LAST September 19 was the third book launch held at the Palma Hall of the University of the Philippines-Diliman for the two books “Nation in Our Hearts” and “Wars of Extinction.” In other words, the books have travelled from Manila and Davao where they were first printed then to Cagayan de Oro and Iligan where they were launched, and then in Manila. They will journey back to Cagayan de Oro and then Cebu soon. The journey that these books took to get these series of launchings actually follows the journey of the author, although the pattern is reversed.
My personal adventure started there at University of the Philippines (UP), specifically Palma Hall. Within these halls where in a Social Science class of Dr. Nanette Dungo, a first year BA Psych major with student number 93-32908 was convinced to shift to Sociology. Since then I never left the University for almost the next two decades - from student, to faculty, to one of those hangers-on who stayed within its margins until finally, the romantic attachment to UP withered and I found myself a new “heimat” or community in my birthplace of Mindanao where I now teach and do Sociology at the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology.
With the book launch in UP Diliman recently, this may be a seen as a case of the prodigal son returning bearing many gifts. These books can be seen as a humble “pasalubong” to my first institutional home – the UP-Diliman, and they contain stories about new adventures undertaken and new worlds seen, all documented in these two books.
And it has been a gift that just keeps on giving. Bracing myself for unforgiving comments from fellow sociologists at the premier state university, I was instead, honored by their thoughtful engagements with the books. Young sociology faculty Prof. Andoy Evangelista provided a fine synopsis of the contents of the book “Nation in Our Hearts” and successfully highlighted the scattered sociological agenda in the two-hundred plus articles within. Senior sociology faculty Gerry Lanuza also from the UP Department of Sociology passionately extolled our humble interventions in enriching the Lumad discourse. Indeed, the book Wars of Extinction’s theoretical program was to insist on the ignored political economic dimensions of the Lumad problem. Gerry was also able to identify these works as an attempt to do Public Sociology, thus the partisanship and overt political stance in the tenor.
All in all, it was a fine welcome from colleagues at the Department of Sociology and comrades from CONTEND, an organization of progressive teachers in Diliman that I was a part of. They dubbed the book launch as some sort of homecoming and I was touched by the presence of everyone who came, such as family, mentors, colleagues, and friends and their kind words for the two books that were launched. But the best part of that afternoon’s program actually took place even before the activity began.
One field research site for the book Wars of Extinction was the Manobo Pulangion Lumad community in Botong, Quezon, Bukidnon locked in a land struggle versus a local politician warlord. There I met Renato Anglao, brave community leader. Many months later I would bring my students for a week’s immersion with the community and I got to know Tatay Renz even better since he took care of all us and he even taught my students about the general struggle of the Filipino indigenous peoples and their specific situation.
He was what one would call as an organic intellectual. He had no formal education but acquired a perspective from the educational discussions he had with progressive organizations, which he then imparted to his fellow Lumads in the community unselfishly. Having had the most advanced political consciousness among his group, he often spoke in rallies and became the public face of their community’s struggle.
He relayed to us the dangers they faced when they assert their rights to their ancestral land with many among their ranks hurt and threatened. Tatay Renato Anglao was to pay the ultimate sacrifice on the morning of February 3, 2017 when bonnet-wearing assassins gunned him down.
Before the book launch, I had the opportunity to privately present the book Wars of Extinction to Irene Anglao, his eldest daughter, who attended the activity. I showed her the title page of the book where it was printed that the book was dedicated to the memory of her father with his picture also in one of the spreads. We both had a good cry remembering our painful loss but proud of the meaningful life Tatay Renz sacrificed.
I realized that the significant content of these books pertain to the heroism of people who belong to a movement. Theirs is the true gift that keeps on giving, and I am merely the writer privileged to tell their stories.