Half of writing history is destroying the truth
Joss Whedon, creator of such bubble-gum primetime tv horror series such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Butterfly and Angel recently made a sci-fi movie titled "Serenity." The blurbs and the promo stills made it seem like the film would be something like Buffy crossed with Star Trek. I didn’t get to see it in the theaters, but the other day I did on DVD.
The best thing that could be said about it is this: if George Lucas ever got it into his head to remake the original Star Wars trilogy, Serenity’s male lead Nathan Fillion should be in the shortlist for the actors who could play Han Solo.
The only thing I learned (yes, yes - I always try to learn something even from such brainless movies) from the film is the remark Fillion made as SS (starship) Serenity captain Malcom Reynolds: "Half of writing down history is all about erasing the truth."
How true is that!
Sino-sino ba ang mga nagtatala ng kasaysayan ng bayang ito kundi silang mga nakapag-aral at may kapit o impluwensya sa mga kapangyarihan? They have the time, the resources and the clout to write books and essays and reports that will eventually be recognized as legitimized by the ideological state apparatuses as "the truth" and "history."
They’re the ones who choose who and what gets written about; who and what will be depicted in what kind of light, and how these same personalities and events will be celebrated or villified.
Horrid is what it is.
But then, I do recognize that the exploiting ruling class will always make sure that it also has its set of intellectuals and artists and historians who will note down and give various forms of tribute to its deeds; while at the same time throwing into shadow or burying under the rubble of neglect and forgetting the words and deeds of those who sought to oppose the ruling class.
How else could we explain the fact that the histories of the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP), the Hukbalahap, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People’s Army (NPA) are never written about in the school books? They’re hadrly mentioned, and when they are, it’s always in passing and always in a negative light.
Whole decades of the country’s history, the history of a people and their relentless struggle for genuine freedom and democracy done away with.
Isusulat kaya sa kasaysayan ang mga kawalanghiyaan at kahayupan ng mga nagdaang pangulo? Ang daan-daang inosenteng sibilyan na pinatay ng mga berdugong militar? Ang gera sa Mindanao laban sa mamamayang Moro? Ang pandurugas sa mga eleksyon? Ang kurapsyon ng mga matataas na opisyales?
The dark days of the Marcos dictatorship have hardly been written about. I don’t remember my teachers in grade school or high school teaching me about Philippine presidents and the impact of their various programs on the country’s economy and politics. Swerte ko na lang I went to the University of the Philippines and the history teachers in whose classes I ended up were activists in their younger days: they told us to get the textbooks, read them, and then debate in class whether the ‘truths’ in the books were true or not.
Isang araw, isusulat din ang kasaysayan sa punto de bista ng mga inapi, pinagsasamantalahan, at mga nagsusulong ng digma laban sa mga kaaway ng mamamayan. Ang tagumpay ng laksa-laksang mamamayang lumalaban ang lalamnin ng mga aklat at babasahin, at hindi ang mga mukha at likha ng mga kurakot na presidente at mga tagapagtaguyod ng kontra-masang kultura, literatura at sining ng mga naghaharing uri.
There’s this true story about the young son of an activist couple that I keep repeating to my cousins (who have children of their own) during family gatherings.
Andres (let’s call him Andres, after Gat Andres, Ama ng Rebolusyong Pilipino), eight years old, got into an argument with his second-grade teacher. He was in a regular class room with children of, well, regular adults (meaning non-activist, different the way Muggles are from witches and wizards, harhar).
Apparently, the teacher was giving a lesson on national heroes, and when she told the class about two of the countries’ most important heroes, Andres raised a hand, stood up, and said " Sabi po ng nanay at tatay ko, traydor po si Aguinaldo. Binenta ang Pilipinas sa mga Amerikano, at pinapatay sa bundok si Ka Andres."
The teacher was telling her students about Jose Rizal and Emilio Aguinaldo. When Andres declared his stand re the latter, she tried to correct him, but the little boy was adamant. Not content with calling Aguinaldo a traitor and a killer, he also said that it was Bonifacio who should’ve been national hero if it weren’t for the Americans. "Di kasi naniniwala sa rebolusyon si Rizal, at ito ang gustong ipagaya ng mga Amerikano sa mga Pilipino nang sakupin ng US ang Pilipinas."
Whew. What a pretty long introduction to this entry!
This is the bill I drafted that I’m most proud of, and it has to do with the life of a man who has done and given so much for the Filipino people, the militant trade union movement, and the revolutionary struggle against foreign interference. It’s in my list of WANT TO DO THINGS to write a short story for kids about him, but I haven’t gotten around it (excuses, excuse — but heck, I’ll get around to doing this one day soon).
This is about the Ama ng Kilusang Paggawa sa Pilipinas, lider proletaryo at dakilang komunista, Crisanto ‘Ka Anto’ Evangelista.
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On March 28, 1993, then president Fidel Ramos issued Executive Order No. 75 entitled "Creating the National Heroes Committee under the Office of the President. In compliance with this, the National Heroes Committee through its Technical Committee submitted its findings and recommendations after a series of meetings from June 1993 to November 1995 and made the following criteria for national heroes:
Heroes are those who have a concept of nation and thereafter aspire and struggle for the nation’s freedom;
Heroes are those who define and contribute to a system or life of freedom and order for a nation;
Heroes are those who contribute to the quality of life and destiny of a nation.
The technical committee was composed of Drs. Onofre D. Corpuz; Samuel K. Tan; Marcelino Foronda; Alfredo Lagmay; Bernardita R. Churchill; Serafin Quiason; Ambeth Ocampo, then known as Dom Ignacio Maria, Prof. Minerva Gonzales; and Mrs. Carmen Guerrero Nakpil.
Additional criteria for heroes were also drafted and adopted:
A hero is part of the people’s expression. But the process of a people’s internalization of a hero’s life and works takes time, with the youth forming a part of the internalization;
A hero thinks of the future, especially the future generations;
The choice of a hero involves not only the recounting of an episode or events in history, but of the entire process that made this particular person a hero.
These criteria have been more than satisfied in the case of Crisanto Evangelista, the recognized Father of Militant Filipino Unionism. His life and deeds were completely devoted to serving the Filipino worker and the people, as well as the cause of genuine national liberation and democracy.
Crisanto Evangelista was born on November 1, 1888 in the small, provincial town of Malhacan, Meycauayan, Bulacan. His father was an hacienda farmer and his mother was a housewife. Crisanto’s life was witness to two major social upheavals in Philippine history: the Philippine revolution against Spanish colonization, and the Filipino-American war.
He finished elementary schooling in Meycauyan, and continued his education in Manila. By taking on various part-time jobs, he managed to finance his education and finish the intermediate level. He was able to reach only the first year of the collegiate level, however, because of severe economic hardship and the death of his father.
Forced to drop out of school, he took a job in a printing press and because of unusual industry, he was immediately promoted to linotypist. His work consisted of putting together the printing materials and documents, and proofreading the final drafts prior to printing. The nature of his work and his own strong individual inclination towards learning became factors not only in his intellectual growth, but also in his development as a politically aware Filipino. He read the various political treatises, newsletters and other reading materials that he helped proofread and print; and these helped shape his views and then budding nationalist ideology.
In 1913, on the second year anniversary of the urban poor association Damayang Mahihirap, Crisanto, then 25 years old, recited a poem he had written "Ang Sigaw ng Dukha." In five stanzas, Crisanto raged against the government (Pamahalaan), the capitalist (Mamumuhunan) and the law (Lagdang batas) and called on the workers and other poor sectors to unite and fight against exploitation and bring about a new society based on genuine democracy and justice.
He also joined various labor organizations such as the Union Impresores de Filipinas (UIF), and the Congreso de Obrero de Filipinas (COF).
Crisanto provided strength and direction to the then developing trade union movement. Under his leadership, the UIF flourished. On March 1, 2918, the union came out with an investigation detailing the conditions in the printing office. It released a petition paper stating the workers’ demands, and called for a general strike of all printing workers. The strike was a massive success, as workers received 100-500% increase in wages. Crisanto’s name became known, and his reputation as a labor leader began to grow. He was firm in his conviction that unions should develop beyond being organizations of mutual aid; work beyond the issues of wages, work hours, health and working conditions; and take a leading role in the patriotic struggle for the country’s freedom.
In an effort to cool down the steadily growing fires of the militant labor movement, then President Manuel Luis Quezon appointed Crisanto to be part of the Philippine Independence Mission to the United States in 1919. This gave Crisanto the opportunity to establish contact with other labor leaders and unions in the US. He expressed criticism for the reactionary and racist tendencies and rulings of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) which was then headed by Samuel Gompers. He also gathered reading materials on socialism, and talked with socialist unions. All this also came at a time when the socialist revolution of 1918 had just succeeded under the proletarian leadership of V.I. Lenin. Marxism and revolutionary socialist theory spread like wildfire among workers of the world.
When he returned to the country, Crisanto immediately immersed in the practical struggles of Filipino workers.
In April 1919, the workers of Manila Electric and Railway Company (Meralco) sought the help of the COF in demanding the reinstatement of workers unjustly laid-off, and a wage increase. On May 22, 1919, they submitted a petition to Meralco manager James Rockwell; but Rockwell refused.
The following day, Meralco’s 600 workers staged a walk-out. They called on the public to boycott the Meralco-operated tranvias or trains and to support the strike. Sympathy strikes and rallies were held all over Manila – in market places, plaza, cockpits. Fiery debates erupted in the newspapers on the supposed abuses of Meralco and the situation faced by workers in the firm.
In the investigations conducted by the Bureau of Labor, the accusations against Meralco were substantiated and proven; but the BLR could not enforce any punishment. The management hardened its position, and ordered attacks against the strikers. Some 200 policemen were made to accompany scabs who were instructed to break the picketlines.
On May 20, 1919, the public was startled by news that a bomb had exploded in one of the Meralco-run tranvias. A civilian was killed, and many others were wounded. Evangelista was one of the leaders implicated and arrested. No evidence could be presented against him, however, and he was immediately released.
In 1920, Crisanto was voted president of the COF, while Jacinto Manahan was elected vice-president. Manahan was a peasant organizer, and his involvement in the COF signaled the beginning of the strong political alliance between workers and farmers. Evangelista then spoke of the ideals of fighting for ‘complete and immediate freedom; the establishment of a popular government; the end of the kasama-system, government confiscation of aciendas and the implementation of genuine agrarian reform.’
Crisanto also became known in the international workers movement. In 1924, he was invited to join in the delegation to the First Congress of the Oriental Transportation Workers in Canton, China which was called by the Pan-Pacific Trade Union Secretariat or PPTS. The PPTS served as the secretariat or the Far Eastern Bureau of the Communist International (Comintern) which was based in Hankow, China.
Crisanto also established ties with leaders of the following labor organizations with socialist leanings: the All China Labor Federation; Australian Council of Trade Unions; Trade Union Educational League of the USA; Indonesian Labor Federation; Confederation Generale du travail Unitaire France; Nippon Redokumai Hyogikai Titsu Domei; National Minority Movement of England; Korean Workers and Peasants Federation; and the All Russian Council of Trade Unions.
On November 30, 1925, on the birth anniversary of the Supremo of the Katipunan Gat Andres Bonifacio, Crisanto helped establish the Lapiang Manggagawa sa Pilipinas. In a manifesto that caused a stir, the new organization attacked American imperialism and its agents in the country. It lambasted local politicians and government leaders for betraying the historic struggle for national liberation which was began by the Katipunan and Bonifacio. The Lapian also exposed the partido Nacionalista and Democrata of self-serving interests, saying that the two parties were mostly interested not in pushing forward genuine reforms for the Filipino people and demanding freedom for the nation but in assisting the American colonialists run the country .
As leader of the COF, Crisanto drafted a plan to help strengthen the federation, and among his recommendations was that workers be armed with theoretical, class-based knowledge and tools of theoretical analysis. Upon his prodding, the COF also decided to publish its own newsletter – the Tinig ng Manggagawa (Voice of the worker). The COF also formalized its membership in the PPTUS.
Crisanto’s leadership in the COF made the COF gain a reputation for being the center of militant trade unionism in the country. The COF also formally established links with the Red International of Labor Unions (Profintern) and sent representatives including Crisanto to conferences in Shanghai, Moscow, Berlin and Belgium. The COF also joined the League Against Colonial Oppression in the Far East in its conference in China; and the League Against Imperialism which held its own conference in Belgium. Crisanto was very active in forging internationalist ties, and strengthened the theoretical foundations of the COF through continued study of socialist readings and documents.
By 1927, the COF had a membership of 81,000 ; and in 1928, it led massive strike of 8,000 workers in 14 tobacco factories in the country in protest of a labor leader who was unjustly imprisoned. That same year, the COF launched sympathy strikes with Chinese workers in sawmills, candle factories, shoes and steel mills.
Crisanto’s class fervour and patriotism reached a new height when he helped established the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas in 1930. The new party was formed within the socialist and revolutionary alliance of workers and peasants and guided by Marxism-Leninism.
Crisanto was joined by other labor and peasant leaders and organizers, and intellectuals in launching the PKP on August 26, 1930 in Templo del Trabajo. The public launch was made in a rally in Tondo the same year on November 7, on the anniversary of Soviet revolution.
The PKP pushed forward a program of action which called for an end to US intervention in the country’s political and economic affairs. It sought the establishment of a genuine nationalist, patriotic and democratic system of government free from foreign intervention. It advocated the nationalization of enterprises, the confiscation of lands owned by big corporations and landowners, and the implementation of genuine, through-going land reform.
Because of the massive support the PKP received from the Filipino public, the government with the aid of the United States launched brutal attacks against the PKP leaders. There were arrests and killings, and Crisanto was among those arrested and then forced into exile in the Mountain Province until 1937 .
Crisanto’s exile and enforced physical disappearance from the day-to-day political struggles of the labor movement did not, however, cause a demoralization in the ranks of the workers; and in fact generate strong outrage in the labor and mass movement. There are documents stating that the number of economic and political struggles – rallies and strikes – grew greater in number during the period of Crisanto’s exile. This can also be directly attributed to Crisanto’s insistence that workers and unions be empowered with theoretical and ideological knowledge which helped enable them to gauge, plan, and launch concerted actions that shook the government to its very foundations. While in exile, meanwhile, Crisanto continued to write and make plans for the labor movement, and to study more socialist and communist writings.
In October 1937, Crisanto was allowed to return to Manila. He was accompanied by Hermenigildo Cruz in a visit to Pres. Quezon in Malacanang. Cruz made a plea on Crisanto’s behalf that Crisanto be allowed to go to Russia to seek medical attention for his worsening tuberculosis.
The labor movement warmly welcomed Crisanto’s return, and voted him in absentia as president of the combined Partido Komunista and the Partido Sosyalista which was then largely based in the provinces and whose mass membership was composed of farmers and rural poor.
Around that that time, the Partido Komunista had already released a manifesto, "Ang Mobilisasyon ng Pilipinas Laban sa Pananalakay ng Hapon," and called on all PKP members, other political parties and organizations and the entire Filipino people to unite against the impending attack of the Japanese imperial army.
By 1939, Crisanto had returned to health and immersed himself fully in the workers movement and the anti-fascist front composed of militant unions, peasant associations, and organizations of the peti-bourgeoisie and the national bourgeoisie. From December 7-10, 1941, the Komite Sentral (Central Committee) of the PKP declared its stand that it will launch an armed resistance against the Japanese invaders. On December 23, PKP leaders sought a dialogue with the government, urging it to unite with the PKP in fighting the Japanese army, but the government refused.
Crisanto was among those who were arrested, tortured and killed during the first days of the Japanese occupation.
Past and present Philippine history books fail to mention the heroism of Crisanto Evangelista, and his great contribution to the national struggle for genuine freedom, justice and democracy. No Philippine government has ever given tribute to him and his legacy which survives to this day as seen in the militant labor movement in the country which continues to gain in strength and number.
It is important that the Filipino people be made aware of Crisanto’s life and how he lived it in service of the oppressed sectors and in furtherance of the goals of national liberation. It is long overdue that Crisanto be given the recognition that he deserves.
There is a great need to rectify the neglect by proposing the declaration of Crisanto Evangelista as a national hero, and in the process, also give recognition and tribute to the Philippine militant labor movement and its historic role in the struggle for workers’ and people’s democratic rights, and in bringing about genuine freedom and national independence.#
postscript: asa pa na idedeklara ng kasalukuyang gobyerno, sa ilalim ng kasalukuyang sistema, ang mga tulad ni Ka Anto bilang bayani.
Pero isang araw…
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Sigaw ng Dukha ni Crisanto Evangelista
Ikaw na nasusunod sa atas ng iyong panginoon
Kayong yumuyukod at di nagkukuro sa habang panahon
Ako’y lumalasap ng pagkasiphayo at pagkaparaol,
Tayong lahat ngani, na binabagsakan ng pula’t linggatong
Tayo ang may likha,tayo ang may sala ng lahat ng iyon,
Pagkat kundi tayo napaali’y walang panginoon.
Kung tayo’y natutong lumikha ating ipinanandata,
Kung ikaw at ako’y natutong lumikha ng ating ipinanandata,
Kung ikaw at ako’y natutong tumutol at di tumalima.
Kung tayong mga hirap,tayong manggagawa’y natutong kumita
Ng punglong pangwasak ng kanyon at saka, mga dinamita,
Disin ay putol na ang pang-aalipin at ang panggagaga
Sa ating mahihirap, niyang pinagpala ng masamang mana.
Maniwala kayo kung sa panimula tayo’y magpipisan
Bumuo, itatag ang lakas ng bisig at ng karapatan.
Nagbango’t yumari ng isang Malaya at sariling bayan,
Niyong baying salat sa masamang nasa at sa kasakiman.
Maniwala kayong kahapon ma’t ngayon, bukas at kailanman
Tatanghalin tayong may lakas na tao, may puri’t dangal.
Maniwala kayo, mga piling kasamang, ang paghihikahos
Imbing pagkadusta at pagkaalipin nang lubos na lubos
At di gawa lamang ng mamumuhunang mga walang taros
Kundi api tayo, tayong sugatan ma’y di nagkaloob
Na gumawa baga ng pagsasanggalang nang wagas at taos
Upang mapaanyo ang lakas ng lahat sa ikakatubos.
Ngayon, mga kasama, tayo’y dumaraing sa lagay ng dusta
Tayo’y nadadagit sa malaking buwis na sa ati’y likha
Ng batas anilang kung kaya niyari, kung kaya nalagda
Ay sa kagalingan ng baying mahirap at nagdaralita
Hindi baga ito katutubong hangad sa bukto’t na gawa?
Kapag paggugol, pantay-pantay tayo! Mayaman ma’t dukha.
Tayo’y dumaraing, laging humihingi ng kandiling tapat.
Sa pamahalaan, sa Mamumuhunan, at sa lagdang batas
Ngunit masdan ninyo kapag dumarating ang pagpapahayag
Ng di kasiyahan natin sa pakana’t masamang palakad: Ang
mamumuhunan, ang pamahalaan at ang mga batas
Ang ating kalaban, ang sumasanla, nang ganap na ganap.
Ginigipit tayo ng nagtataasang halaga ng lahat,
Sinisikil tayo sa mababang pasahod at ng kasalungat
Tayo’y inaapi ng mamumuhunan sa gawa ng pilak
Binibiro tayo ng mga hukuman sa hatol na tuwad
At pati pa halos niyong lalong imbi tayo’y hinahamak
Ngunit hindi mandin tayo gumagawa ng mga pangwawasak.
Kung may damdamin ka’t dinaramdam mo ang lahat ng ito,
Kung may nababahid na kamunting dangal sa puso mo’t noo,
Kung ikaw’y simpanan ng magandang gawa, gawang makatao
Walang lingong-likod, kusa mong tunguhin nang taas ang ulo
Nang buka ang diddib, ang iyong kasama sa isang upisyo
At isumpa roong makikisama ka nang di naglilito
Isumpa mo roong magtataguyod ka ng ganap na layon
Mamahalin mo, ang Palatuntunan at ang iyong Unyon
Gagawa ng lalong matapat sa lahat ng ikakasulong
Hindi magtatamad sa mga pagdalo na higit sa lasong
Nananatay sa mithi, na likha ng sama’t pagniningas-kugon.
Saka pagkatapos na iyong magaganap ang ganang tungkuli’y
Makikita mo nang unti-unti naman ang lahat ng sakim,
Ang lahat ng sama na nakapagbigay ng dilang hilahil,
Pawang napapawing usok na masangsang sa himpapawirin
At sa kasunod niya’y "Ang Sigaw ng Dukha pagwawakas lagim!
