Death of a brother
Meanwhile, long-term political prisoner Donato Continente, related how he lost a younger brother while he was in prison.
Continente was arrested on June 16, 1989 for allegedly participating in the assassination of US Army Col. James Rowe, a top intelligence officer attached to the Joint U.S. Military Advisory Group (Jusmag).
Donato Continente speaks about his brother Romulo “Bong-bong” Continente Jr.
Continente was convicted as a principal in the murder of Rowe, for which he was given a life sentence on Feb. 27, 1991. In August 2000, the Supreme Court, upon review, ruled that he was only an accomplice and lowered his sentence to 14 years. On June 28, 2005, Continente was released after serving his maximum sentence.
Romulo Continente Jr. (left) during his high school graduation with their mother.
Exactly a month after his arrest and while he was still detained at Camp Crame, Continente, as part of his routine, asked jail guards if he could borrow the day’s newspapers. Nobody gave him a copy. Only later would he know why.
The next day, July 17, a military officer told him, “Ang mga kasamahan mo, pinatay na’ng kapatid mo.” (Your comrades have killed your brother.) He just shrugged his shoulders.
Bong-bong, the 2nd to the youngest of six siblings, was then a freshman at the Technological Institute of the Philippines (TIP) in Quezon City. On July 15, 1989, on his way home, Bong-bong noticed that five bulky, suspicious-looking men were tailing him. He, together with a classmate, rode a bus going to Philcoa. When the bus reached the National Housing Authority (NHA) office, the five men manhandled and attempted to take Bong-bong with them. “Tumalon siya, nadulas, tumama ang ulo niya sa gutter. Internal hemorrhage ang ikinamatay niya,” (He jumped off the bus, slipped and his head hit the gutter. He died of internal hemorrhage) Continente related.
