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People can be killed, but not their ideals

My body hurts like heck. I climbed up a mountain yesterday with my friend Raymond. It was for a travel article I’m writing for the paper. I had a good time despite the rain that fell for two hours (drenched us both and my backpack which most tragically had an Alain de Botton book in it, an MP3 player, and a camera. Aaaaaargh! I walked the rest of the way with my feet encased in soggy socks and shoes that got tighter as the moisture entered them).
What I most liked about the trek is how I was able to escape my usual context and to think and talk and experience being in a wide and open space. Greenery and weather, serenity and nature.
I remember a different kind of climb I made years ago. A life-changing walk up a different mountain that kept in its heart a secret shared by dreamers and lightbringers.
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Since the Macapagal-Arroyo government — like its predecessors - has failed to convince Filipinos that it is capable of bringing genuine peace, justice and economic prosperity to the country, it has turned to killing those who continue to denounce this failure, and to call for the creation of a new society.
Certain ideas, certain hopes can never be killed or extinguished. To give up these ideas and hopes would be to embrace death, even if living out these ideas and living for these hopes also means courting death at the hands of dictatorships and their mercenary armed forces.
A person dies, but his ideas — the things he lived and fought for in the name of so many others — they have lives of their own. The lessons of a life well-lived; the ideology that exploiters and despotic rulers fear, they will continue to thrive and flourish despite all attempts to twist and discredit them.
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This is an excerpt from a letter by a Philippine Military Academy cadet whose uncle fell victim to the Macapagal-Arroyo admnistration’s Oplan Bantay Laya:

I am Ronald Gian Carlo Lapitan Cardema of Calamba City Laguna. I am a Cadet in the Philippine Military Academy in Baguio City. I can continue writing this letter by means of harnessing the English Language fluently and proficiently. But I would rather start using our own language now because it is the only language in the world that all of us Filipinos own and we should be proud of it.

Ako po ay di katulad ng karamihan ng kadete dito sa PMA na walang pakialam o pilit na sinasarado ang pananaw sa katotohanan. Ang aking kamalayan sa di pantay na sistema dito sa ating bayan ay bukas at lumalawig pa. Ako po ay nakikiisa sa inyong mga mithiin para sa isang maunlad na Lipunang Pilipino at Tunay na Demokrasya. Ang aking kaalaman sa tunay na Patriotismong Pilipino ay utang ko po sa aking dating paaralang pangkolehiyo, ang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas sa Los Banos, at sa mga pangangaral ng aking tiyuhing si Ka Noel “Noli” Capulong Sr.

Ang akin pong tiyuhin, na deputy regional coordinator ng BAYAN sa ST, ay walang pakundangang pinagbabaril ng mga aso ni GMA sa militar/police. Kahit po walang ebidensya na military/police ang pumatay ay alam ko po at alam po ng aking pinsan na si Noel Capulong Jr (na bestfriend ko rin po at kaklase mula pa high school hanggang college sa UPLB) na ang nagtiktik (surveillance) sa aking/kanyang amain/ama ay dalawang ISAFP/MIG agents mula sa Camp Eldridge sa Los Banos, Laguna. Sila sina 2LT Aga Macasaet (Res) PA at si Sgt. Tony Flores PA na aking napag alaman mismo ay miyembro ng Military Intelligence Group (MIG) ng ISAFP para dito sa 2nd District ng Laguna. Ang “Pilipinong traydor” na si Lt. Aga Macasaet ay kaibigan namin ni Noel mula pa high school dahil sya ay aming CAT Commandant. Siya ay minsan nakakapagtakang nagtanong sa amin ni Noel patungkol kay Tito Noli at kay Kapitan Delfin De Claro ng Brgy Bucal, Calamba Laguna. Sila na parehong Bayan Muna members kung saan si Tito Noli ay patay na ngaun at si Kapitan de Claro ay may tangka na sa buhay ngaun. Si Sgt Tony Flores naman ay ang nagpunta sa bahay at nakausap ni Tito Noli at Noel isang buwan bago siya patayin. Siya ay kunwarib nagi-inquire sa bahay patungkol sa PMA application ni Noel na dalawang taon nang tapos/lipas. Nakapagtataka. Pag uwi ko sa bahay nung gabing iyon, ako ay masinsin na kinausap ni Tito Noli na siya ay kinakabahan sa mga ganung militar na nagi-inquire sa bahay. Tila totoo na pala noon ang premonition ng aking tiyuhin.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 21st, 2006 at 3:12 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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