(New York:Monthly
rebiew Press, 1991)
Several biographies
have come out in the Philippines after the overthrow of the
Marcos kleptocracy. There are biographies of Imelda Marcos and Cory
Aquino. There is a biography of Jose Ma. Sison tiltled: The Philippine
Revolution: A Leader's View. Sison is, of course, the foremost leader
against Marcos.
This book is a
biography of a fallen revoluntionary. It was previously published
in the Philippines, and now re-published in the United States.
This reviewer
is glad the biography was written for a number of reasons. First,
one can read this biography as a story of eighteen years of Marcos
rule - a period already covered by many authors, including Sterling
Seagrave, Stanley Karnow, Sandra Burton, and Canadian author, Bryan
Johnson (Four Days of Courage). Second, this biography concerns one
of the lesser known figures from that period and yet he has now become
a household name in Philippine circles. Third, this biography is a
mirror image of conditions in many Third World countires. Fourth,
through reading this book, I hope that many more Americans will understand
the impact of U.S. foreign policy on Third World countries, especially
the Philippines.
The two decades
of Marcosian rule were the most demoralizing (it.) and destructive
(it.) the Philippines has ever known. The period roughly covers the
mid-1960s to the mid-1980s. The effects of demoralization and destruction
continue to be felt there, if one really looks closely at the Philippines'
basic problems.
Jose W. Diokno,
human rights lawyer, an imprisoned survivor of Marcosian jails, described
the kind of leaders produced by this period as "brilliant, articulate,
involved." The characterizations apply to the subject of this
biography. Diokno, in a London Amnesty International speech said:
"we will struggle on, no matter how long it takes or what it
costs, until we establish a just community (it) of free men and women
in our land, deciding together, working together and striving together
but also singing and dancing, laughing and loving together."
Imagine this situation:
Philippine militarty soldiers raid a house. After shots are fired
and the noise has settled down, a soldier peers at the dead and exclaims:
"Look who we have here. Edgar Jopson! We hit the jackpot."
Tracing the life
of a young revolunionary would usually not take forty-three
well-written chapters. This book was based on interviews with major
participants of the mass struggle against Marcos. It traces Jopson's
early years, to the time he was an Ateneo student, his involvement
in the national leadership of students, and his role as a labor leader.
The Marcos military was known for its brutal killing methods, which
they called, "salvaging."
The military did
not only get EDJOP (as he was fondly known) but two steel cabinets
of documents. It contained short biographies (talambuhay) of
cadres, copies of two newspapers, Liberation and Ang Bayan
- The People. There was no doubt the military really hit the jackpot
in the killing of Edgar Jopson.
For Western readers,
colonialism is a forgotten experience. To many Third World peoples,
colonialism is a reality. Reaction to it still "disturbs the
cultural
self-identify and soul of a people and it is difficult
for them to
know who they are and what they want to be. One may even look at the
removal of the U.S. bases in the Philippines as a reaction to American
colonialism.
What is the lesson
of EDJOP's odyssey? It has shown that despair should not be in the
vocabulary of those who see change. Filipinos have shown that we are
capable of growth, that we are eminently capable of escaping the confines
of our class consciousness and that there is good reason to hope,'
in the words of a friend, Freddie Salanga.
Fr. Edicio de
la Torre, an activisit of the period, stated: " EDJOP added a
few
lines about passion, death and resurrection of a middle-class Christian
- one who has undergone a passage." Or the testimony of his wife
Joy, who wrote on September 1988, "EDJOP lives in the hearts
of all who are still struggling for a more just society, where
ordinary people, the workers and peasants, will truly be free."
He was the first
and only son of a closely-knit Filipino family. By hard struggle,
his parents ran a successful grocery store in proletarian Sampaloc,
Manila, which enabled the family to have amenities, allowing them
to send him to the exclusive Jesuit Ateneo de Manila Unviersity. He
was a bright student, as his contemporaries would attest.
His deep and abiding
concerns for the poor were stimulated by Pope John XXIII and the Vactican
reforms. He made many difficult choices that are part of his biography.
He chose total sacrifice for the people ( the masa) for who
he bore profound respect and love. He joined the New People's Army
(NPA) in its struggles. A true Philippines patriot, he sided courageously
with the true nation, the people against a tyranny that impoverished
them. In the face of maximum adversity, Edgar Jopson maintained his
idealism, stood by his convictions, and practiced his beliefs. He
remained gentle, modest, always constructive, to the end.
Why would a bright
promising Catholic-trained leader join the Communists? His early life
showed few indications of his later path. Where was his "road
to Damascus?" He could have joined the many more brilliant young
men who were coopted by Marcos. He would have been rewarded materially,
as many who were "bought" by the Marcos minions, for he
had the same connections, the same brilliance of those who had heard
the prostituting sign of complacency and greed.
These and many
more questions could be answered by the book. For American readers,
it might be hard to imagine how difficult it is not to listen to the
siren of materialism. To pose a question is to answer it, but if you
really want to know why, read Rebolusyon!
Maximo P. Fabella
Orange Park, Florida
