MALOLOS CITY, Bulacan, Philippines — The late statesman and proud son of Bulacan, Blas F. Ople, has been given one of the highest distinctions by President Benigno S. Aquino III by declaring February 3, 2012 as a special non-working holiday in this province in his honor.

President Aquino issued Proclamation No. 323, through Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., last January 25 to give the citizens of Bulacan the opportunity to remember and celebrate the 85th birth anniversary of Ople.

The holiday declaration is reflective of Malacañang’s recognition of the noble efforts of Ople as the known “Father of Overseas Employment” and author of the Philippine Labor Code.

“Ople, who served as Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Senate President and Secretary of Labor, had devoted decades of his life to selfless dedicated and sincere service to our country and our people,” said Aquino.

Ople, the son of Felix Antonio Ople, a craftsman who repaired boats, and his wife Segundina Fajardo, was born in Hagonoy, Bulacan on February 3, 1927.

A teenage revolutionary joining the guerrilla movement during World War II, Ople held several high-ranking positions in the executive and legislative branches of the Philippine government, including as Senate President from 1999 to 2000, and as Secretary of Foreign Affairs from 2002 until his death.

Ople the so-called walking encyclopedia, as a writer, he authored the books Frontier of Social Policy, Workers, Managers, Elites, The Human Spectrum of Development, The Freedom to Achieve, Global but Parochial, the Philippines and the World, and Windows to a Changing World.