LIFE WITH ‘THE GENERAL’
Beth Day Romulo writes about love the second time around
Beth Day Romulo writes about love the second time around
What would Carlos P. Romulo think of the Philippines and how it is governed today? Would he have approved? If Beth Day Romulo, the second wife of the late diplomat and statesman and Manila Bulletin executive editor, ever got a chance to talk to him again, she would ask him his take. “His opinion meant everything to me. I would ask him what he thinks of what is going on in our country now, and in the world,” she says. “He was an ardent nationalist. I think that is something that people probably didn’t know about him. He really cared about this country, so much, and wanted to put the Philippines on the map. And I respected that. He was such a strong personality, leveled with a nice humor.”
Current event and world affairs were subjects the two enjoyed discussing. In fact, when the two corresponded after meeting for the first time in 1957 when Beth interviewed Carlos for a Reader’s Digest article, world events were a favorite subject. “We would write back and forth about what was happening in the world. My work in America was relatively local and parochial. He was my source of world information. He translated what was happening. I enjoyed reading his views and stories. One can say that he gave me the world,” says Beth, calling their first encounter “a meeting of the minds.”
Beth did enjoy a front-seat view and, sometimes, even a behind-the-scenes look, of world history as it unfolded when she married Carlos P. Romulo. She lets readers in on this unique POV in her memoir The Writer, the Lover, and the Diplomat. The book tells the story of her life with Romulo, one of Philippine history’s celebrated figures, culled from stacks and stacks of autobiographical notes Beth had written during those years that she was at his side while he navigated the world of politics, diplomatic circles, and high society. “I love to write little notes about what’s happening in my life. Nearly every day, I would write something. Sometimes, it’s just a couple of lines; other times, whole paragraphs. Two years ago, I found a pile of them, 10 years worth of memories, read through them, and I thought, there should be a book in there, somewhere. I just lacked the energy to sort them out and put them together. Fortunately, David Hyatt, a journalist who came to me asking for material on Carlos for a project, offered to help me. And here’s what we came up with,” says Beth.
The Writer, the Lover, and the Diplomat takes readers through a journey, from the time Beth and “The General,” as she would fondly call him, first met and struck a friendship, to 15 years later when they fell in love, almost causing an international scandal in the process, to Carlos’s death in 1985, and everywhere in between. According to Beth, she is pretty satisfied with how the book turned out. It may not have included all of her notes but it told the story she wanted to tell. And with this being her last book (she believes), that’s more than enough to be thankful for.
My work in America was relatively local and parochial. He was my source of world information. One can say that he gave me the world— Beth Day Romulo