Lightning Rally for Education! — Photo taken by Prof. Sarah Raymundo

October 6, 2010

First, we had the July student walkout. Then the bigger one just this September. Now we have back to back protest actions of high school and college student activists from the ranks of the League of Filipino Students, Anakbayan, Student Christian Movement, Karatula and the National Union of Students in the Philippines taking the headline news with their stepped-up protest actions in defense of the dwindling state subsidy for education. The nation became witness once again to student militancy unleashing its justified rebellion in the halls of congress with a lightning rally.

I remember the last time when I participated in a lightning rally in Congress: we were more numerous as compared to the numbers here, but because the security got whiff of what was going to happen, our propaganda materials were prematurely discovered and confiscated. The issue back then, correct me if I am mistaken, was the UP Charter.

So when the opportune time came, right after the privilege speech of Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casino (Kabataan Partylist still didn’t have a congressional seat back then), we clapped loud in a standing ovation, and raised our fists over a prolonged period. Apparently, such a disruption was threat enough to provoke pro-UP charter proponents in congress to threaten us with security detainment.

Despite the act being relatively conservative as compared to the unfurling of a banner and chanting, you could still cut the tension in the air with a knife. Security personnel began surrounding us, probably not sure what to do without any propaganda material left to confiscate and with our progressive lawmakers negotiating our safety as their constituents. We weren’t sure what to do at that point either, but the standing command was simple: stand your ground the way you would stand firm for your right to education.

Suffice to say, the state trembled before us in this show of readiness to risk all for a just cause. And we can learn much from how tactical reforms were made possible by the struggle of the militant student movement.

We youth scientists and technologists know the implications of the state’s abandonment of education. The worsening performances in regional S&T education trends, lesser R&D and facility support, and the eventual “brain drain” of good teachers and professors are clear manifestations of these darker times. Education was, is and will always be a democratic right that everyone is entitled to, but in an elite-dominated, and foreign-controlled society it will never be handed to us on a silver platter.

We must therefore not confine ourselves to the utopia of our laboratories or the comfort in front of our computers — let us struggle for the welfare of not only the S&T sector, but of the Filipino people in general. Always remember what revolutionary physicist and agriculturist Joan Hinton said: “Science, technology, production — what are they without people?”

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First Posted: April 27, 2010,

http://mongpalatino.com/2010/04/ugly-leftist/

‘Ugly’ refers to the politics of Risa H. and her media officers who issued apress statement accusing Satur Ocampo, Liza Maza, and the Makabayan political coalition of having ‘sold-out’ their principles by aligning with Manny Villar in the 2010 elections. Risa also described Makabayan leaders and organizations as members of ‘nondemocratic left’ who are condoning the alleged criminal activities of the New People’s Army.

A few days before Risa published this statement, she called for a moratoriumon election mudslinging. It is unfunny that she ignored her own plea by vilifying her colleagues in Congress and fellow senatoriables Ocampo and Maza.

Did Ocampo and Maza betray their principles when they joined the senatorial ticket of Villar as adopted candidates? The emphatic answer is no. Maza and Ocampo remain committed activists and street parliamentarians who vow to advance their advocacies inside and outside Congress. Their inclusion in the Nacionalista slate is indicative of 1) Villar’s recognition of the militant left’s organized strength and his openness to adopt progressive politics if he becomes president; and 2) the sincerity of Ocampo, Maza, and the Makabayan political bloc to pursue the people’s agenda through parliamentary work.

The left has a sterling record in remaining steadfast as vanguard of the poor and oppressed while keeping a tactical alliance with bourgeois parties and politicians. The left supported Gloria Arroyo during Edsa Dos but it became critical of the new administration when Arroyo mutated into a monster. Ocampo and the late great Crispin Beltran were jailed because of their position that Arroyo must be removed from power.

The left did not financially benefit from its brief alliance with Arroyo. It was the NGO friends of Risa who received a billion peso racket from Arroyo through the so-called peace bonds. When Beltran died a poor man in 2008 despite his three-term stint as member of Congress, it gave a valuable lesson for progressives of all stripes on how to live modestly and avoid the corrupting lifestyle of many politicians.

Its exemplary attitude towards Arroyo during and immediately after Edsa Dos and its brave defiance against the Arroyo dictatorship in the past decade are the left’s best assurance that it will not “sell-out” once Villar becomes the country’s next president. Ocampo and Maza can boast of their untarnished reputation as public servants for nine years as proof that they will not abuse their links with Villar for selfish reasons. The Makabayan Coalition can easily make Villar accountable by invoking the people’s agenda document which Villar signed in a public event last December.

But for Risa and other “Liberal Talibans”, the decision of the left to support Villar is unacceptable because of their naïve belief that Noynoy is the only candidate blessed with a pure heart and good intentions. The other lie (naïve and hilarious at the same time) being peddled by the Liberal Party is that Noynoy is unlike Villar who is spending billions of pesos to win in the elections. Ano sa tingin nila ang ipinambabayad ni Noynoy at Mar sa TV at radio networks, campaigners, at local candidates ng partido sa buong bansa – autograph ni Kris at Korina?

Actually it is Risa’s support for Noynoy which smacks of opportunism. Risa initially endorsed Mar for president but when Noynoy announced his candidacy, she immediately raised the hands of Noynoy. She and her group did this even if Noynoy has not yet publicly stated his platform. Remember the assertion of Noynoy supporters who arrogantly reminded the public that based on tradition (as if the only correct behavior is to follow tradition), the period of finalizing and publishing a platform is only after parties and candidates have filed their candidacy papers? Despite his failure to advance or articulate a meaningful social policy issue, the very popular Noynoy was instantly endorsed by Risa.

Villar had to rescind the NP-KBL alliance and boldly included two militant leftists in his senate slate before he got the approval of Makabayan. Villar was endorsed by the left despite his lower public ratings because he proved to be a more sincere candidate with better track record and competence. It would have been easier for the left if it endorsed Noynoy last November or December who at that time was rating 50-60 percentage points in surveys. But our endorsement is not just based on popularity alone.

Did Risa question the inclusion of VATmen in Noynoy’s campaign team? Did Risa clarify the role of Kamag-Anak Inc. in Noynoy’s candidacy? Did she consider the plight of Hacienda Luisita workers and those who were killed in 2004 when she joined Noynoy?

Landlords like Noynoy are thankful for the amended land reform law (CARPER) which Risa supported in Congress. This law was initially being opposed by landlords in Congress but after successfully inserting their amendments last June, even the Arroyo family and other sugar barons voted in favor of this measure. Risa’s sponsorship of the pro-landlord CARPER complements Noynoy’s adamant refusal to treat the Hacienda Luisita matter as a social justice issue. To use Risa’s own words, it surprises me how easily she has sold out.

In fairness to Risa, she is a consistent critic of the militant left. This is the reason why military officials are supporting her. An anti-communist, military-backed partylist solon in Congress (sorry I can’t mention his name, baka sumikat) always enjoins the group of Risa in advocating the elimination of leftist groups from the political mainstream. Why? Because the military and Risa are mouthing the same demands against members of the legal left – that the latter should also condemn the alleged atrocities committed by the NPA; that by refusing to condemn revolutionary taxation, Ocampo, Maza and other activists are affirming their links with the NPA. Through the press statement mentioned above, Risa legitimized the “murderous lines” echoed by Jovito Palparan.

Risa, who claims to be a leftist, should know better that the group she is attacking is not a terrorist organization. The Communist Party is a revolutionary group which espouses the establishment of a new political order through revolutionary means. If she thinks that the Communist Party is a mere terrorist cell which exists to extort money from businessmen and politicians, then why did she agree to become a member of the GRP-NDF peace panel representing the Arroyo government in 2001?

As a student of politics and history, I am aware that most revolutionary groups employ various means, including use of arms, to overthrow the established order. Let us agree that there are now peaceful means to advocate change. But we can’t blame other segments of the population if they continue to think that the reign of injustice and numbing poverty in the country can only end through revolutionary violence. Even the UN recognizes the right of the people to take up arms if they think the elected government has made it impossible for the people to demand change through peaceful means.

By parroting the Palparan doctrine that NPA members are mere murderers and extortionists, isn’t Risa providing ideological justification for the continued postponement of the stalled peace talks? Isn’t this moral-booster line giving the military another reason to step up the all-out war tactic in the countryside instead of addressing the root causes of armed struggle? As leftists, isn’t it more correct and progressive to advocate peace talks and tackle the reasons why many Filipinos continue to take up arms instead of prodding activists to denounce the CPP-NPA? That the insurgency has lasted for more than four decades (the longest insurgency in Southeast Asia) means it is more than just a band of gun toting crazies who love to sread mayhem in the country.

Risa’s insinuations against Maza, Ocampo, and Makabayan members are dangerous because the military can use them to butrress its red-baiting campaign against activists in the legal arena. At least the NPA can defend themselves during military operations but unarmed activists are helpless against illegal combat and psy-war operations. Politicians like Risa, Palparan, and Arroyo who continue to link the legal left with the underground left is the reason why activists continue to be harassed, abducted, tortured, and killed in this part of the world.

Risa’s press statement is not just a demolition job aimed at Ocampo, Maza and Villar. It is part of a systematic campaign to defeat and isolate the left. From day one of campaigning, the military has been very aggressive in its illegal campaign to sabotage the candidacies of Ocampo, Maza, and Makabayan partylist groups. It sends poison letters and death threats to Makabayan candidates, leaders, supporters, and now politicians who endorse the left. Military officers conduct illegal assemblies in communities and schools to warn residents and students against voting Satur, Maza, and Makabayan candidates. Soldiers and their supporters are actively defacing the campaign posters of the left. Palparan is given substantial media time to spread lies in public. The Liberal Party spokesman questions the inclusion of communists in the Villar senate lineup. It is unfortunate that the communist bogey is being used againto get the support of the US imperialist masters.

The post-election scenario is very scary for activists and leftists.

A few years ago, Akbayan stalwarts denounced their inclusion in the so-called NPA hitlist. It turned out that the hitlist was fictitious and the Akbayan leaders who feared for their lives are still very much alive today. They raised a lot of noise in global NGO summits presenting themselves as victims of a totalitarian ideology. What was tragicomic from that affair was that the groups and activists whom Akbayan accused of having ideological and organizational links with NPA were the ones who got abducted and killed by elements close to the military.

Akbayan didn’t kill my comrades and I’m sure it has many members who sympathize with our cause but by spewing out the same malicious accusations hurled by the military against militant activists, (again to use the words of Risa) it “indirectly helps human rights violators like Palparan to commit further abuses.”

Will there be another crackdown against the ‘nondemocratic left’? The signs are evident that the anti-communist bloc will pressure the next president to intensify the war against “communist terrorists” and their “legal fronts.” Wittingly or unwittingly, Risa and her party are being used to whip up insane anti-red hysteria in the country.

Is Risa a leftist? Palparan claims he is a human rights defender; he is even a member of the House Committee on Human Rights. Is Risa a democratic leftist? Palparan is a protector of democracy. What binds Palparan, the democracy-loving general and Risa, the democratic leftist is their shared hatred against the politics of Maza, Ocampo, and Makabayan.

But is she a leftist? Her statements on land reform, living wage, debt moratorium, human rights have been described in the media as progressive. Often, she is mistaken to be a member of Anakbayan or Gabriela. Maybe her statement against the ‘nondemocratic left’ is an attempt to publicly dissociate herself from the ranks of the militant left. Fine. I’ll return the favor by paraphrasing Fredric Jameson: “We have much in common with Risa and her party, in fact virtually everything – save the essentials.”

Long live the revolutionary tradition of the left!

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March 26, 2010
by Kenneth Guda

Marami raw ang na-shock sa “barbarikong” mga aksiyong protesta sa PUP at UP nitong nakaraang linggo. Napag-usapan na ang mga batayan ng pagpoprotesta — 200% pagtaas ng matrikula sa PUP, at tumitinding pagkokomersiyalisa, panunupil at di-demokratikong mga pamamalakad sa UP — pero para sa ilan, tila hindi ito sapat para bigyang katwiran ang radikal na katangian ng mga protesta.

Siyempre, ang mismong mga tumutuligsa sa mga protestang ito ang siyang mga taong naging apatetiko sa mga isyung inihahayag ng radikal na mga estudyante bago ang nakaraang linggo. Hindi man ako privy sa mga kaganapan sa PUP at UP nitong nakaraang mga buwan, tiyak na katakut-takot na mga konsultasyon, usapan, “mapayapang” protesta ang naganap. At tulad ng mayabang, kampante, at basagulerong tambay na neigborhood bully sa kalsada, dinedma lamang ng mga kinauukulang administrador ang mga ito. Kaya ano ngayon ang opsiyon sa mga estudyante? Paano sila mapakikinggan?

Sa pamamagitan ng mas radikal na mga protesta. Sa maraming pagkakataon, tila ito lang ang lengguwahe na pinakikinggan ng mga awtoridad. Kung hindi napupuwersang makinig dahil nakuha ang atensiyon ng madla, hindi mapapakinggan ang mga estudyante. Nangyari na ito sa Pilipinas, noong unang siklab ng kilusang protesta ng mga estudyante noong dekada ’60 hanggang 1971. Nangyayari ito ngayon. Sa ibang mga bansa, sa nakaraang limang taon, paulit-ulit na nangyayari ito. Sa huli, tanging sa radikal na pagpapakita ng lakas at pagkilos ng mga estudyante lamang nagtagumpay sila.

Sa maramign pagkakataon, hindi lang upuan ang sinunog at pintura ang isinaboy ng mga estudyante.

Nepal

Paggamit ng mga estudyante sa Nepal ng radikal na mga porma ng protesta para dinggin ng pamahalaan ang kanilang demokratikong mga hiling.

News report: Students in Nepal cut electricity to protest power outages (2008)

France

Protesta ng mga estudyante sa France noong 2006.

News report: French Student Protests Turn Violent (2006)

Greece

Kumprontasyon ng mga pulis at estudyante sa Athens, Greece noong 2006.

News reports: Greek student protest turns violent (2006)
Greek Youths Break Into State TV Center, Broadcast Protest Message (2008)

US

Protesta ng mga estudyante sa UC Berkeley nitong Pebrero.

News report: UC Berkeley fee protest turns rowdy (2010)

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Brain food: does activism make you happy?

Who’d have thought it? New research shows there is a link between being politically active and wellbeing

by Aditya Chakrabortty

The Guardian (UK) – March 2, 2010

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/mar/02/brain-food-activism-makes-you-happy

Marching in the drizzle against wars in far-off countries, writing letters protesting the government’s latest
reactionary policy, sitting through interminable meetings that keep sprouting Any Other Business. It may be noble, but political activism is hardly a barrel of laughs. And yet it makes you happier.

So find two university psychologists in new research that looks for the first time at the link between political
activity and wellbeing. Malte Klar and Tim Kasser started by interviewing two sets of around 350 college students, both about their degree of political engagement and their levels of happiness and optimism. Both times, they found that those most inclined to go on a demo were also the cheeriest.

So there’s a link – but can politics actually make a person happier? In the third study, the academics took a bunch of students and divided them up into groups. The first were encouraged to write to the management of the college cafeteria asking for tastier food. The next lot wrote asking the cafe to source local or Fairtrade products. They were then tested on their wellbeing, and the group who had involved themselves in the political debate were far and away the strongest on the “vitality” scale: they felt more alive and enriched than those who merely complained about the menu.

There are many fascinating aspects to this. First, the activist-students didn’t necessarily care about food ethics, but just taking action made them feel better. Second, sending a memo is hardly the most engaging political action – and yet it had a big impact on those taking it. Third, the study flies in the face of the popular wisdom that happiness resides in creature comforts and relative affluence. Perhaps activism gives people a sense of purpose, or of agency or just a chance to hang out with other people. Most likely it
does all of the above.

“I will fight for what I believe in until I drop dead,” Barbara Castle told this paper in 1998. “And that’s what
keeps you alive.” Maybe the Red Queen was on to something.

[Aditya Chakrabortty is economics lead writer for the Guardian.]

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One would visualize a butcher as a person covered with blood after meticulously chopping and carving an animal in a slaughterhouse. For a man to be labeled a butcher, that person must have done something really brutal. “Berdugo” in the native language, “butcher” is by and large used to tag someone who has the reputation to have a hand in a series of massacres and other fascist acts.

A retired General and now a party-list Representative, Jovito Palparan is notorious as the epitome of fascism in the country. Execrated by the people, Palparan is now again on the loose to sow fear, deception and murders in Davao.

The Making of a Murderous Psychopath

Born in Cagayan de Oro City, Palparan studied in the University of the East and expeditiously rose to the ranks of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. He was called to active duty in the AFP in 1973 and served as a lieutenant in Basilan for eight years. Palparan was reportedly wounded during an encounter with armed guerillas belonging to the Moro National Liberation Front.

After his stint in Basilan, he was promoted to become the commander of the 24th Infantry Battallion bringing with him his McCarthyist antics of terrorism spilling blood all over the National Capital Region as early as 1987. In his delusion to crush the legal progressive and underground movement, Palparan’s barbaric exploits caused the death of countless lives.

Palparan then emerged in the center stage as one of the prized weapons of mass deception and destruction of the government against the people’s movement for national liberation and democracy. His expertise includes summary executions, abductions, tortures, harassments, indiscriminate bombing and strafing, enforced disappearances and brainwashing through black propaganda.

Reports recorded by human rights group Karapatan identified 39 cases of extra-judicial killings, 11 failed killings and 5 enforced disappearances in his stint in the Southern Tagalog Region. Palparan was transferred as commander of the 8th Infantry Division in Samar and there he raised the record of 25 extra-judicial killings, 9 failed killings, and 12 enforced disappearances. Some 7,250 individuals, 5,223 families at 141 communities fell victim to intensified militarization. And as the commanding general of the 7th Infantry Division assigned in Central Luzon, he collected 77 bodybags of victims of extra-judicial killings, 15 attempted murders and 42 enforced disappearances.

One of the highlighted cases of Palparan’s malfeasance is the abduction of University of the Philippines student leaders Karen Empeño and Sheryl Cadapan and peasant Manuel Merino in Bulacan. The abduction created uproar from the UP community, human rights organizations, civil society and even from groups abroad. The statement of the Manolo brothers who were also abducted by the military and managed to escape reinforced the evidences. According to sworn statement of Raymond Manolo, they were detained with Karen, Sheryl and Manuel in a military camp in Bulacan. Raymond was able to have a discussion with them and witnessed how Sheryl attempted to escape. The military agents went berserk when they found out about Sheryl’s plan.

“They delivered heavy punches to the whole of Sheryl and Karenís bodies, their mouths bled, they were hanged upside down with only one foot tied while naked. Then the military poured water in their nostrils,” Manolo affirmed in his sworn statement.

The numbers are enough to attest that Palparan is indeed a murderous psychopath. His atrocities caused an international alarm stirring the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the United Nations to conduct an investigation. The Phillip Alston Report and HRW concluded that Jovito Palparan is liable for the countless cases of human rights violations in the Philippines.

The Melo Commission created in 2006 also concluded that

“there is certainly evidence pointing the finger of suspicion at some elements and personalities in the armed forces, in particular General Palparan, as responsible for an undetermined number of killings, by allowing, tolerating, and even encouraging the killings.”

Palparan takes pride over his so-called exploits:

“The killings are being attributed to me. But I did not kill them. I just inspire the triggermen.”

By praising Palparan, Arroyo is sending an unambiguous message. That her administration rewards, not penalizes, those who participate and promote the murders of those regarded as oppositions, leftists and communists.

Tito Palpy

Student activists, as a joke, refer to Palparan as Tito Palpy and usually use it to scare some kasamas when they go home late,

“Hala ka, naa baya si Tito Palpy diha sa gawas sa gate. Ginahulat ka.”

Just a few months away from the first automated election in our country, the Davao region is under threat by the presence of the “Butcher” and his brainwashing buddy Pastor “Jun” Alcover. Their mission- to demonize the MAKABAYAN senatoriables Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza and party-lists Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Gabriela, Kabataan, ACT and Katribu and disenfranchise the legitimate struggle of the Filipino people.

The pronouncement of Palparan and Prospero Nograles to team-up against the Left and Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is preposterous. Palparan said in a press conference in Davao City that Mayor Duterte has “ties” with the communists. “Intelligence officers of the military told me to be wary of Mayor Duterte”, Palparan told the local media. The political interest of Nograles reinforced by Palparan’s militarist and terrorist approach will only spell out chaos in Davao City.

The deployment and installation of the 69th Infantry Battalion of the AFP last August 27, 2009 in Davao is clearly part of the maneuvering of the government to further terrorize Mindanao. Referred to by some as the “Palparan Battalion”, the 69th IB originally came from Central Luzon under the 7th ID, the division-cum-killing machine led by Palparan before his so-called retirement in September 2006. The “Palparan Battalion” is a band of gun-for-hires involved in the brutal massacre in Hacienda Luisita and the abduction of Jonas Burgos.

In the last futile attempts of the US-backed Arroyo administration to crush the people’s liberation movement, it is crystal clear that their turgid Oplan Bantay Laya 2 (OBL 2) is bound to fail. Suffering tremendous blows from the people movement and offensives launched by the New People’s Army particularly in Southern Mindanao, the government is frantic in sending the best of the beasts to save their sinking ship.

Dead Man Walking

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”, a line borrowed from the book A Tale of Two Cities perfectly describes the political scenario in the Philippines.

This is the worst of times because the people are under attack. The election is only a few months away and Arroyo and her deadly minions, Palparan and Nograles, are on a killing spree. Democracy, justice and peace are fiction. If student leaders Karen and Sheryl were easily dragged, tortured and raped by state agents, then no place is safe for the youth anymore.

This is the best of times because the condition is very ripe for a huge leap in the progress of the people’s struggle. This times calls for the people to unite and resist against the evils that desire to destroy our dream for a better future. We want change. The times calls for the youth to prove that we want change, genuine change, and that we really are, as Rizal declared, as the hope of the nation.

The day of reckoning is about to come. Palparan is a dead man walking.No title, not General, Congressman, not even Senator, will make Jovito Palparan an honorable man.

Soon, Palparan’s atrocities will catch up with him and the Butcher will suffer the bitter end he deserves. Like stories written in books, some characters will live happily ever after and some will face the consequence of their evil deeds. The “Berdugo” will surely face the wrath of the people and will forever be in the dark pages of our history. And the people, through the advancement of the national democratic struggle, will harvest the hard-won fruits of their labor- a society without injustice and exploitation.

Originally posted at: Bulalatlat

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“Your Honor, years ago I recognized my kinship with all living beings, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on earth. I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.”
-Eugene Victor Debs

Natural lang sigurong kabahan kapag first time na pumunta sa isang kulungan. Mga imaheng katulad ng sa pelikulang “Anak ni Baby Ama” ang pumapasok sa isip ko habang naglalakad kami papuntang City Jail. Lahat kami, unang beses na papasok sa loob.

Ang cellphone, mp3 player at iba pang elektronikong gamit ay kailangang iwan sa labas. Ang polisiyang ito ay ginamit ng ilang tindahan sa paligid para magpabayad ng P10 para iwanan ang cellphone. Bawal magsuot ng yellow at orange. Baka hindi na palabasin. Kailangan magpakita ng ID. Bubutbutin ang bawat bulsa ng bag. Hindi ito tulad ng “security inspection” sa MRT.

“Sino bibisitahin ninyo?” tanong ng isang preso.

“Kay Ka Randy Echannis po.” sagot namin.

Pag-unawa ang nakita namin sa preso. “Yung NPA?”

“Hindi po. Napagbibintangan lang.”

Siya na rin ang naghatid sa amin. Nanghingi ng barya bilang kapalit. Kilala na si Randy Echannis sa kulungan kahit tatlong buwan pa lamang siya matapos ilipat sa City Jail ng Lungsod ng Manila pagkatapos ng anim na buwang pagkakaditena sa kulungan ng Leyte kung saan siya inaresto.

Sa isang kumperensya ng Kilusang Magbubukid ng PIlipinas kung saan siya ay isang opisyal inaresto si Ka Randy. Walang warrant of arrest na ipinakita. Kakaiba irin ang naging pag-aresto sa kanya. Mga lalaking nakasibilyan at naka-ski mask ang bumulabog sa kumperensya ng KMP para siya dakipin.

Agad na nakapagmobilisa ang mga kasapi ng Bagong Alyansang Makabayan sa Leyte. Hindi man nagpakilala ang mga humili, tiyak ang marami na elemento ito ng pulisya. Hindi naman sila nagkamali at inilutang si Ka Randy.

Arestado raw siya para sa mga mass graves na nakita sa Leyte. Mga biktima raw ng purging ng NPA ang may-ari ng mga nahukay na buto. Subalit, natawa na lamang si Ka Randy nang ikuwento niya sa amin na tulad nina Satur Ocampo at Jose Maria Sison na akusado rin, siya ay nakakulong noong panahong naganap ang purgingI na ibinibintang sa kanya ng militar.

Kinuwento niya sa amin ang isang araw para sa isang bilanggo. Champorado o kaya nama’y Lugaw ang agahan na puro sabaw. Tinola sa hapunan na puro sabaw. “Nireretoke” na lamang daw ng mga bilanggo ang ulam. Itinatapon ang sabaw at muling iniluluto upang makain.

“Baka at baboy ang pagkain dito. Baka ‘di mo makain dahil pagkaing baboy.”

Buti na lamang, aniya, madalas ang bisita sa kanya ng mga kasamahan mula sa KMP at First Quarter Storm Movement na nagdadala ng pagkain.

Dinala din niya kami sa kanyang kubol. Isang kwarto sa loob ng dormitoryo na kanyang tinutulugan. Bukod sa matres, laman ng kanyang kubol ang ilang libro, dyaryo, at larawan ng kanyang mga anak at pamilya.

Nakilala rin namin dito si Loi, isang kasapi ng Migrante na napaghinalaang nagnakaw ng mga rehas mula sa isang sementeryo sa Maynila. Nakakagulat na para sa isang napakaliit na kaso, lagpas tatlong taon na siya sa kulungan. Wala pa ring disisyon ang korte sa kaso niya.

Kung sakaling lumabas ang desisyon, tiyak, lagpas na sa magiging hatol ang pananatili niya sa kulungan. Buto na lamang daw at nakilala niya si Ka Randy na tumulong sa kanya para maghanap ng abugado.

Sa pakikipag-usap ko kay Loi at Ka Randy, naalala ko na ang kulungan nga naman pala ay bahagi ng pamamaraan ng estado upang mapanatili ang kapangyarihan sa naghaharing uri.

Kalakhan nga naman ng bilanggo ay nagmula sa masang anakpawis. Urban Poor na naitutulak ng umiiral na sistema upang gumawa ng krimen dahil sa kawalan ng trabaho. Ang ilan, anila, mas gusto pang nakakulong. Wala rin naman daw sialng buhay pag nasa labas. Wala rin namang silang makikitang trabaho. Sa kulungan, may pagkain at matutulugan.

Siyempre, ani Ka Randy, marami ring mga lumpen o yaong ispesyal na uri na nabubuhay sa pamamagitan ng anti-sosyal na gawain. Pero ipinaalala niya na madalas, may pang-ekoniya pa rin itong batayan.

Nalaman din namin sa kanila na walang pamamaraan ang kulungan para sa tuluyang rehabilitasyon ng mga bilanggo. Walang livelihood training o anuman na ginagawa ang kulungan para sa mga preso. Kung mayroon sana, may magiging trabaho na sila paglabas, kaso, wala kaya ilang araw pagkalaya, asa presinto na uli.

Napatunayan rin ng aming bisita sa kulungan na hindi totoo ang imahe ng hustisya na mayroong piring na sumisimbolo sa pagkakapantay-pantay ng lahat sa mata ng batas. Kinuwento nila ang anak ng isang opisyal na nahulihan ng ilang kilo ng droga. Ilang araw lamang, nakalaya na. Ni hindi daw siya nakulong tulad ng ibang mga preso. Sa opisina lamang daw siya nanatili.

“Pero ‘yung iba, tulad nitio ni Loi. Nakakulong na ng matagal kahit di pa napapatunayang nagkasala. Hindi nakakagulat na may mga nagbibigti dito,” kuwento ni Ka Randy.

Ang kadalasang ginagawa na lamang niya ay magsulat at magbasa habang hinihintay ang disisyon ng korte. Tapos na kasi ang mga pagdinig sa kanyang kaso.

“Paborable man o hindi, basta may desisyon,” ani Ka Randy.

Maya-maya, may dumating na mga intsik na umupo sa mesang katabi ng sa amin.

Nagtaas kamao si Ka Randy at may sinabi sa intsik.

Ngumiti at nagtaas rin ng kamao ang mga intsik na may kasong may kinalaman sa iligal na droga.

“Yun lang kasi ang alam kong sabihin na intsik,” ani Ka Randy. Nagsalita na rin siya agad bago pa kami makapagtanong. “Long live Chairman Mao.”

Ani Ka Randy, ang gusto ng estado sa pagkakakulong sa kanya ay niyutralisahin siya at ang mga tulad niyang lider sa pagkilos at patayin ang kanyang moral.

Subalit, sa ilang oras ng aming pagbisita, halatang binibigo ni Ka Randy ang estado.

“Lumalapit sa akin ang mga bilanggo at nakikipagtalakayan sa akin ng mga usaping pampulitika. Alam naman nila ang mga nangyayari sa labas dahil halos lahat sila, nanonood ng balita. Minsan nga may nagmumura kapag nakikita si Gloria,” kuwento ni ka Randy.

Aniya, kailangan lang, itaas ang linya ng mga pagsusuri ng mga bilanggo na kanya namang ginagawa sa pakikipagtalakayan sa kanila.

Kung gayon, bagamat limitado, nakakapag-organisa pa rin si Ka Randy. Makikita rin sa kanyang mga mata na nananatili sa kanya ang determinasyong ipagpatuloy ang pakikibakang siya ay bahagi.

Matapos naman niyang kumustahin ang LFS at ang kilusang kabataan, kami ay nagpaalam na. Nag-iwan kami ng pangako na kami ay babalik upang siya ay muling kumustahi habang bitbit naman sa paglabas ang kanyang mga aral na ibinahagi sa amin at ang mas matinding determinasyon na ipanawagan ang pagpapalaya niya at ng lahat ng detenidong politikal at isulong ang pakikibaka hanggang sa ikatatagumpay nito.

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