political detainee.

 Mga Ibong Mandaragit (Birds of Prey),1969

 Luha Ng Buwaya (Crocodile's Tears), 1972
Poems

 Isang Dipang Langit

 Panata sa Kalayaan
 Ang Mga Kayamanan ng Tao
 Ang Dalaw Kay Silaw
 Bartolina
 Kung Tuyo Na ang Luha Mo Aking Bayan
 Bayang Malaya
 Ang Taong Kapos
 Bayani
 Sa Batang Walang Bagong Damit
 Isang Sining ng Pagbigkas
 Ang Panday
 Inang Wika
 Ang Tao
 Pamana
 Ang Aklasan
Essays

 Si Atang at ang Dulaan (Atang and the Theater)

 Si Jose Corazon de Jesus at ang Ating Panulaan (Jose Corazon de Jesus and Our Poetry)

CONCLUSION

Amado V. Hernandez is an important figure in the Philippine literature. He wasn't just simply a
writer but also, he was a work leader and a freedom fighter. He used the literary art as a means to
fight for social consciousness and liberation. His master pieces are encircled in the different
socio-political beliefs which were considered to be due to brought about by his experiences as an
intelligence officer during the Japanese regime in the Philippines.

He was not just a guerrilla who chose to take it to the hills, but he was as well a labor leader who
exerted his energies towards the betterment of the Philippine work force after the war. He was a
significant icon who fought for freedom and social equality and a poet and a writer who used his
craft in increasing awareness and social involvement in the country. He wrote based on prison
experiences and just like how his wife emulated his principles, in these works, he uncovered
what he perceived to be the neocolonial nature of Philippine Society and pushed for "nationalist
and progressive agenda to end the long history of the workers' and people's oppression." He was
able to expose the social cancer that was taking over the Philippines during his time and both his
and his wife's craft helped transform literature and performing arts respectively.

REFERRENCES

 National Historical Institute, Filipinos in History 5 vols. (Manila: National Historical

Institute, 1995)
 Amado V. Hernandez
 https://www.ukessays.com/essays/history/amado-v-hernandez-living-in-a-nationalist-milieu-
history-essay.php
PREPARED BY
Ralph Joshua Saclet –STEM 12