Mr. de la Cruz or Tay Omeng, was born in Kalibo, Aklan, on August 9, 1923. He studied at Kalibo Elementary School, then proceeded to Kalibo Institute, and took his Bachelor of Science in Education degree at Northwestern Visayan Colleges also in Kalibo.
At the age of 17, his short stories were published in Philippine Commonwealth. These were then included in Jose Garcia Villa’s Roll of Honor for Filipino Short Stories , 1940-41.
He was a writer on multiple subjects, he has then published short stories, poems, two novels, several essays and articles on various subjects and several books ranging from religious apologetics and Bible passages, local history school textbooks, juvenile stories, strange experience stories, a successful treatise on a claim and a diverse lot of many others.He was known as the Dean of Aklan journalism and the historian of Aklan.
He has founded, edited and published the provincial weekly newspaper The Aklan Reporter. It was his major works include Town of A Thousand, a 270-page history of Kalibo, the capital of Aklan, covering the period from the middle of the 13th century up to year 1993. He is presently updating this work. His 618-line epic poem, Song of The Ati-Ati, was published in 1973. His short stories on war and non-war, were compiled in a book entitled: Alone Along A Lonely Road and Other Stories which came in 1973.
His other works are Concordance on the Triune God; Is Christ God; Life with the Family, City World; The Power of Prayer With Praise, The Joy and The Wrath, The Hero Who Was Not, To The Child King: An Image and A Song, The Adventures of Umpag and Bonghayan, Out Of Too Much Grief, and The Filipino Speaks, a 79-page treatise in reaction to a multi-interneted article of an American from Nevada proclaiming “nothing respectable has ever come from the Filipino people during the entire human history; ”
But his monumental contribution to Aklan is his 929-page five-language dictionary that came out in 2004. It includes English, Hiligaynon, Tagalog, Kinaray-a and Aklanon words.
His whole collection of works are now being compiled in a two-volume book entitled Legacy. It consists of short stories, novel, historical book, book of poetry, eulogies, speeches and lectures, declamations, essays and others.
He is a World War II veteran, English instructor for half a dozen years, sangguniang bayan member of his hometown for 16 years and an avid religious and civic worker. During the war, he enlisted himself as a guerilla in the USAFFE. His experiences in the war were included in his short story book, Alone along the Lonely Road and Other Stories. One of the stories here had been included in the The Voice of the Veteran (An Anthology of the Best in Song and Story by the Defenders of Freedom) edited by Manuel E. Buenafe in 1946.
He was also elected as Sangguniang Bayan (SB) Member of Kalibo from 1971 to 1986 (16 years).
In the year 2005, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Aklan together with the Kalibo Knights of Columbus and the Philippine Association of Publishers, Inc. (PAPI) have nominated him to the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for Literature and Journalism.
Dela Cruz is married to Julita O. Ilarina of Banga, Aklan. They have seven children -Vellyzarius, Cortesa, Marlon, Didecas, Sumra, Hagbong and Amihan.
He is the grandson of the late Roman Aguirre of Lezo, Aklan, one of the 19 Martyrs of Aklan.
Dela Cruz is married to Julita O. Ilarina of Banga, Aklan. They have seven children -Vellyzarius, Cortesa, Marlon, Didecas, Sumra, Hagbong and Amihan.
He is the grandson of the late Roman Aguirre of Lezo, Aklan, one of the 19 Martyrs of Aklan.
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