Accents
Luisa Posa Dominado in history
August 10, 2010
Luisa Posa Dominado turned 55. For the past three years, my husband Rudy and I were present in celebrating her birthday. Last Tuesday, August 10, her 55th birthday celebration, we were absent being ensconced here on the other side of the globe in the U.S. of A., South Carolina in particular. All we got are photos of the massive demos: friends and relatives marching, flags waving, streamers aplenty, demanding for Luisa’s presence. From afar, we could only say a prayer even as we recollect the past to strengthen ourselves, and to fire up forever and ever more the pursuit of Luisa’s dream for country and people. Hereunder are quotes from my three columns, fragments of history that keep Luisa in our midst – alive, vibrant, strong.
August 10, 2009
Writ large in blazing red was the theme of the regional assembly of the Panay Alliance-Karapatan, Aug. 10, 2009, at the Jubilee Hall of the St. Clement’s Compound in La Paz, Iloilo City: Papag-unon ang ikasarang kag palaparon ang kahublagan sa pagdampig sang tawhanon nga kinamatarung sang pumuluyo sa atubang sang malubha nga pagpanglapas. (Strengthen and widen the movement in defense of the people’s human rights in the face of grave transgressions thereof.)
Nicanor Primavera, chair of Panay Alliance-Karapatan and head of the Western Visayas Ecumenical Council, made it clear in his letter inviting human rights advocates: “The prevailing situation wherein human rights violations continue to be perpetrated with impunity, especially against the poor and marginalized sectors, makes such advocacy a Christian moral imperative.”
Aug. 10, 2009 also marked the birthday of Luisa Posa Dominado, and as it was in the two previous years, the honoree was in absentia. She who was to be honored with a birthday celebration was nowhere to be found. Some of those present had a funny feeling that the spirit or soul of Luisa “Luing” Posa Dominado was with them – just hovering, even celebrating with them.
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 Anak Pawis, an organization of the country’s peasantry. Leeboy Garachico, their companion who was shot and left for dead, remains an active defender of human rights as vice chair of Panay Alliance-Karapatan. April 12, 2007 was a black day, the date of her abduction together with companion Nilo Arado and wounding of Leeboy Garachico in Brgy. Cabanbanan, in my own hometown, Oton.
One voice for solidarity in the protection of human rights came from Atty. Rudy Lagoc of the Iloilo Legal Assistance Center or ILAC, an organization of human rights lawyers on the ready to provide legal services. Atty. Lagoc, my in-house lawyer, criticized the arrogance of human rights violators. “They commit crimes knowing that they will get away with it.” As to when the day of reckoning will come to those who swagger with impunity – brazen absence of accountability and punishment – your guess is as good as mine, so goes the cliché.
We lighted 54 candles to represent Luisa’s 54th birthday. How many more candles will we light, how many more birth anniversaries will we hold before Luisa surfaces? Will it go the way of another cliché, an exercise in futility? Shall we summon all the gods in the heavens to make Luisa and Nilo appear? Shall we keep knocking at the secret doors of the Arroyo administration for a glimmer of truth and subsequent justice? When will peace of mind come to the friends and relatives of Luisa and Nilo, et al.?
Our questions will never cease. The demand for closure on human rights violations cases must never cease.
August 10, 2008
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.
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. “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 some time 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…”
August 10, 2007
Whether she is detained in a camp of “armed men” or a floating spirit somewhere, Luing must be celebrating her birthday as we do celebrate it here in her make-believe presence. I could picture her clearly in my mind’s eye – long hair in pony tail, a face of natural beauty uncluttered by make-up, a soft, unhurried voice. However, behind the Maria Clara bearing is true grit – strength of conviction, courage, will power. Hers is a face that stands out in the demo crowd – fists clenched as she sang Bayan Ko in an outpouring of love for country and people. I will surely miss that face in the demos that my husband Rudy and I will be attending.
Listening to her elucidate a problem is to be convinced of her sincerity and determination to stand up for the poor and the powerless. Last I heard her speak was when she delivered a eulogy for human rights lawyer Oleg Santisteban where she affirmed her commitment to “continue the tasks left undone.” She was particularly analytical dissecting the plight of the masses, this woman who graduated cum laude in a bachelor’s degree in education.
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Unrealized hopes, uncompromising principles of Luisa Posa Dominado and Nilo Arado. But mark ye, legions are intensely pursuing, with uncompromising principles, to realize their dreams and hopes for the vast masses of our people.
Email: lagoc@hargray.com
