Salvador P. Lopez

Salvador Ponce López (May 27, 1911 – October 18, 1993), born in Currimao, Ilocos Norte, was a Filipino writer, journalist, educator, diplomat and statesman.

He studied at the University of the Philippines (UP) and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1931 and a Master of Arts degree in Philosophy in 1933. At UP, he was drama critic for the Philippine Collegian and member of Upsilon Sigma Phi.^[1][2] From 1933 to 1936, López taught literature and journalism at the University of Manila. He also became a daily columnist and magazine editor of the Philippine Herald until World War II.

In 1940, López's essay "Literature and Society" won the Commonwealth Literary Awards. His essay posited that art must have substance and that poet José García Villa's adherence to "art for art's sake" is decadent. The essay provoked debates, the discussion centering on proletarian literature, i.e., engaged or committed literature versus the orientation of literature as an art for the sake of art itself.

He was appointed by President Diosdado Macapagal as Secretary of Foreign Affairs and then became ambassador to the United Nations for six years before being reassigned to France for seven years.

López was the president of the University of the Philippines from 1969 to 1975. He established a system of democratic consultation wherein decisions such as promotions and appointments were made through greater participation by faculty and administrative personnel; he also reorganized UP into the UP System.

It was during López's presidency that UP students were politically radicalized, launching mass protests against the Marcos regime right from the so-called "First Quarter Storm" in 1970 to the "Diliman commune" in 1971. During the latter, López called on all UP students, faculty, and employees to defend the university and its autonomy from Marcos's militarization, as the military sought to occupy the campus in search of alleged leftists, activists, and other opponents of the regime. Due to his defense of UP's autonomy and democracy, many considered him a progressive and a militant member of the UP academe.

References[]

This section includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help to improve this section by introducing more precise citations. (August 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

• Media Museum Who's Who in Print Journalism - Salvador P. Lopez Retrieved September 29, 2005.
• Quindoza-Santiago, Dr. Lilia. Philippine Literature during the American Period Retrieved September 29, 2005.
• Godinez-Ortega, Christine F. The Literary Forms in Philippine Literature Retrieved September 29, 2005.