his lack of a college degree. He then enrolled at the National Teachers College (NTC) and earned a bachelor’s degree in Education. Even during this time, Santos still wrote poems, such as ‘Gabi’, ‘Ang Ulap’, ‘Ang Guryon’, ‘Taga-Ilog’, and ‘Sa Tabi ng Dagat’ which were published in ‘Ang Mithi’ and later in Liwayway. Linguist Before the Second World War, Jaime C. de Veyra of Institute of National Language commissioned Santos to submit a translation of the Philippine National Hymn written by Jose Palma, which was then still sung in English as ‘Land of the Morning’. In 1940, Tagalog was approved as the basis of for the National Language of the Philippines. Santos then became the first Tagalog Teacher at NTC. He also taught Tagalog at Baguio Vocation Normal School. He was appointed supervisor of National Language of the Department of Education (Philippines) until 1942, when World War II broke out in the Philippines. During the Japanese Occupation, Santos was offered membership to the Institute of National language which was headed by Lope K. Santos (the two are unrelated). Not wishing to serve the Japanese invaders, Santos rejected the offer. There were attempts by the Japanese police to arrest Santos, but he was always successful to elude them. His linguistic skills helped him in his works of translation. In 1948, the Tagalog version of the Himno Nacional Filipina translated by him, Julian Cruz Balmaceda and Francisco Caballo was adopted as the official version of the Philippine National Anthem until 1956. In 1953, he published his translation of Rubaiyat of Omar Khayam. Awards On July 2, 1954, President Ramon Magsaysay gave him the Award of Merit to Santos for his ‘contribution towards the advancement of Filipino culture in the field of National Language Literature’. In 1956, the Province of Rizal under Governor Isidro Rodgriguez awarded Santos another award of merit, mainly for his translation of Rubaiyat. The Panitik ng Kababaihan awarded him the medal of distinction in literature, for being one of the main poets of race. In 1963, the Institute of National Language recognized his achievements. Personal life He was married to Asuncion Paez from Malabon, who bore him eight children, one of which is Ildefonso P. Santos, Jr., the National Artist for Architecture and Visual Arts in 2006. His family lived in a house at Hulong Duhat, Malabon. A strong disciplinarian, Santos instilled in his children the love of education.