JOSE M. CRISOL
(1917-1993)
World War II Fighter
And Defense Official
The acknowledged expert on
psychological warfare of his time, Jose M. Crisol was born to a working class
couple in pandan, Catanduanes on
He obtained his higher education from
the Mapua Institute of Technology and the University of the
During the Japanese Occupation, he was
among the thousands who underwent the infamous Death March, at the end of which
he suffered imprisonment in the concentration camp at Capas, Tarlac. He
miraculously survived both ordeals.
Crisol served as a member of the Allied
Intelligence Bureau and as battalion commander of the Bicol Guerrilla Brigade.
For his gallantry in action in
Upon the war’s end in 1945, he
proceeded to the
In 1950, then Defense Secretary Ramon
Magsaysay tapped him to lead the government’s anti-insurgency program aimed at
breaking the Huk movement in
In 1953, Crisol resigned his regular
commission in the Philippine Army to help Magsaysay in this presidential bid by
serving as his political strategist.
His outstanding achievements in the
field of intelligence as well as his personal sacrifices were rewarded in
January 1954 when he was named director of the National Bureau of Investigation,
the country’s premier intelligence body, and presidential adviser on national
security. In a concurrent capacity, he served as government investigation
coordinator and presidential performance officer.
In May 1954, he becomes the
undersecretary of national defense-at 36, the youngest ever to be so named.
In 1957, under the administration of
President Carlos P. Garcia, he was named acting secretary of defense. Eleven
years later, he would serve in the government of President Ferdinand E. Marcos
as presidential assistant on civil action, with the rank of undersecretary, as
well as the President’s special personal representative in the Armed Forces’
civil action programs. In 1970, he was given the portfolio of undersecretary
for home defense and, as such, directly supervised all AFP “home defense
activities,” including the government’s campaign against the then newly formed
New People’s Army.
Crisol also served as chairman of the
Board of Liquidators; director of NASSCO; “back-pay” commissioner, chairman of
the Leyte-Samar Development Coordinating Council; coordinator of the New
Kabankalan Negrito Affairs, and member of the Board of Review for Motion
Pictures. In June 1978, he was designated acting chairman of the National
Police Commission. He was also made national adviser of the Philippine Veterans
Legion. At the time he retired from government service, he held the rank of
brigadier-general in the AFP’s reserved forces.
A much-decorated military officer,
Crisol was the recipient of the Wounded Personnel Medal, Resistance Movement
Medal, Philippine Defense Medal, American Defense Service Medal and Ribbon with
one Bronze Service Star, World War II Victory Medal, Distinguished Unit Emblem,
Anti-Dissidence Campaign Ribbon, Jolo Campaign Medal, Combat Infantry Badge,
and the Purple Heart.
He was the author of several works,
including The Red Lie, his most
famous book; Men and Arms; Fundamentals
of Village Defense; Marcos on the Armed Forces; The home Defense Officer in the
Modernization Process; The Armed Forces in National Building; and Military Civil Action.
His life came to a tragic end on
He left behind his wife, the former,
Carmen Borromeo, and their children.
Jennyvie R. Acosta