Tribute
to Bishop Alberto Ramento
The Bishop of the
Workers and Peasants
All of us are in
grief and feel a deep sense of loss over the murder of Bishop Ramento. But
we are all comforted by the fact that he has lived a full and meaningful
life in the service of his faith and the oppressed and exploited people.
BY PROF. JOSE MARIA
SISON
Posted by
Bulatlat
On behalf of the participating
organizations of the International League of Peoples' Struggle (ILPS) in
scores of countries, I hereby express deepest condolences to the family of
Most Reverend Bishop Alberto Ramento, to all the clergy and members of the
Philippine Independent Church and to all his colleagues in the people's
movement for national freedom, democracy, social justice and a just and
lasting peace.
All of us are in grief and feel a deep
sense of loss over the murder of Bishop Ramento. But we are all comforted
by the fact that he has lived a full and meaningful life in the service of
his faith and the oppressed and exploited people. His contributions to
the people's struggle for a better life constitute a vital legacy and will
continue to shine. His martyrdom inspires us to struggle ever harder for
the people's rights.
May I mention that I had the good fortune
of knowing Bishop Ramento personally. We worked together with others in
1994 to persuade the president of the reactionary government to release
from prison a revolutionary cadre, whose arrest by the military was
prejudicing the GRP-NDFP peace negotiations. Since then, we had fruitful
relations in pushing forward said negotiations, especially after his visit
to the NDFP Negotiating Panel.
We of the ILPS condemn in the most
vigorous terms the brutal murder of Bishop Alberto Ramento last October 3,
2006 in his parish in San Sebastian, Tarlac City, Philippines. We are
informed by his immediate relatives and colleagues in his church and in
the people's movement that before his murder he was categorized as an
"enemy of the state" and listed in the "order of battle" of the military
and that he received death threats by text messages for opposing the
charter change campaign of the Arroyo regime, condemning the
extrajudicial killings and supporting the workers and peasants in Hacienda
Luisita.
But Bishop Ramento could never be cowed.
He was firm with his principles and was an experienced fighter for
justice. Since the time of the struggle against the Marcos fascist
dictatorship, many people have come to know him as a staunch and fearless
fighter for the people's rights. He was always conscious of adhering to
and promoting the revolutionary heritage and the continuing patriotic and
progressive character of the Philippine Independent Church.
The ILPS is well informed that the
Philippine Independent Church was a product of the Philippine Revolution
against Spanish colonialism and then against US imperialism. It is the
largest church alternative to the Roman Catholic Church in the
Philippines. It has millions of church members. At the same time, it
respects the principle of the separation of the church and the state. It
has concordat relations with the Anglican provinces and the old Catholic
Church abroad.
Bishop Ramento was ever conscious of
bringing to the defense of the Filipino people the strength and influence
of his church in the Philippines and abroad. But he was always personally
a humble and hardworking priest even as he rose to the highest positions
in his church and in the ecumenical movement. He served as the Supreme
Bishop of the Philippine Independent Church (PIC), chairperson of the
National Council of Churches and co-chairperson of the Ecumenical Bishops
Forum.
He upheld the revolutionary legacy of his
church by word and by deed. He stood and fought for the rights of the
poor, the exploited and the oppressed. He was on the side of the workers
and peasants of the vast plantation Hacienda Luisita when they launched a
strike for the implementation of land reform, higher wages and the return
to work of dismissed union officials. Together with the workers and
peasants, he faced the attacks of the military against the striking
workers. Loved and respected by the masses, his clergy and the faithful he
served, he was honored as the "bishop of the poor workers and peasants."
Bishop Ramento was an outspoken critic of
the Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, questioning the legitimacyof her rule and
asking her to step down. He also denounced the US-backed Arroyo regime and
her repressive instruments, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the
Philippine National Police and the paramilitary. He condemned the rampant
acts of state terrorism. In the strongest terms, he denounced the Arroyo
regime for its culpability for the extra-judicial killings, abductions,
torture and other human right violations.
Bishop Ramento was a strong advocate of
just peace. He was indefatigable in pointing out that the civil war in the
Philippines can be resolved through peace negotiations only by addressing
the fundamental problems of the people through economic, social and
political reforms guided by the principles of national independence,
democracy and social justice. He was outstanding in spearheading
associations and actions for a just and lasting peace.
Bishop Ramento's parish in Tarlac is a
parish of the poor and his church is simple with no treasures of holy
icons or golden tapestry. That is why no one believes the precipitate
claim of the police that robbery was the cause of his murder. His wealth
is his pro-people principles as manifested in all his efforts to uphold,
defend and promote the rights and interests of the people, especially the
toiling masses.
In the last pastoral letter that he signed
as Chairman of the Supreme Council of Bishops, he called on the people to
"find courage and confront the darkness that is engulfing the very soul of
the nation and continue to tread the path towards the establishment of a
just society under a government that genuinely serves the interest and
welfare of the Filipinos."
His moral leadership and his active
participation in the people's struggle have earned the ire of the Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo regime. Arroyo, her cabinet oversight committee on
internal security and her minions in the military, police and its
paramilitary and death squads are all responsible for the dastardly murder
of Bishop Ramento. It is within the framework of the Bush-directed war of
terror and Arroyo's Oplan Bantay Laya that our beloved Bishop Ramento has
been taken away from us, like the hundreds of other victims of
extra-judicial killings.
The extra-judicial killings by the Arroyo
regime's cabal of assassins have failed and will fail again to intimidate
and stop the Filipino people from fighting this puppet, corrupt, brutal,
illegitimate and immoral regime. The murder of Bishop Alberto Ramento
brings to a new and higher level the outrage of the people. His martyrdom
arouses us to heighten our fighting will and capabilities in order to get
rid of the Arroyo regime as soon as possible. It also inspires us for a
long time to come to fight for national liberation, democracy, social
justice and peace. Posted by Bulatlat
Prof. Jose Maria Sison is chairperson
of the International Coordinating Committee, International League of
Peoples’ Struggle
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