Righteous anger
Bayan Muna Representative Satur Ocampo visited Ka Bel this afternoon at the Philippine Heart Center. Ka Satur had with him a big fruit basket. It was a happy meeting between the two progressive lawmakers and lider ng mamamayan. I am of the biased opinion that these two men have the two best smiles in the Kilusan. They smiled at each other like Cheshire cats (only unlike the felines’, Ka Bel and Ka Satur’s smiles were sincere and not mocking), shook hands and hugged tightly like brothers. Ka Satur was in his in jeans and white shirt with the Bayan Muna logo, and Ka Bel was in his white and red-speckled hospital johnnies.
Ka Bel was quite happy to see Ka Satur, and fellow Anakpawis Rep. Rafael ‘Ka Paeng’ Mariano was also there so it was mini-reunion of sorts.
"Parang tumaba ka sa kulungan,a!" was Ka Bel’s first greeting. Ka Satur laughed, and it was a laugh that held back nothing.
Ka Satur was incarcerated for 19 days and in the interim dragged to the airport and into a Cessna, then back again to his detention room in the Manila Police District. He stood firm though it all, but his ordeal has clearly wrought an important and valuable change.
It was noticeable how Ka Satur has become less..laidback. I’ve worked with Ka Satur when I was in Bayan Muna, particularly when I wrote the statements for the International Solidarity Mission back in 2002; he always struck me as a calm and contained person. Mabagal ang kulo, is how he would be described. He seldom raised his voice in anger even during rallies - calm and collected, a genuine diplomat and negotiator. He was capable of keeping his temper in the face of such stupid allegations of AFP commanders. There were a few press releases I wrote for him that he asked to be rewritten because they were ‘too matapang.’
It must be admitted that this calmness Ka Satur has is, sometimes, well, a little frustrating, lalo na kung isyu na ng pamamaslang sa mga aktibista at masa ang pinag-uusapan, kalmado pa rin siya sa paglalahad ng indignasyon. By nature I think he is not prone to emotional outbursts or even small expressions of indignation or outrage. He is one who keeps his anger bottled, and has a wealth of patience - resulta malamang ng 14 na taon nang pagkakakulong, he’s a kind and contemplative,quiet and patient man, never excitable.
This afternoon though, when he visited Ka Bel, he looked different. Stronger and, yes, there was a streak of anger in how he asserted himself when Ka Bel’s guards from the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) said that photo-taking was not allowed, even via camera-phone.
"Ano’ng basehan ng pagbabawal ninyo?" He asked, steel in his voice. "Ano’ng batas ang nagsasabing bawal kumuha ng litrato dito?"
He sounded and looked so commanding, so authoritative that the CIDG guards quailed in their army boots. They couldn’t answer, they didn’t have an answer. I myself know that there’s no written rule or law prohibiting taking pictures or shooting videos via camera phone inside Ka Bel’s detention hospital room. I know that hospitals do not allow video cameras inside hospital premises, but there’s no rule against camera-phones.
The CIDG guards fell silent as Ka Satur insisted on being told the rules. I almost felt sorry for them. Ka Satur stepped right up to the guards, firmly edged them out the door, then turned his back on the whole lot.
Oy vey.
Let it be known: Satur Ocampo will not take crap from the Macapagal-Arroyo government, and he will not tolerate the slightest abuse of authority or curtailment of civil rights. He subjected himself to the law, gambled his security and very life on it, and with the backing of an outraged human rights community, was released.
Pero siyempre wala naman talaga kasing kwenta yung kasong isinampa sa kanya sa simula pa lang.
Anyways, it was a happy visit. Like I said, neither men couldn’t stop smiling. Ka Satur said that there was hope that Ka Bel would be released soon because, well, like he said, the case against him (SO) was very weak, but the case against Ka Bel was even weaker, so much so that it’s practically dead except that the Arroyo administration particularly the likes of Raul Gonzalez and Norberto Gonzales refuse to acknowledge it, the bastards (No, Ka Satur didn’t say that, I did).
As I kissed Ka Satur’s cheek before he left, I wanted to rib him - ‘Nakakatakot ka na, Ka Satur!’
But only the unjust and the exploiters are afraid of righteous anger. And it is true: what cannot defeat you can only make you stronger.
