THAT his death drew the attention and comment of people from different walks of life was not surprising. Perhaps it is because we prefer names, faces and stories to statistics, but the days following his death, taxi drivers freely commented about him to their passengers, and total strangers sharing jeep rides were drawn into conversations about his death. He was after all one of the very few faces of the national democratic revolutionary groups in Mindanao known to the public, Parago represented the New People's Army (NPA) operating in Southern Mindanao, and Oris is spokesperson for the National Democratic Front (NDF) in Mindanao.
Mindanawons exposed to mass media knew Parago to be involved in the NPA’s capture and subsequent release of Gen. Victor Obillo and Capt. Eduardo Montealto in 1999, the NPA raid of the Davao Penal Colony in 2007, and other tactical offensives against the military. He had been called berdugo in radio broadcasts, and depicted as godless, lawless and merciless on streamers hung along highways. His death on June 28, 2015, if the military’s predictions would have it, would demoralize fellow NPAs and trigger mass surrenders.
Leoncio Pitao--Ka Parago, Parago or ‘Ago--is no more. He was killed in a raid that also took the life of Vanessa “Ka Kyle” Limpag, the medic who had been taking care of him as he dealt with hepatitis, diabetes and hyperthyroidism.
The streamers and placards during the funeral march did not depict Parago and Kyle as victims, but as heroic martyrs. Perhaps it is a point of honor that Parago’s choice to fight it out to the death would be respected. It is said that Parago’s wife and family, although terribly saddened by his demise, had long been preparing themselves for this outcome given his 37 years-long choice of being part of a social revolution. But it is also said that the family would never be able to come to terms with the brutal and senseless murder of Parago’s daughter Rebelyn in 2009.
Rebelyn’s unsolved abduction and death was but among the many costs that Parago and his family paid. It is another matter with Kyle who, despite raising her hands in surrender and declaring herself as a medic at the start of the raid, had not been spared—in violation of customary international humanitarian law that said that medical personnel should be respected and protected in all circumstances. Parago obviously meant enough to the thousands people who turned out to pay their last respects. A number of them came from outside Davao City, many wearing garb indicating that they could be peasants, workers, indigenous peoples, or urban poor. Those who went to the wake or participated in the funeral march took the risk of having their identities and allegiances exposed, not an inconsequential and small step to take in places where such things spell the difference between life and death.
But how would the rest of Mindanawons regard him? There have been countless men and women in or from Mindanao who gave up their lives to address the challenges of their respective times, often with respect to changing the situation in their locality: from the Muslims, Lumads and settlers who resisted the different colonial forces and incursions against their communities, to those who fought more contemporary battles against dictatorship, development aggression and repression. And yet there are not many martyred Mindanawons who are publicly acknowledged and celebrated as individuals from whom we can draw inspiration.
Maybe Parago’s death is an opportunity to revisit and address this gap. Political lines and chosen modes of struggle aside, I hope Mindanawons would come to appreciate in Parago’s story many of the traits that we need to muster so that together we can continue to change our situation. That is, if we believe that a better Mindanao is possible, adapting the words of Fidel Castro to our realities. I am referring to Parago’s commitment to stand for the poor and marginalized, particularly workers, peasants, and indigenous peoples.
A quote attributed to him goes “Alang kini sa mga mamumuo ug mag-uuma ug mga lumad, kon nganong naa ta dinhi. Dili ug dili gyod kita mamahulay.” This standpoint and persistence is important so we can be relevant to these populations who constitute majority of Mindanawons today. I speak of his courage to pursue change and be unafraid of struggle. He had been subjected to countless military operations under six political administrations. He went through at least two major internal crises that threatened the strength of the national democratic movement. He was captured in 1999 and released in 2001. He could have been overcome by the many stresses and confusions of those times and given in, but he stuck to the vision and agenda in which he believed.
I mean his willingness to sacrifice and go beyond his zone of comfort for a very long period of time. In his seriously ailing condition he could have opted to leave behind revolutionary duties, but he shouldered on. Without necessarily endorsing Parago’s vision, and regardless of one’s chosen means of contributing to change, these are good traits to learn, imbibe and apply to the current set of challenges that Mindanawons face. The Parago that was the subject of military operations is no more.
But if regardless of our circumstances we find in our hearts the willingness and conviction to stand for the poor and marginalized, to be unafraid of change and struggle, and to sacrifice for what we believe in; and if we talk about these traits in taxis, jeeps, schools and wherever we are situated, then marami pang Parago, and a better Mindanao is possible.
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