DR. ALEJANDRO ALBERT
1869-1936
(A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETHCH)
Dr. alejandro Albert, the first Filipino Undersecretary of Public Instruction, was born on September 1, 1896. His parents, Mariano Albert and Ruperta Moralgo, were originally poor, but being thrifty and industrious, they became rich later on. Although DR. Albert’s mother was only a cigar maker, he was proud of her.
Young Albert began his studies at the age of six under a private tutor, when he was eight years old, he entered the Ateneo De Manila where he finished his Bachelor of Arts in 1884. In 1890, he obtained his Licentiate in Pharmacy fro the University of Sto. Tomas.
Dr. Albert First served the government as a colonel in the Philippine army, Medical Corps. In 1903, he founded the Manila College of Pharmacy located at the corner of Zurbaran and Oroqueta. He was named Assistant Director of Education on February 10, 1917 and on November 17 of that same year he was appointed Undersecretary of Instruction, Assistant Director of Census 1918 and Acting President of University of the Philippines in 1921.
When Dr. Albert was Assistant Director of Education, he introduced the teaching of nationalism in our schools through the singing of the Filipino songs. He was also responsible for the inclusion of Filipino recipe in the Home Economics Curriculum.
In May, 1890 Dr. Albert married Dona Ignacia Bustamante by whom he had three sons, Vicente, Mariano, and Francisco. Six years later, after the death of his first wife, he married Bonita Salamanca. No children were born on this wedlock.
Dr. Albert loved his three sons and grand children so much that he required them to live with him in his big house in Zurbaran. When his first wife was still living, he often entertained the family with his cello, while his son Francisco played the violin and his wife the piano. He was really a great lover of music.
Dr. Albert was a distinguished government official who rendered excellent service to his country. Due to for health, however, he resigned as undersecretary of Public Instruction on May 29, 1936. Shortly after, he died in Manila on December 20 1936, a man whose one noble aim in Life was to help others.
