On the occasion of the centennial of Lorenzo M. Tañada, we of the academic community of De La Salle University, in cooperation with Information Imaging, Inc., have jointly put together this Lorenzo M Tañada Multimedia CD-ROM and Internet Website.

Lorenzo M. Tañada was one of the most distinguished alumni who studied with us in the first decade of the school’s existence, then on Calle Nozaledo in Paco. I remember when he would reminisce about those years; upon the intercession of his parish priest and staying at a convent in Intramuros, he would walk to school each day all the way from Intramuros to Paco and then back. He had fond memories of De La Salle; one of the practices he learned from the Brothers was carrying the rosary at all times until the end of his life. In fact, about two years before he died, we arranged a meeting between Tanny and a contemporary of his, also an alumnus; that evening, both showed their rosaries proudly to their guests.

Senator Tañada had a world-class legal mind supported by a deeply ethical sense, with tremendous respect for human rights and liberty and generosity of heart that made him take cases without consideration of remuneration. On his wall hanged a frame with a modest dollar denomination bill, a mother’s way of saying thank you to him for defending her son, Ed Gorlock, a Maryknoll priest whom he defended against charges of sedition by the Marcos dictatorship.

Before he returned to the Father, Tanny had a dream; he would not leave until the American bases ceased to be. He did see the dream realized; after that, he was ready to meet his Maker after years of dedicated honest service to his country, his nation, his people.

Men like Senator Lorenzo M. Tañada make us proud to be Filipinos. Commemorating his life during his centennial, using multimedia technology of the next century, is a fitting way to remind contemporary Filipinos of one national hero of their generation that they can identify with.

Bro. Andrew Gonzalez, FSC

I first met Tanny 40 years ago. Already a Senior Statesman of La Salle Alumni, he was in some elite company, Paquito Ortigas, Ernie Rufino, the Aguinaldos, the Kahns, and many other well-known alumni. I can’t count the number of times, he told me with pride, how his parents wanted him to get his education under the guidance of the Brothers. In particular, they wanted him to learn English well.

For years, he was a regular attendant at the annual homecomings. When I arrived in the late fifties, he would frequently umpire the traditional softball game between the alumni and the Brothers.

As the years went on, I seem to have become his last personal link with the earlier generation of Brothers, like Brothers John, Anthony and a few others. Tanny was always accommodating when it came to attendance at some special school function or activity.

It almost became a tradition that I would meet him at his car at the south drive way and become his other cane to walk across the campus or up to the Chapel of the Most Blessed Sacrament. It was a privilege that I took great pride in. For some reason or another, he kind of treated me like a son.

The other thing that I took very special pride in was that one day when paying him a visit in his office, he asked me if his memorabilia could be housed at his Alma Mater, De La Salle. I was overwhelmed and, to this day, I take great pride in showing alumni and other visitors to the Lorenzo M. Tañada Memorabilia Room in the University Library.

He was a very humble man and always went out of his way to say thank you to the Brothers for his education. To quote an old American expression, “they threw the mold away when they made him”. Young (and old) La Salle men and women couldn’t ask for a better role model to emulate.

Bro. J. Benedict, FSC

Indeed, Thomas Fuller could have been referring to rare, extraordinary men like Lorenzo M. Tañada, who was not only a great man, but also a good man.

Rare, too, is the privilege to have been chosen by De La Salle University (DLSU) to be its partner in a joint undertaking to pay tribute to its Most Outstanding Alumnus, Lorenzo M. Tañada, on his birth centennial anniversary. In mid-July 1998, DLSU commissioned our company to produce a Web-CD containing a rich memorabilia collection of Tañada housed in the Tañada Room of the DLSU Library. It is with humility that we have accepted such an honorable task.

Rare, too, is the opportunity to have journeyed through DLSU’s invaluable collection of news clippings, historical documents and letters, photographs, video and audio files, and in the process, to have personally experienced such a rare, extraordinary man. With the generous assistance extended by the DLSU Library Director, Ms. Perla Garcia, the DLSU Library Archivist, Ms. Angela Verzosa, and the Tañada Family, a wealth of materials were made available for this Web-CD project.

The “Lorenzo M. Tañada: A Centennial Birthday Tribute to A Filipino Hero” Web-CD is not a full-length exhaustive biography on Tañada. Rather, it is a precious collection of materials in various media formats which give us more than a rare glimpse into Tañada’s person and richly textured life. Intended to compliment his written biographies, the Web-CD is an electronic scrapbook which uses the familiar internet interface, making it accessible to everyone locally and globally. The Web-CD format takes advantage of the high storage characteristic of CD and allows for the flexible updating of information in the future.

Rare, finally, does a multimedia project become a life-changing experience. In comparison to our other multimedia projects, all of us at Information Imaging, Inc. agree that it has been only this Tañada Web-CD Project that we have been enriched in mind and spirit. As a fellow La Sallian, I have personally experienced the challenge that Tañada’s sterling example has foisted on all of us—to look deep into ourselves and discover that it is possible, in our own unique lives, to achieve greatness and yes, goodness.

We hope that your journey through the Tañada Web-CD becomes a rare, extraordinary experience.

Angelo Narciso