Writing letters to PDI kept sick lawyer going for 22 years

MANILA, Philippines—He died twice—the “first time” in September 1993, and then finally, on March 4, leaving behind more than a hundred letters to the Inquirer editor that served as his lifeline and helped him air his strong political opinions.

For more than 20 years, Arturo Topacio Jr., a lawyer and a former politician, had been trapped in a weak body following a stroke that left him comatose. The doctors said if he ever woke up, he would be “a vegetable.” A month later, he woke up.

Writing letters to the Inquirer’s opinion section and the simple joy of seeing these published saw him through a debilitating condition and old age.

“Writing letters gave him a second life. I think it prolonged his life. It kept him going and gave him a sense of purpose,” said his son Ferdie Topacio, known for being the lawyer of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and former first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.

The older Topacio died last month at 83 without writing his last piece. But a brief missive about President Aquino and his declining popularity, which he wrote a week before he died, was published posthumously on March 5.

Moved, the young Topacio wrote to the Inquirer, thanking the editorial staff for accommodating his father’s letters in the last two decades of his life.

Letters in scrapbook

“A great part of what kept him going through his old age was the joy of seeing his letters published,” he said. “Since 1994, there were more than a hundred. These he kept in a personal scrapbook.”

“I wish to thank the editorial staff for finding his missives worthy of the pages of the Inquirer. You may have helped his morale and will to live more than you know.”

The late Topacio kept all his published letters in hardcover scrapbooks, all properly labeled. Some of the oldest letters had been framed.

In his letters, he spoke about issues that plagued four administrations, from that of former President Fidel V. Ramos to President Aquino’s.

The topics ranged from the unfair investigation into the disbursements of the Judiciary Development Fund to the need to use the pork barrel to pay government workers higher salaries.

‘Political animal’

Topacio was not ashamed to show his political loyalties: He called for granting former President Joseph Estrada bail when he was accused of plunder. He also called for the investigation of Ramos in the Public Estate Authority-Amari scandal, and criticized Mrs. Arroyo for abolishing the death penalty.

The younger Topacio said this was why he was surprised the Arroyos asked him to be their lawyer despite his father being a relentless critic.

“My father was the consummate political animal. He always wanted to have his say on any issue,” the younger Topacio said. “He was in politics but since he could no longer engage in politics because of limited mobility, [writing to the editor] was his outlet.”

The late Topacio was appointed Imus City councilor in 1960 and served for 11 years.

He passed the board exams and founded the Topacio law office, focusing on his practice after three terms as city councilor.

He returned to politics in 1980 when he was elected provincial board member. He also taught in two universities.

Bouncing back

After his stroke, “he could walk with a cane but since he found it difficult, he used the wheelchair,” the younger Topacio said.

His father would still attend court hearings in a wheelchair. In 2005, the family sold his house in Parañaque City and bought a condo unit in Pasig City when he found the trips to his Pasig office too taxing.

Then he would write letters to the editor, particularly to the Inquirer.

“He would always show me the opposition viewpoint,” the son said. “It brought him joy every time his letters were published. He would tell us, ‘You see, the Inquirer, the biggest newspaper in the country, listened to me.’”

When his family held a memorial service for him, copies of the paper that contained his last letter were distributed to the guests.

“He had been waiting for his article to come out since he wrote it a week before he died. Everyday, he would ask if it saw print already,” said Belen, the late Topacio’s widow.