Who’s Who in Bataan – JOSE VICENTE (JV) CRUZ

JOSE VICENTE (JV) CRUZ (1926-1998) was a famous journalist from Hermosa who lived the life of a newspaperman/regular columnist of “The Manila Bulletin,” Press Secretary of President Ramon Magsaysay and Ambassador to Iraq and England (Court of St. James) under President Ferdinand E. Marcos.
The son of the late Judge Roman A. Cruz was born on May 18, 1926. He finished a degree in Journalism at the University of the Philippines. He and the young Benigno S. Aquino Jr. of the Daily Mirror documented the successful surrender of Luis Taruc of the Hukbalahap to then Defense Secretary Ramon Magsaysay.

JV was one of the few trained public relations men who projected Magsaysay, who ran in November 1953 for the highest office of the land, as friend of the “tao” or common man. After getting elected with a convincing majority, Magsaysay picked JV Cruz as his Press Secretary.
He served along with the other glamor boys like Raul Manglapus, Manuel Pelaez, Terry Adevoso, Jaime Ferrer and Manuel Manahan. He had been described by legions as the best press secretary the Philippines ever had.

JV Cruz stayed in Malacanang from 1953 until 1957. He kept Magsaysay’s image intact despite the President’s heated tussles with the Opposition, especially Senator Claro Recto. Using his influence and closeness to Magsaysay, he was able to convince the President to include in the latter’s agenda the delimitation of the US Military Reservation in Cabcaben, Mariveles.

Cruz was asked by Vice President Carlos P. Garcia to serve the last eight months of the Magsaysay administration even after the President died in a plane crash on March 17, 1957.

President Garcia also attempted to persuade Cruz to run for senator during the Nov. 12, 1957 national polls. The latter, however, declined Garcia’s offer by feigning ill health. He returned to newspaper column writing.

In 1961, JV Cruz ran for a congressional seat against incumbent and reelectionist Congressman Jose R. Nuguid. It was a close fight but Nuguid triumphed over his townmate.

Despite his anti-Marcos stance, JV accepted an offer by Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos to serve as the Philippine Ambassador to England. In 1990, he returned to Manila where he had been in self-exile since the EDSA Revolt of 1986. He received tempting offers from many newspaper and radio-TV stations. He declined by saying “when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life.” JV Cruz passed away on July 9, 1998.