Accents
A birthday party like no other
The honoree was in absentia. She who was to be honored with a birthday celebration was nowhere to be found. There were those who wondered, even believed, that the spirit or soul of Luisa "Luing" Posa Dominado was with them—just hovering in the eaves and crannies of the Sta. Teresa Prayer Center in Sambag, Jaro, where the party was held.
She turned 53 August 10 this year, exactly 483 days since her abduction, April 12, 2007, by elements still unknown. Luing was, rather is (I choose to use the present tense as I cling to the hope that she's still alive) the spokesperson of SELDA (Samahan ng mga Detenado Laban sa Detensyon at para sa Amnestiya), a nationwide organization of political detainees. Her fellow "disappeared" was Nilo Arado of AnakPawis, an organization of the country's peasantry.
Right choice to emcee the program was Leeboy Garachico, showing to one and sundry that, despite being shot and left for dead, he's still very much around while his companions Luing and Nilo were whisked away, missing till this very day. Through their photos facing the audience, Luing and Nilo made their presence felt. So did 34 others whose place and date of disappearance were written on their respective pictures. SURFACE! was printed in bold on top of each picture of the disappeared—as KARAPATAN so demands from the perpetrators. KARAPATAN is the organization that documents human rights violations in the country.
Since the assumption to the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2001, KARAPATAN has documented over 1,000 cases of extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances. Among the disappeared was Jonas Burgos who managed the family-owned farm in Bulacan and shared progressive farming methods with other farmers in the area. His abduction in a mall in Manila on 28 April 07 closely followed that of Luing and Nilo. Burgos' photo, along with those of UP students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan (abducted in 26 June 06 while doing research work in Hagonoy, Bulacan) and the rest of the unsolved cases, will forever haunt the Arroyo administration until justice be done. Indeed, until justice be done!
Call them birthday wishes or greetings—the views that were shared focused on a common theme: Reverse, Reappear, Reborn for all the desaparecidos or victims of enforced disappearances. Louie Posa, Luing's brother and chair of the SAVE LUISA AND NILO MOVEMENT, remains undaunted as he enjoined the audience to continue the search for the two: AMON PADAYUNON ANG PAGPANGITA SA INYO NI NILO! Human rights lawyers Rudy Lagoc and Janne Baterna touched on the Writ of Amparo that augments the weak Habeas Corpus law. In strong denunciation of human rights violations, Furds Pelaez spoke for everyone whose heart beats for Luing and Nilo.
May Wan, Luing's daughter, showed a series of pictures of happy times with her mother, making us all the more miss Luing. Also shown was a film entitled Philippines: Democracy that Kills taken by Marie Boti and Malcolm Guy, independent Canadian filmmakers. When Luing's other daughter Tamara, read her Dear Nanay letter, it was then that many in the audience couldn't help the tears. Excerpts:
On August 10, you'll be 53 already. I really wish you'll be there when we celebrate it. I've missed you so much, everyday and always. And I guess everyone else has, too.
It's been hard not having you around. Manang (May Wan) has been a pain in the ass as always but she's trying.
I won't easily admit it and I sometimes forget it, but deep down inside, I miss you so much. I've missed you since the day you never came back. I try my best not to talk about you because just a mere memory could bring me on the verge of tears.
[My friends] urge me to let out because they said it would lessen the pain, so I talked about you and my life, but it only managed to make me cry and make my head ache for the whole night. Sometimes I wonder if the pain will ever go away.
Someone said, "Where's your mom?" and thinking that it was just gonna be a part of my acting [ in a group dynamics] I replied, "She's dead…" and it took sometime for me to take in those words… The whole weight of what I said bore down on me. It felt like the darkness was squeezing me, seeping into every bit of my humanity, waiting for me to fall off the brink, and then, I cried. And I guess the people around me didn't understand why I cried. They don't know…
And you know what, Nay? Remember when I said that I got sick? My friends took care of me that day and I got a lot better in no time. And being around people takes my mind off the sadness… I get depressed when I'm alone.
What I'm trying to say is, on your birthday, or any other day, you don't need to worry about me, about us. All you need to do is to worry about yourself and take care, wherever you are. Because I (us, those who you care for) am surrounded by people who care and will help in any way they can. They can make me laugh until my tummy hurts…
And as I finish this letter addressed supposedly to you, but will never reach you, I guess, I would like to write these lyrics from a song I heard:
"I've lost any chance for me to say,
To say that I miss you,
Say that I love you,
Will someone please tell me I'm OK?…"
(Comments to lagoc@hargray.com)