Danny Javier of the Apo Hiking Society trio may be best remembered for the well-loved songs that he wrote, popularized and sang by a generation of not only artists but Filipinos as a whole.

However, in case Gen Z folks are not aware about it, Javier was also one of the staunch artists who fought the 20-year regime of former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and helped topple the administration in 1986.

• APO takes a bow

Javier, who passed on Oct. 31 after a lingering illness, spent significant years not only making landmarks in the local music scene, but also strongly on his political activism. He was outspoken whenever there were controversial issues in the government.

With his fellow Apo Hiking Society members Jim Paredes and Boboy Garrovillo, Javier was known to have made not just subtle innuendoes in his spiels before the trio rendered a song onstage. He strongly opposed the dictatorship, detested the Marcos rule, and became consistently vocal about it.

Through the years, Javier never stopped fighting for what he loved and what he believed in. Although he championed Original Pilipino Music (OPM) in the last four decades – he even coined the name OPM – his political views and color likewise came to fore, whenever and wherever possible.

One time, the Apo Hiking Society was staging a live concert in a university when the lights suddenly went out. The trio fearlessly concluded it was Marcos cutting power deliberately while they performed.

Interspersed with the Apo’s brilliant and catchy songs onstage, some clearly took aim at the political climate, were their unmistakable political commentary, comedy and humor.

• Danny Javier, one-third of APO Hiking Society, passes away at 75

In Javier’s T-shirt business, the popular Pidro: Saplot ng Bayan that sold like hotcakes in the 90s, the then entrepreneur managed to inject political humor in the lines and creative art work.

Pidro is based on the character Javier created about a man from the rural areas seeking good fortune in Manila. The shirts even released its Philippine centennial edition with vintage designs.

In the Apo’s anti-US pop hit “American Junk” released in 1987, Pidro also figured in Javier’s spoken lyrics. While the song resounded with the public, Javier also became the characterization of Pidro, a typical probinsiyano.

His Pidro persona was apparently embraced by a lot of Filipino men, even after the shirts were no longer sold in malls. With “American Junk,” Pidro entered the consciousness of the Filipino public – up to this day.

• Tributes pour in for Danny Javier from showbiz colleagues

After Javier openly supported the candidacy of former President Rodrigo Duterte in 2016, he endorsed former Vice President Leni Robredo for the 2022 elections. His fellow Apo members were on his side and wore the same color.

Early this year, Paredes posted on his social media account an old photo of the Apo bowing before an audience with the hashtag, #tatlonAposilaforLeni. They never saw each other in the campaign, but they were one in spirit for Robredo.

Indeed, as his daughter, Justine, wrote, Javier "in life, as in his death... never stopped fighting for what he loved, what he believed in and what he was passionate about."

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