Edgardo Gil Mirasol Jopson, more popularly known as Edgar Jopson or Edjop (September 1, 1948 – September 21, 1982), was a Filipino activist and active member of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) during the reign of former President Ferdinand Marcos. Jopson studied in Ateneo de Manila High School, and later proceeded to Ateneo de Manila University where he graduated under the Management Engineering program, garnering Latin Honors. He was active in politics since his years in college, even becoming the president of the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP). He later went underground with the CPP when President Marcos declared Martial Law in 1972. He was killed during a military raid in his house in 1982.
Early life
Edgar Jopson was the second eldest among twelve children whose family lived in Sampaloc, Manila. His father opened the Jopson Supermarket in 1953 while his mother helped in the grocery. In 1955, two years after their business was established, the family moved to Philamlife Homes in Quezon City where they were invited to open a branch in the subdivision. In 1958 the family experienced bankruptcy due to business failures and had to move back to Sampaloc where their first branch was still open. At the time, Edjop and Inday, his older sister, helped out in the store while continuing their schooling.
Personal life
In his sophomore year in college, Jopson met Gloria Maria “Joy” Asuncion, with whom he had a relationship with. They got married on January 26, 1974 in a church in Navotas. It was the fourth anniversary of the start of the First Quarter Storm. It was originally intended to be a small event with minimal guests, however 300 people attended. Jopson and Joy bore their first child, Liberato Labrador Celnan on February 16, 1975.
Jopson closely followed the dictum of simple living espoused by the underground movement ("UG"). Following his arrest in 1979, he and Joy left their children at the care of his parents. Joy gave birth to their third child, Teresa Lorena, on April 12, 1982. She was named after both Teresa Magbanua, a heroine of the Philippine Revolution, and Lorena Barros, a UG martyr who died in a military encounter.
Education
Jopson was named the most outstanding pupil of his class in Telly Zulueta Kindergarten in Malate, Manila in 1954. During the awarding ceremony, he got the chance to deliver a speech. A Jesuit priest who attended the ceremony approached Ed's father to encourage him to enroll at the Ateneo Grade School. The nickname Edjop stuck on him when his geometry teacher failed to pronounce "Jopson" in the Spanish pronunciation, giving it a strong "J" sound instead of "H". In high school, Ed had a rigid studying schedule wherein his routine was fixed every night. His parents accommodated him by having a den built especially for him.
Jopson had developed certain "airs" which made him more arrogant because of his stay at the Ateneo. When he was a junior, he asked his father for a car, citing that his friends had cars, to which his father replied, "We are not like them, and I don't like your attitude." He was ordered to take the bus from then on.
Throughout his high school, life he joined several organizations such as the Math Club and the Debating Society, and was active in religious organizations as well, such as the Ateneo Catechetical Instructors League. Thanks to a Jesuit education that encouraged Ateneans to be "men for others", Ed considered going into the priesthood but realized after a retreat that he does not need to enter the seminary to be able to help people. On the other hand, his father offered an anecdote which better explained his change of heart: after a trip to Mindoro, Ed was impressed by untouched land that he saw and urged his father to buy the land, saying that he would rather be a farmer than a priest, which pleased his father. The family bought the land, and built a farm and vacation home there. Ed eventually became a class valedictorian and in his speech, said, "We will not just dream our goal in life without doing anything about it. We shall develop all our talents and gifts to the fullest, in order to serve you, our neighbor, and our country, to the best of our abilities." However, during a trip to Hong Kong, Ed disclosed to his father that he was not comfortable being class valedictorian because of the added weight it carried on his life.