Valentin de los Santos was a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

religious leader and political activist. Santos founded and led the

Lapiang Malaya The ''Lapiang Malaya'' (Filipino for "Freedom Movement" or "Freedom Party") was a fanatical political party in the Philippines during the 1950s to the 1960s. Led by Valentin de los Santos, he functioned as a cult leader. Valentin de los Santos was ...

, a political movement that opposed the government of Ferdinand Marcos.

Biography

Valentin de los Santos was born on the Filipino island of

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

in the early 20th century. In the 1940s, Santos began a

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

-based political movement in

Northern Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

advocating for more economic and social equality.GOROSPE, V. (1970). Christian Koinonia and Some Philippine Cultural Forces. ''Philippine Studies,'' ''18''(1), 52-82 Many people were drawn to Santos' style of leadership, which involved him teaching new methods of prayer to people. As noted by one source, Santos taught his followers a "beautiful way" in which to pray and interact positively with others; this was in contrast to other Filipino priests, who focused more on preaching and community functions. Santos' messages also revolved around nonviolence, equality, and

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

- political credos which helped the Lapiang Malaya garner support among the poorer peoples of Luzon. The party supported Santos when he ran for president in the Philippine presidential election of 1957. In addition to being the leader of the Lapiang Malaya, Santos became renowned in Luzon for his charisma. He was also purported to have healing abilities, superhuman strength, and invulnerability to bullets; some of these beliefs were shared by other members of the Lapiang Malaya. Santos was also believed by his followers to have invented a number of inventions, including the

traffic light Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traffic. Traffic light ...

. He is also alleged to have direct contact with

Bathala In the indigenous religion of the ancient Tagalogs, Bathala Maykapal was the transcendent Supreme Being, the originator and ruler of the universe. He is commonly known and referred to in the modern era as Bathala, a term or title which, in ea ...

(Supreme god) and past notable Filipinos such as

Jose Rizal Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Gali ...

. In the Spring of 1967, Santos and the Lapiang Malaya organized a political rally in the Philippine capital of

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, where they intended to peacefully overthrow the government of Ferdinand Marcos. The organization marched on

Malacañang Palace Malacañang Palace ( fil, Palasyo ng Malakanyang, ; es, Palacio de Malacañán), officially known as Malacañan Palace, is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the Philippines. It is located in the Manila distric ...

on 20 May, but were intercepted by the

Philippine Constabulary The Philippine Constabulary (PC; tl, Hukbóng Pamayapà ng Pilipinas, ''HPP''; es, Policía de Filipinas, ''PF'') was a gendarmerie-type police force of the Philippines from 1901 to 1991, and the predecessor to the Philippine National Po ...

. They were armed with bolo knives and

anting-anting ''Agimat'', also known as ''Anting'' or folklorized as ''Anting-anting'', is a Filipino word for " amulet" or " charm"."Tagalog-English Dictionary by Leo James English, Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, Manila, distributed by National Boo ...

or amulets. The crowd was eventually dispersed with force, resulting in the deaths of 33 people, after which Santos was arrested. He was judged to be insane by the Filipino government and confined to the National Center for Mental Health, where he was eventually killed by another patient. Following his incarceration and death, his son-in-law, Domingo De Guia, replaced him as the head of Lapiang Malaya.

References

{{reflist Filipino religious leaders Candidates in the 1957 Philippine presidential election