|
I CAN’T remember anymore the exact line I read from somewhere. It
goes something like, “It doesn’t really matter what kind of car
you drive, or how big a house you live in, or how much money you
have in the bank, or how fat your wallet is; what really matters is
if you made life a little better for a person other than
yourself.”
Crispin “Ka Bel” Beltran fell to his death
while trying to patch the roof of his humble home in Bulacan. At the
time of his death, he was a congressman. Yet he was definitely poor
by a Filipino congressman’s millionaire standards. But while he
didn’t have even a tenth of the money most of his colleagues in
the House of Representatives have, he was far richer than the lot.
Ka Bel died while working, indeed, while doing
the most mundane of chores, one which most of his colleagues in the
House (even most of us) would pay someone else to do in a heartbeat.
But that was typical of Ka Bel, to be a
75-year-old man still climbing ladders to fix something. The analogy
in real life is perfect. He was a workers’ representative who
truly knew how to earn his keep. He was a natural leader who
understood the travails of the ordinary wage-worker first-hand—he
once worked as a gasoline station attendant, a messenger, a bus
driver and a taxi driver, before embarking as a union organizer,
founding a taxi driver’s association.
He went on to become the most active of the
activists, a freedom fighter during the Marcos regime, one of the
most respected labor leaders in the country, and acknowledged by
both colleagues and critics as “the great grand old man of
Philippine labor.”
Ka Bel used to be the chairman and was one of
the founders of the Kilusang Mayo Uno. Being with the Trade Union
Congress of the Philippines, I have had differences with him on
issues of principle and ideology. But I’ve never once doubted the
man’s integrity, nationalism, and fervor for social change. And,
like the rest of those in organized labor, I felt greatly diminished
when I received the news that he passed away.
Ka Bel was and forever will be a model to all
those in organized labor and to all those who yearn to make a
difference in the life of this nation, to which he dedicated his
whole life.
I have seen a lot of militant activists change
over the years. This current administration has a number of them in
its employ and they are living it up now, certainly enjoying the
perks of power. I’ve seen people change when they begin to assume
positions of power, especially in government. Perhaps they thought,
“Enough of all this sacrificing. It’s time to look out for
ourselves. Secure our future.”
Ka Bel puts them all to shame. Shortly before
his death, he spent 16 months in prison for denouncing what many
agree is the most corrupt administration since Marcos, the dictator
who jailed him, too.
Ka Bel never stopped fighting against
corruption; he never got tired of standing up for what is right.
Until his death he tried to give a voice to those who lived in the
margins and were largely unrepresented in government laws and
policies.
With over 50 years of dedicated service to the
nation, of social activism in the labor sector, of fighting for
human and civil rights, Ka Bel can only be defined as a true
Filipino leader whose work deserves recognition as it has benefited
millions of the Filipino masses over the years.
Tomorrow, Ka Bel’s “kapuso” and
“kapamilya” (to borrow the terms) in the movement will have a
National Day of Mourning and Protest in his honor. They are calling
for a work stoppage and everyone is invited to join the marches and
protests to honor and give Ka Bel a hero’s burial. Those who
cannot join the protests and marches are encouraged to make symbolic
actions, such as wearing or hanging red and black ribbons, as sign
of sympathy and tribute.
In his long life of sacrifice for the Filipino
masses, he was jailed, persecuted and vilified by those in power.
Tomorrow, let us give Ka Bel his due. Let us show him that this
nation still knows how to honor a man who dedicated his entire life
trying to make life a lot better for others, especially the poor and
disenfranchised in our society.
May Ka Bel serve as a model and inspiration to
all those workers still in the heart of the struggle, to the people
who work hard every day to achieve justice, to those who continue to
sacrifice their life and livelihoods so that others may be able to
live with dignity and respect in this country.
ernestboyherrera@yahoo.com
|
