2004, August 20. Admiral Tomas A. Cloma, Sr., Birth Centenary
Litho Offset.
Amstar Company, Inc., Perf. 14.
Singles, Sheets of 50
6p
Portrait of Admiral Tomas A. Cloma, Sr. &
Philippine Maritime Training Ship - Singles
(100,000)
Designer:
Jesus
Alfredo D. de los Santos
Design Coordinator:
Jaime G. Tee
First Day Covers: Manila
Admiral Tomas A. Cloma, Sr., Father of Maritime Education - Birth
Centenary
Born in 1904
in the fishing town of Panglao, Bohol, Admiral Cloma left his
hometown to try his luck in the big city of Manila, where he worked
his way through school doing odd jobs such as a shoe shine boy, a
newsboy, a gasoline attendant, and cub reporter of the Manila
Bulletin. Already with a fast growing family, he completed his law
studies and successfully passed the.bar in 1941.
Locally, Admiral Cloma
is known as "The Father of Maritime Education" for founding the PMI
Colleges in 1948, the country's pioneer in maritime education in the
private sector that continues to consistently produce top caliber
maritime deck and engine officers who ply both the intemational and
domestic seas. Today, the PMI Colleges is the country's largest
institution in maritime education with an average of 15,000 students
per semester.
In 1954, Admiral Cloma
began to offer Customs Administration in the PMI Colleges, another
first in the country's private education sector, which posthumously
earned for him in 2000 the first Aduana Award by the Chamber of
Customs Brokers, Inc., for his pioneering spirit in the Bachelor of
Science in Customs Administration curriculum. The graduates of
Customs Administration today are the beneficiaries of the recent
Republic Act Number 9280 also known as the "Customs Brokers Act of
2004".
Vice Admiral Tomas A.
Cloma is internationally known as the discoverer of the Kalayaan
Group of Islands that he called "Freedomland" and which is better
known as the Spratley Islands. His discovery in the early 1950's
resulted in his incarceration during the Martial Law years until he
gave up his personal claim in favor of the Philippine government.
Today, Admiral Cloma's discovery is the basis of the Philippines'
claim to the controversial islands that is also being contested by
several other Asian countries.
Months before his
death in 1996, Admiral Cloma was bestowed the Presidential Legion
Honor, Degree of Legionnaire award by former President Fidel V.
Ramos for his discovery of the Kalayaan Group of Islands and the
establishment of the PMI Colleges.