The Zumels of Ilocos

The day after Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in 1972, Antonio Zumel, along with a colleague, swam the Pasig River as military agents tried to pounce on him at the National Press Club in Intramuros, Manila. His escape signaled the beginning of his involvement in the leftist underground movement. After 13 years of living in exile in Utrecht, The Netherlands, he came home as senior adviser to the National Democratic Front, to take part in the resumption of peace talks with the Arroyo government.

By ANANEZA ABAN

PASAY CITY -  Some 1,500 peace advocates, activists and government authorities wearing their best executive, casual or Filipiniana attire walked to the spacious halls of the Westin Philippine Plaza in Pasay City on April 18 to listen to the exchange of notes of peace between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). The event was the “Solidarity for a Just and Lasting Peace” organized by the joint committee of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP and the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP).

Everybody's attention was drawn to the speeches of representatives from both panels and different sectors inside the grand ballroom of the five-star hotel which stood along Roxas Boulevard near the murky waters of Manila Bay, famous for its picturesque sunset.

Near one of the ballroom's entrance doors sat three members of the Zumel family. They were there to stand in lieu of their much-loved brother Antonio “Ching” Zumel who remained that day in the intensive care unit of a Quezon City hospital following a mild stroke.

Zumel, the 68-year-old NDF Senior Adviser, arrived from The Netherlands to participate in the prestigious solidarity gathering. He was supposed to deliver his message in person.

Like the centerpiece flowers in rich hue placed on top of the ballroom tables which added hope to the ambience of peace, Maria Luisa "Nena" Zumel, the eldest among the brood of six, was among those who showed sanguinity for the success of the peace talks and the successful recovery of her younger brother.

Anticipating the return of Ching and his wife Ruth after more than 13 years of political exile, the Zumels were to throw a family dinner party that Sunday night to welcome this revolutionary couple.

It turned out to be a different surprise. Ching ended up in the hospital and the rest of the family members had to proceed there.

"When I finally saw him lying in the hospital bed right after his arrival from the airport, I know it would take time for him to stay here. The family is terribly concerned about his health condition," Manang (elder sister) Nena said.

In behalf of Zumel, NDFP legal counsel Romeo Capulong read his prepared speech. His message of peace brought optimism and goodwill but the effusive lines in his last few paragraphs which mentioned his twilight years induced sentimental reactions from the crowd.

‘Happy To Be Home’

He began:  "My heart is filled with joy as I stand before you today. No words can describe how my wife Ruth and I feel at returning to our beloved homeland after 12 years of political exile. As our plane touched down the runway last April 8, Ruth could not stop her tears, and my heart overflowed with the same emotion. We are very happy to be home."

Consistent with his being "a fine writer who would never be caught with an error," as Manang Nena describes, his speech expressed with tact over the necessity of armed struggle without publicly antagonizing the Philippine government.

During his years as a journalist, Zumel managed to climb the arduous ladder of the Philippine press beginning as a campus paper writer, a copy boy, a cub reporter, a beat reporter, an editor and eventually became the two-term president of the National Press Club (NPC).

Addressing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who failed to grace the conference, Zumel said: "We do not engage in armed struggle because we glorify war or bloodshed. If the masses are so receptive of the revolutionary movement, it is because the reasons for armed struggle are still prevalent in Philippine society."

"As revolutionaries, we firmly believe that victory in the armed struggle will provide the optimum political and economic conditions to realize the national and democratic demands of the people and to pursue a socialist revolution. Be we undertake peace talks on the chance that the two of us – the GRP and the revolutionary organizations which support the NDF program - may reach agreement across the table," Zumel continued.

As if foreshadowing his journey to eternity, Zumel said, "Those of us who joined the movement in its infancy in the late 1960s or early 1970s are getting on in years. Among the most senior in years compared to the young people in our movement, I am myself approaching my 69th year and will soon be gone."

"Those of us who are getting on in years can only look with satisfaction and pride on the swelling ranks of the revolutionary movement that now fights for our people's national and democractic rights and in the future, for socialism," he added.

Ending with great expectations he said, "It is my personal wish in the twilight years of my life to see the conditions for a just and lasting peace to take root in my beloved homeland."

Eduardo, the youngest among the Zumel siblings, tried to hold back his tears after listening to his brother's speech and reminiscing the significant days with him. 

Danding as he is fondly called, was only a kid when his Manong (elder brother) Ching left their hometown in Laoag, Ilocos Norte, the country's northern region, to study in urban Manila.

It was in his college days when Danding reunited with his Manong in several drinking sprees at the Press Club.

Right after the late President Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law in 1972, Danding recounts, Zumel and a comrade swam the then pristine waters of  Pasig River to evade arrest inside the Press Club which was raided by military agents. They quickly descended down the fire escape after finding that the military raiders took the elevator. Upon reaching the opposite riverbank, they took a cab, safe. That marked the beginning of his involvement in the underground national democratic movement.

Underground

"I did not know that he left for a foreign country after he went underground. When I got the news in the papers, I could not believe it," Danding said. (Zumel actually spent several more years in the Philippines as Marcos agents trailed him, surfacing in 1986 as a member of the NDFP panel for peace talks with the newly-ascended Aquino government.)

For 13 long years, Danding didn't have the chance to see his Manong.

The Zumels maintain a close-knit family. "We may not share one another's view but we are very clos," Manang Nena said.

Another Zumel brother who now lives in the United States was once Marcos’ chief military aide, Gen. Jose Ma. Zumel, known to the family as “Yob.” The general was passed over as Armed Forces chief for being the brother of an anti-Marcos revolutionary. "Despite their differences in principles, there are no such enmity between the two," Manang Nena said.

"Their (the two brothers’) safety was our Mama's constant concern," she said. When their mother died, both of them were underground, with the general affiliated with some Marcos loyalist groups. For extreme security reasons, none of them were able to pay their respects and take a last look at their mother.

Now that Ching is frail and sick, Yob, the military, is eager to go home and join the family's reunion. He might want to join Ching's dream to visit home their Ilocos hometown. Danding called it a “sentimental journey.”

Towards the end of the solidarity conference, participants welcome with loud applause the heart warming-message of peace from Luntian Dumlao, 9, from the NGO Children's Rehabilitation Center.

While Zumel already saw the twilight years of his life, children like Luntian are just about to start the day's work for their dream of peace. They have yet to dwell in its house where justice is served.

Delivered with clarity and smoothness, Luntian began with a simple acknowledgement, "Maraming salamat po na kaming mga bata ay naimbitahang magsalita sa pagbubukas ng peace talks" (Thank you for inviting us children to speak as the peace talks opens).

Peace

For them, peace has simpler meanings:

"Genuine peace is a farmland owned by our peasant parents, families with homes, children playing and studying, abundant trees and birds flying."

"Genuine peace is fathers and mothers who have job securities and who receive just wages enough to sustain the family and the children's education."

"Genuine peace means affordable and decent housing for the poor instead of forced evictions."

"Genuine peace means healthy children who can study and play and who are safe from all abuses."

Founders and members of the NDFP may be getting on in years as they look back and see the growth of the revolutionary movement in its struggle for justice and peace. Yet, as a seatmate muttered, they are rest assured that children like Luntian will continue their journey until their dream of genuine peace will come true. #