FELICIANO P. LEVISTE
By
Carlos
Manseguiao
(Philippine Journal of Philately, May-June 1959)
The Governor is a Philatelist
AMONG the stamp collectors who regularly visit the Stamp and Philatelic
Division of the Bureau of Posts, to buy new stamps for their
collections, are business tycoons, professors of various schools and
universities and private citizens. Only a few are government bigwigs
who find in stamp collecting a relaxing and peace-promoting hobby.
One such government official is the incumbent governor of Batangas,
the honorable Feliciano P. Leviste. .
Governor Leviste is quite a familiar figure in the Stamp and Philatelic
Division. The moment he strides past the stamp counters, employees
and outsiders who know him, look at him with admiration and respect.
For Gov. Leviste has proven himself to be a capable and
distinguished governor not only in his native province but all over
the country.
Philately is the only hobby of the amiable governor. Before the war, his
collection included nature's lush beauty spots, such as gigantic
volcanoes of the world, cascading waterfalls of many nations and
famous mountains etched against the limitless sky.
However, during the last World War, his collection went up in smoke when
his house was burned down by the Japanese soldiers. Because of his
staunch devotion to his country and his constant refusal to
collaborate with the Japanese, he had been the object of the enemy's
ire.
With the same avid interest he had before the war, the provincial executive
renewed his collection immediately after the liberation. He bought
stamps from dealers here and abroad and exchanged them for stamps
from philatelists. Due to pressure of work, he has had not enough
time to correspond with foreign philatelists.
"Stamp collecting is not as expensive as other hobbies indulged in by
the next man you know," was the governor's answer when asked if
stamp collecting is a drain to his finances. "As a matter of
fact," he continued, "it could be a good investment for the
future. They could be sold, if you like it, at much higher price
than their original value after many years of keeping them."
The governor recommended stamp collecting to school children when he
opined: "Stamps portray the culture, history and progress of a
country. It will help the children understand that country better
and they could be influenced to become good citizens."
In order to bolster philately and philatelic literature in the Philippines,
the governor favors the plan that the Bureau of Posts should be
given a sufficient financial outlay by the government to finance the
printing of stamps locally. He has in mind to make stamps a good
business venture of the government by making it a revenue-raising
program. He recalled that at present Bureau of Posts realizes every
year P10,000,000 from stamp sales. "And if proper incentive is
given, this amount could be increased considerably," the
governor added.
Gov. Leviste, a frank and sincere politician, always seeking ways and means
for the welfare of the people, stated that "the government should
procure modern printing machines not only for printing stamps but
also for banknotes. This. would not only be a boon to the people,
since it would create employment, but would also ward off the drain
from our international dollars reserve".
In order to promote tourism in the Philippines, Gov. Leviste declared that
we can popularize the Philippines by depicting on stamps places of
interest, such as the perfect-coned Mayon Volcano, the recently
world-famous Hibokhibok volcano, the Taal volcano, the Maria
Cristina falls, the magnificent Ifugao rice terraces, Philippine
flowers, etc., and making our foreign embassies as show windows for
these stamps.
Gov. Leviste first saw light 61 years ago in Malvar, Batangas. He finished
his high school education at the Seminario de Javier de
Manila. He was graduated from the Ateneo de Manila as a
Bachelor of Arts in 1915. In
1919, he finished his
Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Santo Tomas. After
practicing law in Manila for sometime, he became a municipal
councilor of his town for three consecutive terms - this began his
colorful political career; .
He became an assistant city fiscal for Manila in 1946.
Drafted to run for the top executive position in his province
of Batangas, as a Nationalista Party nominee, he was subsequently
elected in 1947. He bested
his strong administration-favored opponent by a convincing margin.
Because of his clean and accomplished administration, he was
re-elected in 1951 for the second term. In 1955, he ran for the
third term and won with the biggest majority ever registered by any
governor in that election. This shows he was, and still is, a "hit"
among his people. This year, he is available for the fourth term
with no known opponent so far!
The provincial executive was married in 1924 to the former Aurelia Malvar
of Santo Tomas, Batangas. Mrs. Leviste is the daughter of the
intrepid revolutionary hero, Gen. Miguel Malvar, the last general to
conditionally surrender to the American forces. By her, the governor
has one child, Expedito, who is now a technical assistant of the
Philippine Mission in the United Nations. The governor has four
grandchildren.
The governor began collecting stamps at the tender age of 12. "The
artistry and historical significance of stamps attracted me so much
that I collected and mounted them in an album which I fashioned by
my own hands," the governor reminisced.
He has found philately a refreshing avocation for busy executives.
His belief can be well
supported by the stamp hobbies of such great figures as the American
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, King George V and Queen
Elizabeth II of England, the queens of Romania and Italy, and other
famous notables.
An ardent philatelist that he is, with a final say on the topic of stamp
collecting, Gov. Leviste asserted: "Politics and philately are
good combination. While politics is strenuous, philately is relaxing
and the combination of
the two makes a politician durable, both politically and
physically."
