 In 1975, he was awarded the , the Philippines' highest literary honor bestowed on the best works in Spanish.Due to his expertise in the Spanish language as well as his knowledge of various Philippine languages, including Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Tagalog/Filipino, and Chavacano, he was appointed secretary of the Commission on the Filipino Language Committee of the Philippine Constitutional Convention (1971–73).As a Spanish professor at Adamson University he authored textbooks on Spanish grammar, speech and composition while working for San Miguel Corporation, a food conglomerate.