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. #