Tanikala at Talinhaga (Chained Metaphors)

"Tanikala at Talinhaga" (Chained Metaphors) is a documentary on artist-political prisoners in the Philippines: National Democratic Front peace consultant Alan Jazmines, a poet and visual artist; activist poet-songwriter Ericson Acosta, and film student Maricon Montajes.

This clip features the segment on poet Ericson Acosta.

There are more than 400 political prisoners in the Philippines today. For more information, please visit  http://freeallpps.wordpress.com/

FREE THE ARTIST!

Read this Yahoo! article on Ericson Acosta http://ph.news.yahoo.com/blogs/the-inbox/writer-voice-calbayog-jail-213001875.html -- "My grandson Emmanuel watched a film on national hero 'Jose Rizal'. I knew there are some questions lurking in his mind: what was Rizal writing  and why was he in jail? Why was he shot and what was his crime?"

Higanteng Nahihimbing

ni Omeng Rodriguez

Ilang taon ko na rin hindi nakikita si Ericson. Bukod sa pagbasa sa kanyang mga blog entry, mga interbyu na mapapanood sa youtube at pakikinig sa kanyang mga orihinal na awitin sa soundcloud, mas ninais kong makita at makamusta siya ng personal. Nang magkaroon ng pagkakataong maapruba ang paggawa ng isang proyekto para sa mga bilanggong politikal, alam kong magiging makabuluhan ang dalawang araw na pananatili sa syudad ng Calabayog sa isla ng Samar upang dalawin doon ang hinahangaang alagad ng sining.

Matapos ang lampas tatlong oras na biyahe mula Tacloban, kasama sina Wena, Sinag at Eman, ang nag-iisang anak nina Ericson at Kerima, at sa tulong na rin ni Gerry na ka-henerasyong aktibista sa UP na nakabase na sa Tacloban, bagaman pagod sa biyahe, maluwalhati naming narating ang Calbayog sub-provincial jail. Ilang metro lamang ang layo nito sa highway. Tila isa itong pinaglumaang warehouse ng ahensiya ng pamahalaan na ginawang kulungan ng mga presong nahuli sa sinasakupang lugar. Sa pagsilip sa siwang ng tarangkahan ng guwardiya at tuluyan nitong pagbukas, bumungad sa amin ang mga taong nakasibilyan. Bagaman may pagtataka sa kanilang mukha sa aming pagdating, naroon din naman ang kanilang magiliw na pagtanggap sa amin bilang mga dalaw.

Ipinahiram ng warden ang kanyang mesa upang may mapatungan kami ng gamit. Dinala ito sa kuwartong itinalaga na lugar ng pagbisita sa mga nakapiit doon na preso. Ang mga sumunod na kuwarto nama'y nagsisilbing mga selda at tarima. Sa isang gilid may maliit na tindahan ng tsitirya, tinapay at softdrinks. Parang itong isang maliit na komunidad; may mga kubo, may mga batang naglalaro, may mga buntis na asawa ng ilang preso, at may inaalagaang mga hayop sa likurang bakuran. Ilang minuto lamang, dumating si Ericson. Magiliw niya kaming niyakap. Bagaman aminado na hindi siya gaanong nakatulog dahil sa antisipasyon sa pagdalaw ng mga kaibigan, nananatili ang palabiro niyang katangian na sinamahan ng ngiting tatak na niya noong magkakasama pa kami sa kolehiyo.

Sa kamustahan namin nalaman ang ilan sa kanyang kalagayan sa loob ng piitan; kung papano niya ginawang silid-aralan ang piitan upang matutong magsulat at magbasa ang kanyang mga kasama sa selda, ang pagpapalalim ng talakayan sa pagitan ng mga preso sa mga lokal at pambansang usapin, at ang pagdiin sa mga protesta sa loob mismo ng piitan dahil sa pag-abuso sa kapangyarihan ng ilan sa mga namamahala doon. Habang nagkukwentuhan, makikita naman sa labas ang palakad-lakad na nakasibilyang kalalakihan na binanggit ni Ericson na kasapi ng mga militar na nagtayo ng kampo sa likuran ng piitan simula ng siya'y mahuli. Ikinuwento niya ang kalagayan ng ilan sa mga preso; ang mga kinasadlakan ng mga goons ng mga natalong politiko, ang aleng sa halip na ikulong ang anak na maysala ay siya ang ikinulong, at ang mga karaniwang kuwento ng mga presong biktima ng inhustisya sa lugar.

Kahit kami'y nasa lugar ng piitan, para na kaming iniligid ni Ericson sa buong probinsiya ng Samar gamit ang kanyang mga salita, galaw at tila pag-awit ng kasaysayan ng islang pinili niyang maging lunan ng tunggalian. Isinalaysay niya ang kanyang naging karanasan sa paglingkod sa kanayunan; kung paano siya dinakip at pinaratangan ng mga militar, ang ginawang pagsuporta at pagtanggol sa kanya ng masa upang siya'y bawiin, at ang nakaukit ng kamalayan sa diwa ng himagsikan na nananahan sa buong isla ng Samar na walang ipinagkaiba sa iba pang probinsya at isla sa Pilipinas.

"Isang higanteng nahihimbing ang isla ng Samar, isang higanteng marapat gisingin" sabi ni Ericson.

Farmers in Eastern Visayas bear brunt of military’s anger over setbacks

By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com

MANILA — Many Filipinos who have never been outside Luzon may very well wonder where Samar is. Many may even be stymied if confronted with queries as to where Eastern Visayas is in the Philippine map. In any case, both the region and the province are seldom featured in the pages of Manila-based broadsheets. They should be, if only because of the alarming human rights situation and the continuing violations against the civil, political and human rights of activists and ordinary civilians there.

Recently, writer and poet Ericson Acosta was arrested in San Jorge in Samar . Earlier, National Democratic Front (NDF) consultant Eduardo Sarmiento was arrested, as well as peasant leader Dario Tomada.

The Alliance of Concerned Samareños (ACOS) recently released to media an initial fact sheet on the Catbalogan 5. ACOS is signatory to a support statement calling for Acosta’s release, part of which says: “It behooves the Aquino government to forge favorable conditions in the conduct of its peace efforts by releasing political prisoners.”

The National Democratic Front in the Eastern Visayas (NDF-EV) has already assailed the Benigno Aquino III government for brushing aside provisions of the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) and the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) with regard the continuing human rights violations in the region and the illegal arrest of its peace consultants.

According to the NDF-EV, Aquino casts a shadow on the peace process with its “yawning indifference.”

The Catbalogan 5

When barangay officials in Bay-ang, San Jorge raised the alarm after Acosta was arrested by the military, human rights groups led by Katungod-Sinirangan Bisayas (Katungod-SB) immediately looked for Acosta in military detachments and detention facilities all over Samar. They asked civilians around military camps if soldiers had brought in captives; inquired with the wardens and jail guards if they had new prisoners accused of being “rebels.”

A jail guard in a Catbalogan jail answered in the affirmative and revealed that there were already five such “rebels” in their custody. One of the prisoners was brought to the jail in August 2010, but the others rest have been in prison for as long as since 2004.

It was then Katungod –SB discovered the Catbalogan 5. After the human rights group found Acosta and were told that the cultural worker had already been remitted to the Calbayog sub-provincial jail, they realized that they had to also give attention to the plight of the other political detainees.

The Catbalogan 5 is composed of farmers Noel Galvez, Simon Gabijan, Jesus Bacnotan and spouses Loreto and Beatriz Gabuay. Except for Loreto’s wife Beatriz, all of them face criminal charges related to NPA actions in Samar. Beatriz “chose” to stay in detention, and, according to reports, insist that she would not leave her husband in jail out of fear for his safety and life. She said that military men continue to visit their barrio to harass her, even when Loreto was already behind bars.

Based on signed interviews and fact sheets initially forwarded by human rights volunteers in Samar, the Catbalogan 5 underwent the same, if not worse circumstances of illegal arrest suffered by political prisoners like Acosta, Tomada and Sarmiento. Their personal accounts and testimonies regarding their ordeal expose how some, if not all, of them were subjected to torture and gross human rights violations while under the custody of authorities who arrested, and later accused them of false and manufactured charges to justify their continued detention.

According to human rights groups, the charges against the farmers range from robbery to multiple murder, were made in connection with high-profile “tactical offensives” launched by the NPA in the last decade. From these offensive actions, the NPA carted away several high-powered firearms from the AFP and the PNP, while government forces usually suffered heavy casualties.

Ordinary farmers tortured, accused of being NPA

Noel Galvez, 42, is a farmer from Barangay Buloan in Calbiga town. He was arrested in August 2010 as he was accompanying other barrio residents to register with the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) office in Calbiga in time for the barangay elections which took place the following October.

Sources say that Galvez, who had long been accused by the military of being a NPA supporter, was convinced that he should avail of the army’s offer of reconciliation especially after the Aquino administration promised a better future for ordinary citizens. Galvez had earlier submitted himself for “clearance” at a military detachment for him to be able to “campaign freely” for a barrio politician.

Despite this “clearance,” he was still arrested and charged with frustrated murder and multiple murder in relation to an NPA raid in Barangay Binanggaran, Calbiga. Two troopers were reportedly killed, while two high-powered rifles were seized by the NPA in that December 17, 2009 incident.

Galvez said that he has witnesses to prove that he was working on his farm when the raid happened, but a certain Capt. Renante Morales of the 8th ID insisted that it was Galvez he saw a hundred meters from his position. Capt. Morales said that Galvez in fact wore a green shirt, and served as “blocking force” in the rebel attack.

Simon Gabijan, 48, of Barangay Lipata in Paranas town said that he was fishing with his family all morning until noon on February 28, 2002. He had learned that the NPA raided the Municipal Police Station (MPS) in nearby Motiong, from the usual barrio word-of-mouth when they got home. Based on information from actual news reports, the early morning raid of the NPA resulted in three casualties for the PNP, while the rebels seized at least 15 high-powered firearms from the poorly-manned police detachment.

After a few months, Gabijan received a subpoena. In it he was accused of participating in the raid. He immediately went to the Motiong police station to clear his name. At the station, the local officers assured Gabijan that there was nothing to worry about – they told him that the rebels who participated in the raid were all young men so it was unlikely that Gabijan was actually involved.

The chief of police who identified himself as Rivera told Gabijan to ask a Judge Jakosalem about his case. The judge in turn, advised Gabijan to get a lawyer so that he could file a motion to quash. He attempted to get a lawyer, but given his limited resources – and probably banking on the assurances made by the police officers – Gabijan just went on to try his luck in Manila.

Several months after he returned to Samar, Gabijan was arrested on the strength of a warrant of arrest for criminal charges in connection with another NPA offensive. He was accused of involvement in the March 17, 2004 raid on the 34th IB and PNP station in San Jose de Buan town, several kilometers away from Paranas.

According to a statement released by the NPA’s Efren Martires Command in the Eastern Visayas, 13 soldiers and one policeman were killed in the raid. The NPA suffered three casualties but seized M16 and M14 rifles, and several pistols from government forces.

Gabijan said that he was still in Manila when the raid occurred – he had returned to Samar only in June of 2004. Three policemen have testified against Gabijan. They claimed that they actually saw him around 4:30 a.m. participating in the rebel attack. Gabijan expressed wonderment over how the policemen could have possibly seen him in the darkness of pre-dawn.

Jesus Bacnotan, 64, also of Barangay Lipata, was charged with several criminal cases for alleged involvement in the NPA raid in Motiong. It was only in 2008, however, that he was arrested – abducted, rather – by soldiers from the 8th ID.

On November 20, 2008, at around 11p.m., men who identified themselves as soldiers knocked on the Bacnotan family’s door and asked for Jesus. Jesus, roused from his sleep, opened the door and was immediately blindfolded and pushed inside a vehicle. Because of the long drive, he thought that he would be brought to the 8th ID headquarters in Barangay Maulong, Catbalogan. At around 3 a.m. based on his estimates, he was made to ride another vehicle and was told that he would be brought to a hospital. He said that he was brought somewhere in Tacloban City or Leyte.

Bacnotan said that he spent three nights under military custody where he underwent continuous tactical interrogation by several military men who took turns in questioning him. He was blindfolded the entire time. He realized that he was brought to Leyte because he saw the San Juanico Bridge when his blindfold was finally removed – aboard another vehicle bound for the 8th ID headquarters in Maulong.

It was only then that he was turned over to the police. He was informed that he was being charged with rebellion, multiple murder, frustrated murder and robbery when he was brought to the Catbalogan Hall of Justice. Bacnotan, already a senior citizen at the time of his arrest, was made to stay another three nights in the Maulong military barracks before he was remitted to the provincial jail in Catbalogan.

Loreto Gabuay, also a senior citizen at 63, is a farmer from Barangay Salay in Paranas. He was also charged with involvement with several NPA actions such as the Motiong and San Jose de Buan raid, and even in the ambuscades by the NPA in Barangay Babaclayon and Lawaan in Paranas. Gabuay said that he was either at home with his family or tending his nearby farm when the incidents happened.

Gabuay was arrested by soldiers from the 34th IB on September 23, 2008. At around 3 a.m., soldiers surrounded their residence in Barangay Salay. His family refused to obey the order to open the door. At daybreak, soldiers broke down their door home and searched for “concealed weapons.” When they found nothing, the soldiers took Loreto with them. The soldiers did not carry, or show them a search warrant or warrant of arrest.

For fear that Gabuay would be summarily executed, his wife Beatriz, 48, begged the soldiers to spare his husband and asked that she be brought with them. They were both blindfolded and taken to the 8th ID headquarters in Maulong.

At the military barracks, Loreto was repeatedly tortured and coerced to admit that he was a NPA commander. His interrogators promised him stable means of livelihood if he surrendered. He was turned over to the police where he was made to sign some documents and was informed of the charges filed against him. After ten months, Beatriz was released.

More than a year after she was released, soldiers returned to Barangay Salay looking for Beatriz. They said that they had an arrest warrant for her. Beatriz returned to the Catbalogan jail to inform his husband that she was still being harassed by the military. They solicited the help of the jail warden, who promptly advised Beatriz to check with the Hall of Justice if there was indeed a standing arrest warrant against her. She learned that there was none, and, in any case, Beatriz refused to return to Barangay Salay because she is convinced that the military would not stop harassing her.

While the charges filed against these farmers are currently handled by lawyers from the Public Attorneys’ Office (PAO), the Catbalogan 5 appeal to concerned institutions, human rights advocates, and lawyers to look into their plight.

Similarities in the Acosta and Sarmiento arrests

Writer Acosta was arrested without warrant while conducting research on the human rights situation in Barangay Bay-ang in San Jorge last February 13. His counter affidavit states that “he was physically and psychologically tortured” when he was forced to undergo continuous tactical interrogation for three days in a military camp in San Jorge. While his supporters maintain that he is a free-lance journalist and cultural worker, the AFP tags Acosta as a “top-ranking personality of the CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines).”

The case of illegal possession of explosives against Acosta – filed by the San Jorge PNP and elements from the army’s 34th Infantry Battalion who allegedly recovered a hand grenade from Acosta upon arrest – is currently with the Samar provincial prosecutor’s office for evaluation.

NDFP consultant Sarmiento, like fellow consultant Alan Jasminez who was arrested in Bulacan last February 14, is formally covered by the JASIG of the GPH-NDF Peace Talks. However, Jasminez and Sarmiento were unable to participate in the resumption of the talks held in Oslo, Norway last February, as both are still detained at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

Curiously, a fragmentation grenade was also allegedly found in the possession of Sarmiento when he was arrested in the vicinity of a shopping mall in Alabang, Muntinlupa on February 24, 2009. The NDF-EV, through its spokesperson Fr. Santiago Salas, said Sarmiento, who was then in Manila to attend consultations, was actually abducted, tortured and held incommunicado for several days. The AFP then announced, through a press statement dated March 3, 2009, that Sarmiento was arrested by joint elements from the army intelligence and the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) by virtue of a warrant of arrest for arson.

For Sarmiento’s arrest, a P2 million ($46.5 thousand) bounty was also reportedly awarded by the AFP to an informant. The AFP claimed that Sarmiento is the secretary of the CPP’s Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee and member of the Central Committee of the CPP-NDFP and the NPA.

Inopacan “Mass Graves”

The “mass graves” in Inopacan, Southern Leyte were in the headlines since 2006 when prominent personalities such as former Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo were among those tagged by the Arroyo administration’s Inter-Agency Legal Action Group (IALAG) as perpetrators of this particular case of “communist purging.”

One of those implicated was Vincent Borja, a Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) coordinator for the Eastern Visayas. Arrested in May of 2007, Borja was released only last October after being cleared of several other trumped-up murder charges filed in Leyte.

Political prisoners tagged by the AFP as “top NPA leaders” such as Paterno Opo and Jaime Soledad are also being held for the Inopacan murders. Before they were charged with other common crimes, Jaime and his wife Clarita were abducted by armed men in a convenience store in Bacoor, Cavite in March 2008 .

Those accused assert that this “mass grave” issue is a mere orchestration by the previous government as part of Oplan Bantay Laya. Human rights groups in the Visayas found that the skeletal remains of seven individuals alleged to have been buried in Inopacan appeared to have been “already used” in earlier murder charges to implicate Soledad. The bodies were earlier reported to have been exhumed from another “mass grave” in Baybay, Leyte in June of 2000.

However, illegal arrests based on this trumped-up charge continue – even after the dismantling of the IALAG.

Dario Tomada was arrested in Binan, Laguna by elements of the Intelligence Service of the AFP (ISAFP) on July, 22, 2010 and was charged with 15 counts of murder related to the Inopacan “mass graves.” Tomada was the founding Secretary-General of the regional peasant organization Samahan han Gudti nga Parag-uma ha Sinirangan Bisayas (SAGUPA-SB). He served as Chairman of SAGUPA-SB from 2001 to 2005, until he was forced to flee the militarized region after a frustrated attempt on his life by military death squads.

The 8th Infantry Division, which covers the whole of Eastern Visayas, was under the command of Jovito Palparan in 2005.

Aside from these high-profile cases, peasants from upland barangays in Samar share stories of so-called “rebel-returnees” who were actually arrested by the military in the most uncommon of circumstances.

During a visit, Acosta told human rights volunteers about a story that the 8th ID released last January. It was about “Jane,” – a “scorned 20- year old NPA amazon who was almost raped by her comrades” – who supposedly surrendered on her own volition to the 34th IB headquarters in San Jose de Buan.

However, local townsfolk could attest that the military arrested Jocelyn Gabin – not “Jane” – a resident of the upland Barangay Cataydungan, while she was attending the “patron” or San Jose de Buan town fiesta.

Oplan Bayanihan

All the farmers who became political prisoners were arrested under different circumstances, and all of them insist on their innocence and decry the charges made against them. They assert that they were never part of the armed offensives of the military said that they were involved in. They were, as they termed it, “ ordinary barrio folk.” One said that he was in fact at home when the NPA offensive which the military said he was part of took place. Another was in far away Manila, trying to make a living employed in a few menial jobs. As for the others, they were as should have been expected of farmers, tending their farms when the NPA actions transpired. It just so happened that their homes and farms were located in the interior barrios of Samar marked as “NPA guerilla zones” by the AFP.

In the meantime, if for a moment the possibility that the five farmers were actually involved or have been civilian supporters of the NPA is admitted, given that their homes and farms were located in the interior barrios of Samar marked as “NPA guerilla zones” by the AFP, human rights groups insist that the detainees should be accorded humane treatment and their rights to receive legal counsel should be upheld. The groups point out that ordinary farmers always suffer the brunt of military abuse: they suffered under the killing spree that was the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration’s Oplan Bantay Laya, and now they are being subjected to intensified militarization under the guise of “team work and solidarity” courtesy of the Aquino regime’s Oplan Bayanihan.

Observers say that the least that could be done is for the arresting police and military forces in the cases of the Catbalogan 5 be charged under Republic Act 9745 or the Anti-Torture Law.The Anti-Torture Law criminalizes all forms of torture — physical, mental, psychological and pharmacological. It disallows any justification for torture and other inhuman punishments. Torturers will be penalized as principals, as well as their superiors in the military, police or law enforcement establishments who ordered the torture.

The law orders a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Other penalties range from a minimum of six months to a maximum of 12 years of imprisonment depending on the gravity of the offense.

When Aquino took his oath as the county’s 15th president, he projected himself as a defender of human rights. In his first State of the Nation Address, he declared that the three of the six cases of killings which happened under his then month-old administration had already been solved.

Now, almost a year after, the number of political killings is pegged at 44. In the meantime, nothing has been done to arrest and charge Oplan Bantay Laya architect and butcher Palparan and other military perpetrators of the thousands of extrajudicial killings under the Arroyo regime. As human rights groups assert, nothing has changed. Aquino carries on Arroyo’s legacy of state terror and violence.

Hagulgol ng Gubat

ni Richard Gappi

In brutal retaliation for the Balangiga attack, villages were set on fire, crops were destroyed, and thousands are believed to have died.

I.
...
Ngayon ay labingsiyam at isa.
At dito sa aking tahanan, langit man
ay naliligalig, ayaw tumahan.
Nasasaid ang aking lakas
upang bigyan pa ito ng ibang pangalan.
Maliban sa impiyerno, impiyernong katahimakan
ang nakaratay sa lupa.
Sa maraming taon,
nakaukit sa kanyang mga puno at bundok
ang kanyang pangalan.
Ito ang Samar!
Sa maraming taon,
ibinubulong ng hangin at dalampasigan
ang kanyang pangalan.
Ito ang Samar!
Ito ang Samar!
Ngayon ay labingsiyam at isa.
At dito sa aking tahanan,
ang nakahimlay na kapayapaan
ay nakaukit sa lapida ng mga namatay.

II.

Tag-araw at totoong walang nakadapong halumigmig.
Ngunit nangangaligkig ako,
sukol ako ng aking mga tadyang at gulugod;
Pilit kong nilalabanan ang ‘di mabatid
na sumpang lamig mula sa Kanluran.
Tila ako isang batang sumisinghap,
nalulunod sa bangungot, nagpupumiglas na makakawala
sa malawak na kamay ng dagat,
o sa sikmura ng sinaunang kuweba,
o sa pagkakalingkis ng bolang apoy.
Tila ako isang langong pulpito na natutuliro,
mag-isang naglalakbay sa puso
ng gabi habang nasa kamposanto.

Ngunit hindi ito sementeryo -
wala ritong krus na nakatundos sa mga hungkag na hukay.
Walang punong santol na magsisilbing lilim
at pahingahan ng mga nagluluksa -
mga naulilang umaasa sa ulan,
pang-ampat sa nakatalukbong na init ng araw.
Sapagkat dito, isang dambuhalang lapida ang buong Isla.
Isang malawak na kamposanto itong arkipelago sa Asya.
Sapagkat dito, hindi tubig ang pumapatak na ulan
kundi mga bala mula sa bunganga ng Springfield.

Sapagkat dito, lamon ng Bolang Araw ang Sandaigdigan.

III.

Kaya ngayon, nagpasya akong maging isang panakot-uwak.
Kahit batid kong ni hindi mapapadako rito ang ulilang mayamaya
Kahit batid kong wala ritong madadagit na palay.

Lupa lamang ang narito na pinagyayaman.
Hindi ng init ng mga bulkan
kundi ng malalamig na bangkay.

Lupa lamang ang naritong patunay sa halubigat na nasa aking talampakan.
Lupa lamang ang narito na patuloy kong tutungtungan -

Hanggang maulinigan ko ang pinakamatining
na ungol, iyak, at sigaw ng humahagulgol na gubat --
kung saan naroon ang aking mga kasama at mahal sa buhay.
Na ang mga nalasog na buto ay tumatabing sa ‘di ko na masipat na panginorin;
Na ang mga natadtad na katawan ay simpatag ng gubat;
Na ang mga nabubulok na katawan ay tumatabon sa dating mga palayan -
isang tanawin ito, Oo, isang tanawin na higit pa sa kumunoy
na kailan man naisip ay kong hindi sasagi sa alamat ng aking nawalang kabataan.

Lupa lamang ang naritong patunay sa halubigat na nasa aking talampakan.
Lupa lamang ang narito na patuloy kong tutungtungan -

Hanggang dumating ang pagkakataon
na umawit ang sanggol sa aking sinapupunan,
at sabihin sa akin na ito,
ito na ang panahon upang humakbang ang panakot-uwak,
tunguhin ang dalampasigan ng Dagat Pasipiko
upang doon, maging isang ulilang mayamaya -
habang sinusukat ng pakpak ang lawak ng dagat
at humapon sa buhanginan ng dalampasigan.

At iluwal

Siya, siya na hindi ko kilala ang ama.

Siya na hindi ko mapagsino ang mukha ng kanyang ama.
Ngunit bakit, bakit kailangan ko pang alamin…

Siya, na isa lamang ang ari ng kanyang ama
sa lima o limampung ari ng puti na hindi tuli.
Ngunit walang pakundangang
sinalit-salit ang aking Malayong katauhan.
Sa bawat sibat, sa bawat diin, sa bawat pagwakwak -
Bawat igkas, bawat siklot, ang bawat pagsabog ng apoy
ay tila mga dambuhalang kamay,
nilalamutak ang aking sinapupunan, sinasakmal ang kalamnan.

Huwag nang banggitin pa
ang lunggati ng aking kaluluwa;
Kung totoo ngang
itong kaluluwa ang tanging ikinaiiba
ng babae at ng butas,
o ng lalaki at ng tagdang yari sa Amerika.

IV.

Oo aking anak.
Sasabihan ko kung sino man ang iyong ama.
Oo aking anak.

Sapagkat ikaw ang aking kaluluwa.
Ikaw ang aking pangalan at awit -

Ikaw ang aking kapayapaan!

Sapagkat kapwa kamatayan at paghihiganti ang kapayapaan.
At sa atin, dito sa Samar! Dito sa buong kapuluan!
Higanti ang makatarungang Himagsikan.

Ito ang aking natutuhan. Ito ang ituturo ko sa iyo.
At ito ang ating ibabanyuhay sa buong Samar.

Ito ay tula na isinulat ni Richard Gappi para sa dulang "Samar" ng UP Alay Sining. Nagsimula ang konsepto ng dula mula sa isang tula sa Ingles na isinulat ni Ericson Acosta at isinalin sa Filipino ni Richard Gappi.

Ericson Acosta : From Monument to Masses*

Ericson's father Isaias, with artists Boy Dominguez and Ed Manalo, Bayan staff Oyoboy Pascual, and the writer (right) during the Free Ericson Acosta Campaign public launch last April 15.

by Renato Reyes, Jr. in Like a Rolling Stone

“'Yung mga laman ng kantang yun…siguro yun ang dahilan kung bakit ako nandito.”

Such were the words of political prisoner and cultural worker Ericson Acosta as we concluded the “Prison Sessions”recording at the Calbayog sub-provincial jail last April 6. Acosta, who was arrested without warrant last February 13, faces false charges of illegal possession of explosives and remains incarcerated at the Calbayog jail.

Ericson wasn’t exaggerating when he said that the songs we recorded that day, songs that spanned the entire 17 years that I have known him, were somehow to blame for his current situation.

I met Ericson in 1994, during a period of transition in the Philippine Collegian. Our meeting was not really of a political sort. We just happened to be at the 4^th floor of Vinzons Hall, where the Center for Nationalist Studies library and the Collegian office were located and where the rehearsals for Alay Sining’s PD1081 were being held.

It was during those times that we happened to have a similar interest in music, along with the Kule editor-in-chief Mike Ac-ac who played the blues harp. Our “set list” consisted of Binky Lampano, The Doors, U2, The Jerks, Eraserheads, Yano and so on. The stage was the 4^th floor lobby of Vinzons, or the Grandstand in Sunken Garden. We eventually brought our “performances” to protest actions against the commercialization of UP, with megaphones as our sound system.

Ericson got to know the activists of ND movement, both in and out of Kule. He would eventually join and lead Alay Sining. He went on to write and perform songs that he composed. Ericson wrote epic loves songs that inspired revolutionary romanticism among listeners.

His songs found an outlet through the multi-media production called Monumento, about the life of Andres Bonifacio and the unfinished revolution. He wrote and directed the production and was also the lead actor. One of his early compositions, “Awit ng Kasaysayan” was the opening song.

Ericson’s songs however, are not just meant to inspire or consolidate the ranks of the activist youth. The songs are often a reflection of his own personal contradictions as artist and activist. The songs exhort the artist to follow the road less traveled and to immerse themselves in the revolutionary struggle of the people.

The second stanza of the song “Dahil” tells us why.

“Dahil itong pagtula
hitik man sa tugma,
lagyan pa ng himig,
di pa rin marining,
ang awit ng pag-ibig.

Kaya nga buhay mismo ang alay
Di lang luha, sigaw, tula at awit
Kaya nga alay mismo ang buhay
Ngayo’y di na kaila sa akin kung bakit”

The song “Haranang Bayan” may have referred to Ericson being a “late bloomer” as far as activism was concerned. Learning to playing music, even belatedly, became a metaphor for joining the struggle. It is never too late to be part of this grand “composition”.

“Sadyang di pa huli ang lahat
Bukas tatanganan ang gitara
Mag-aaral tumugtog ng tapat
Darating din ang araw ng harana

Sadyang di pa tapos ang laban
Kailangang hawakan ang sandata
Pagkat awit ay di sasapat
Upang lubos na tupdin ang panata”

Again the familiar theme reminds the audience of the artist’s ultimate goal. The same is true in Ericson’s poem, “And so your poetry must”, a scathing criticism of poets and artists who deny social realities.

And so in recollecting
your epiphanies
you elude the void
which is my hunger
the famine of millions
the empty bowl of history.

The love song “Magsasama, Magkasama” has a more upbeat tune and theme, with the artist and revolutionary having accepted his/her role.

“Suyuin ang musa ng kasaysayan
Suungin ang dusa na kasabayan
Maglalayag, tula’t mga talata
Maghahayag, pulang mga panata”

And so from this pledge (panata) to serve the people, Ericson went outside the university and experienced firsthand the struggles of the oppressed masses. Fulfilling his pledge meant going to picket lines, far-flung barrios and depressed communities. Developing his craft meant making art serve the people struggle. At the time of his arrest, Ericson was investigating the human rights situation in Ban-yang, San Jorge,Samar.

Prior to this, he had written articles on human rights violations against farmers in Samar. His only “crime” at the time of his arrest was that he was a Tagalog-speaking person with a laptop in a remote village. His affidavit tells of the strange circumstances of his illegal arrest and how, because he seemed a bit out of place in that barrio setting, he was accused of being an NPA. One can’t help but recall how, similarly during Martial Law, those with long hair were arrested on suspicion they were activists. It seems that in some places in the country, people are still living in that era.

“Dati sa Vinzons lang tayo kumakanta,” I told him at the start of the recording.

From Vinzons Hall to the Calbayog jail multi-purpose hall, from the first mounting of Monumento, to the raw recordings inside prison, Ericson has come a long way. His current situation may not be something he had contemplated in any of his songs, but rather an unexpected consequence of the choices he had made as an artist and activist.

And they were the right choices, notwithstanding the sacrifices he currently has to endure. If anything, his experience further highlights the continuing gross human rights violations under the current regime. From a documenter of human rights violations , to a human rights victim himself, Ericson’s unjust detention serves as a challenge for all artists to get actively involved in the cause of civil liberties, genuine freedom and democracy.

We are happy that fellow artists, writers and activists have thrown their full support behind his fight for freedom. Ericson is waging his own struggle behind bars. Every song, poem and statement from his detention facility is an assertion of his rights, and an indictment of the rotten system.

“Salamat sa inyong suporta,” Ericson’s voice almost cracks. “Magkikita din tayo.”

Ericson will celebrate his birthday on May 27, likely still behind bars as he awaits the prosecutor’s decision on whether or not the case against him will be filed in court. A campaign has been launched for his immediate release. We plan to have a benefit gig for Ericson to coincide with his birthday.

We stand firmly with Ericson during this difficult period of struggle.

“Hangga’t digma’y may saysay.
Hangga’t dugo’y may kulay.
Hanggang tagumpay.”

*From Monument to Masses was a progressive post-rock band based in the Bay Area during the last decade. The name of the band was meant to challenge the notion that great men, for whom monuments are built, are the real makers of history. For FMTM, it is the struggle of the masses which shape society and determine the course of history.

Planting of evidence ng 8th Infantry Division

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Marami ang umasa na sa ilalim ng pamamahala ni Pa­ngulong Noynoy Aquino ay maitutuwid na rin ang dating baluktot na daan na tinatahak ng maraming mga opisyal at sundalo ng Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Kung natigil man ang korapsyon dahil sa naging pagbubunyag ni dating Army Lt. Col. George Rabusa, mukhang hindi pa rin natitigil ang ilegal na gawain ng pagtatanim ng ebidensiya sa mga pinaghihinalaang mi­yembro ng Communist Party of the Philippines at New People’s Army.

Ganito ang ginawa noon sa mga miyembro ng “Morong 43” na nakuhanan umano ng militar ng mga pampasabog at iba pang kagamitang pandigma gayung mga health workers ang mga ito na uma-attend lang ng seminar.

Pero dahil nga si Gng. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ang Pangulo noon ay nasampahan ng kasong kriminal ang “Morong 43” at hindi nakapagpiyansa dahil non-bailable ang illegal possession of firearms and explosives.

Matatandang sa ilalim din ng administrasyong Arroyo, dumami ang mga insidente ng extra-judicial killings at forced disappearances kung saan kabilang ang aktibistang si Jonas Burgos na anak ng yumaong press freedom icon na si Joe Burgos.

Kamakailan ay mayroon na namang nataniman ng ebidensiya ang 8th Infantry Division ng Philippine Army at ito ay isang pinaghihinalaang CPP-NPA Ericson Acosta na hinuli ng mga sundalo sa Barangay Bay-ang, bayan ng San Jorge sa lalawigan ng Samar.

Pebrero 13 nang masakote si Acosta ng mga elemento ng 34th Infantry Battalion sa pamumuno ng platoon leader na si 2nd Lt. Jacob Madarang.

Base sa naging affidavit ni Acosta, may mga kasama siyang mga residente ng Barangay Bay-ang nang may madaanan silang checkpoint at kaya siya napag-initan ay dahil may dala siyang laptop computer sa kanyang backpack.

Dahil sa kanyang laptop ay pinaghinalaan agad si Acosta na miyembro ng CPP-NPA at sinabing opisyal ng Instruction Bureau na nasa ilalim National Education Department ng CPP.

Nasamsam kay Acosta ang kanyang laptop na may complete accessories kabilang ang spare battery, external hard drive, USB dongle, isang cellular phone, anim na SIM cards at P4,800 cash.

Walang nakuhang granada o anumang pampasabog mula sa backpack ni Acosta kaya laking gulat na niya nang sampahan siya ng kasong illegal possession of firearms and explosives sa Branch 41 ng Regional Trial Court sa munisipalidad ng Gandara.

Sa kabila ng evidence planting kay Acosta ay patuloy itong nakapiit sa Gandara police station habang hinihintay ang pagdinig sa kanyang kaso.

Kilalang aktibista, makata at kompositor ng mga awitin si Acosta sa University of the Philippines kung saan siya naging cultural editor ng Philippine Collegian noong 1993. Naging miyembro rin ng Amnesty International si Acosta bukod pa sa pagiging stage actor sa UP.

Hindi nakakapagtaka kung hanggang ngayon ay dala pa rin ng 37-anyos na si Acosta ang idealismo at aktibismo na natutunan niya sa UP at mas pinili niya ang maging isang freelance journalist na nag-iimbestiga ng mga human rights violations sa Samar.

Naging interes din ni Acosta ang proteksyon ng kapaligiran kung kaya’t aktibo siyang tumutulong sa mga environmental groups gaya ng Alliance of Concerned Samareños (ACOS) at Kapununganhan Gudti nga Paragumaha Westehan Samar (KAPAWA).

Malaking kalapastanganan ang ginawa ng 8th Infantry Division sa karapatang pantao ni Acosta at dapat lamang na palayain siya dahil hindi naman kasalanan ang maging aktibista para sa human rights at environmental protection.