PHLPost unveils ‘Great Men of Bago’ stamp series

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The series spotlights four Negros icons – Juan Araneta, Ramon Torres, Rafael Salas, and Arsenio Yuo Jr. – whose contributions continue to resonate

NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, Philippines – The Philippine Postal Corporation has come up with a new series of commemorative stamps to pay tribute to heroic deeds and revolutionary acts of four exemplary men from Bago City in Negros Occidental.

Billed as “Great Men of Bago,” the new stamps were unveiled by PHLPost in Bago on Tuesday, March 4, marking a second installment in its collaborative series with the local government. 

The initiative follows an earlier commemorative stamp celebrating Bago City’s 50th founding anniversary in 2016.

The series spotlights four local icons whose contributions continue to resonate:

• Juan Araneta, also known as Tan Juan, was lauded as a hero of the 1898 Negros bloodless revolution – Al Cinco de Noviembre. His courage, alongside that of fellow revolutionaries, is commemorated every November 5 in the province.
• Ramon Torres, or Toto Amon, was the country’s first labor secretary who served from 1933-1936. He served as senator from 1945 to 1951, and authored the eight-hour Labor Law. He briefly governed the province in 1953.
• Rafael Salas, also known as Toto Cay, broke new ground as the first head of the United Nations Population Fund in 1969 until his untimely death in 1987. Before his international tenure, he served as executive secretary under the late strongman Ferdinand E. Marcos.
• Arsenio Yulo Jr. or Buc-an, was lawyer, councilor of Bago in 1965, 1971 Constitutional Convention delegate, and later became the first chairman of the Sugar Board as well as administrator of the Regulatory Administration in 1987.

The meticulously designed and deliberated stamps represent a deliberate effort by Bago and PHLPost to etch the indelible marks of the four Bagonhons into the annals of the country’s history, preserving a proud heritage for future generations, said Postmaster General Luis Carlos.

“A series for these commemorative stamps will be four in a row. So, after these four great men of ours, there will be more Bagonhons close to national prominence who will also be featured by PHLPost,” Bago Mayor Nicholas Yulo told Rappler on Wednesday, March 5.

Yulo, the son of Buc-an, said he was proud of his father’s inclusion in PHLPost’s commemorated stamps.

“I know how my father revived the sugar industry from a near death right after the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution. I am proud of his legacy,” he said.

Former Bago vice mayor Ramon Torres, a grandson and namesake of Toto Amon, described the stamps as reminders of the men’s legacy.

“For the future generations of the city, they must always be remembered,” Torres said. – Rappler.com