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CRISPIN
BELTRAN, a pillar of the militant labor movement who
survived persecution during martial rule, the crackdown
on Left-leaning activists after Edsa 1 and imprisonment
under the current administration, died Tuesday in a most
ironic tragedy: He was doing the most mundane of chores,
fixing the roof of his Quezon City house, when he fell.
That
irony was best reflected in the reaction of Minority
Leader Ronaldo Zamora, who said of this colorful
party-list member of Congress: “It was so characteristic
of this patriot and nationalist that he should die while
fixing the roof of his own house, doing things by
himself rather than sending out for professional help,
fixing the roof that shelters every Filipino worker and
living the life of a real Filipino advocate until the
very end.”
Coincidentally, the best proof of how humbly he lived
and shunned the perks of power despite making it to
Congress was provided by the report of lawmakers’
statements of assets, liabilities and net worth, which
came out Tuesday morning: The report showed the
congressman as the poorest, with declared assets of
P110,000, liabilities of P60,000 and a net worth of
P50,000.
The
Anakpawis Party-list representative, more popularly
known as Ka Bel, was supposed to join fellow militant
legislators in filing a bill Tuesday on the value-added
tax on power, when tragedy struck and ended a life
mostly spent fighting for the oppressed and marginalized
people.
Knowing
that in spirit Ka Bel is still with them, party-list
Reps. Teodoro Casiño and Satur Ocampo of Bayan Muna and
Liza Maza and Luzviminda Ilagan of Gabriela pushed
through with the filing of House Bill 4162 and included
him as coauthor.
“Ka
Bel’s death is an irreparable loss not only to the
working-class movement but to every Filipino yearning
for genuine social change. He was a tower of a man, a
pillar of strength for the progressive people’s
movement. His name has become synonymous to the militant
labor movement,” said the militant legislators in their
joint statement.
For his
colleagues in the minority in the House, Ka Bel was more
than a friend and a colleague, but truly a mentor and an
exemplar—relentless and fierce in his advocacies while
remaining calm and serene as he pursued them.
“We will
miss Ka Bel, especially today as we begin the debates to
extend the agrarian reform law. We will miss a colleague
and a friend, who will now continue to inspire so many
of us in the never-ending fight for truth, justice and
democracy,” said Zamora.
Having
been an activist for 50 years, this former taxi driver
is esteemed by laborers, peasants, urban poor and other
marginalized sectors as a true defender of the toiling
masses and staunch critic of privatization, deregulation
and other destructive policies of globalization.
From the
parliament of the streets to the corridors of Congress,
Ka Bel never gave up on his aim of promoting the
interest of workers.
In
Congress, Ka Bel proved his mettle as a representative
of the marginalized and oppressed, representing Bayan
Muna from 2001 to 2003 and later in Partido Anakpawis.
“His
voice was a voice of conscience and defiance to the
well-entrenched, reactionary interests dominating the
halls and corridors of power,” said Casiño.
In a
press statement, the United Filipinos-Migrante in Hong
Kong described Beltran as “the epitome of a people’s
servant” as his “simple life and long record of
upholding the rights of the Filipino workers—both at
home and abroad—showed his devotion to the working class
and other oppressed peoples.”
“He
never wavered in his principles....Even when he was
elected as congressman, he was never tempted by the
powers and riches that his office could have brought
him. He remained militant, uncompromising in principles
and immersed with the people he served.
“Until
the end, he was a true unionist, a real activist and a
genuine patriot for the Filipino people’s cause for
freedom and democracy,” Unifil said.
Born in
Bacacay, Albay, on January 7, 1933, Ka Bel was the head
of the militant Philippine Nationalist Labor
Organization. He was among the founders of the Kilusang
Mayo Uno (KMU), along with labor stalwart Felixberto
Olalia when it was organized on May 1, 1980, and later
became its chairman.
His life
was as challenging as the political struggles that he
went through from the Marcos to the Arroyo
administrations. He was a political detainee under the
strongman’s rule, and was also detained under the Arroyo
administration for more than 15 months from March 2006
to July 2007 through a hospital arrest at the Philippine
Heart Center.
Ka Bel
was arrested on February 25, 2006, a day after President
Arroyo declared a state of national emergency following
a failed uprising against her government. He was nabbed
on charges of rebellion, based on an arrest warrant
issued in 1982. That rebellion case, stemming from
protest actions over the Bataan Export Processing Zone,
was dismissed in 1986.
Current
KMU chairman Elmer Labog, calling Ka Bel as the “grand
old man of the trade union movement,” said he is not
only a labor leader but also a “leader of the movement
for change.”
“He did
not cower in the fight from the Marcos up to the Arroyo
administrations. He is one of our inspirations,” Labog
said in Filipino.
Trade
Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) spokesman Alex
Aguilar said that despite ideological differences, with
the TUCP being a moderate group, “the TUCP is saddened
by the death of a great labor leader. Ka Bel is one of
the pillars of the trade union movement. He will be
missed by all Filipinos.”
Partido
ng Manggagawa chairman Renato Magtubo said, “We are sad
that Ka Bel’s colorful life ended this way. A truly
working-class champion, he was among the few labor
leaders in this country who made invaluable and
indelible contributions to the labor movement, in
particular, and the progressive movement, in general.
“The
labor movement will surely miss Ka Bel, especially in
the face of this deepening economic and political
crises,” he said.
In
Malacañang, Palace officials expressed sadness over the
untimely demise of Ka Bel.
“We
mourn the untimely demise of one of the most respected
labor leaders in the country....He was a respected
member of the House of Representatives where he
represented the interests of our labor force and has
been considered a vital figure in our country’s modern
political history,” said Deputy Presidential Spokesman
Anthony Golez.
The
Presidential Management Staff head Cerge Remonde
conveyed to the Beltran family Malacañang’s “sincerest
condolences.” (F. Marasigan, M. Gonzalez, J. Mayuga, C.
Jimenez) |
