• Home
  • About Us
    • About the Publisher
    • Advertise with Us
  • Contact Us
  • Login
  • Subscribe

Grimag

  • Editor’s Notes
  • OSM! Video Gallery
  • Biting The Big Apple

Remembering Ka Alex

By Monica Lunot Kuker

 

Korinne (not her real name) is my FB friend.

I met her a couple of times in some Filipino events. As the Philippine elections heated up in the past few months, I noticed all her posts were unpopular, as these were against then Mayor of Davao and incumbent Pres. Rodrigo Duterte and the family of the Marcoses. Like me, we were both very bold in expressing our opinion against Martial Law in social media.

Several times, Korinne and I would exchange opinions and fears of the possible return of Martial Law. Like many others who experienced Martial Law, we never wanted it to happen again, although we are both residing in the US for many years now.

I noticed through her posts and comments on her FB wall that her fear is real and intense.  One day, she left me a message in my inbox and we started chatting about her father Ka Alex. And I learned that her family had the worst nightmares.

Korinne’s story poised a question to me, which I can relate being an activist myself “Bayan ba muna o pamilya?”  I was reminded of my life when I got involved in labor union struggle in 1995. I almost died during an intense hunger strike.

This is Korrine’s heart-wrenching story of her father, Ka Alex.

He was a loving father, who used to surprise his children with fresh sugar cane when he comes home from the hacienda. “As kids, this was a great deal to us. They were sweet treats from our dear father.”

Korrine, the eldest of six children, recalled a simple childhood. His father was a hardworking man, who tilled four hectares of land until he joined the armed underground New People’s Army in 1976, four year after Martial Law was declared. Ka Alex also had a brother who joined the underground movement, who like him revolted against his own injustice exemplified in poverty and military abuses.

In the 1970s, many important CPP-NPA were captured and jailed, including Bernabe Buscayno, then commander of NPA. The military was at the peak of getting rid of those who opposed the fascist administration.

The Philippine Constabulary raided and ransacked Korrine’s house a few times to arrest her father.  He was made assistant to the commanding officer who had a short temper, Korrine recalled.

On July 28, 1982, Ka Alex was killed in the mountain village in Capas, province of Tarlac. He was shot point blank on his temple by a military soldier, despite his pleading to spare his life because as what he said, he’s a father of six children.

Ruthless and callous, the goon in uniform shot him dead without mercy. His brain scattered on the dry mountain soil. Ka Alex’s wife was widowed at the young age of 36.  At the that time, Korrine was 12 years old and the youngest was six months.

“I was a tatay’s girl. His death has always been painful. I always still cry remembering what happened,” said Korrine. Her mother tilled the land which Ka Alex had left behind. The family received a damage compensation from government worth Php 60,000 or about $1000.  There were about 50,000 families who were victims of Martial Law who sought indemnification from government.

For Korrine’s family, the amount was so small to begin a small business. Korrine recalled that her mother gradually used it for their consumption – for there were long droughts and the land was not giving them adequate food for several times.

After many decades, victims of Martial Law are still heart broken. Militarism is not an answer to poverty. With the spate of arbitrary killings going on right now in the Philippines, she is scared Martial Law is back, only in the guise of curbing the drug menace.

(The featured photo is an original painting of Mona Lunot Kuker, a rendition of the anti-Spanish secret society called Katipunan.)

Subscribe now and let Positive Journalism thrive. Click here www.justcliqit.com/full-access

Subscribe now and let Positive Journalism thrive. Click here www.justcliqit.com/full-access

Collage02

 

ENJOY THIS DELICIOUS, CHEESY ENSAYMADA. Magic Melt products are available at United Food of Asia, Ltd. on 287 Vandervoort Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11211. Tel. No. 718.3885570 Visit www.magicmelt.com

ENJOY THIS DELICIOUS, CHEESY ENSAYMADA. Magic Melt products are available at United Food of Asia, Ltd. on 287 Vandervoort Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11211. Tel. No. 718.3885570
Visit www.magicmelt.com

Jul 25, 2016Admin
In Florida with Fabulous FriendsOSM! WRITERS SPEAK ON THE 2016 PHIL. SONA

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Admin
5 years ago Special FeatureBernabe Buscayno, Capas, Martial Law, New People's Army, Philippines, Pres. Rodrigo Duterte, President Marcos, Tarlac272
0
GooglePlus
0
Facebook
0
Twitter
0
Delicious
0
Linkedin
0
Pinterest
Forums
  • OSM! has a new look. What do you think?
Categories
  • Main Feature
  • Features
  • Feature Event
  • Diane Fermin Roeder: Bamboo Stilletto
  • Debbie Almocera: Cranial Corner
  • Sylvia Hubilla: Granny Gorgeous
  • Ruth D. Ezra: Kit’s Kitchen
  • Leani M. Auxilio: Le Fou’s Stories
  • Janet Villa: Mothering Heights
  • Arlene Donaire: Lensanity
  • Resto Rendezvous
  • Your ZEN Health
  • OSM! VLog
Email-subscription

Sign up for our newsletter to receive the latest news and event postings.

Most Viewed Posts
The Baby didn’t Come with a Manual
8 years ago
9,682 views
Vanette’s Secret: Cooking Yummy Dried Fish Without the Smell
6 years ago
9,266 views
Maguayan, brother of sky god Kaptan.
The Visayan Creation Myth
10 years ago
7,056 views
FilAm Lt. Christal Theriot: Newest US Army Apache Pilot
5 years ago
6,892 views
Filipinos Known to Take Care of Their Elderly
7 years ago
5,657 views
Recent Posts
  • NYC Commissioners urge NY State Assembly to include Health Coverage for All in State budget March 28, 2022
  • US East Coast Kakampink ask for clean elections; endorse VP Robredo as true servant leader March 28, 2022
  • Filipinos & Filipino Americans Call For Justice at March 30 Rally March 27, 2022
  • Comm. del Castillo to OSM!:  Thank you for the commitment to spotlighting FilAm contributions March 21, 2022
  • OSM! Online Magazine celebrates 10 years of reportage of FilAm communities March 18, 2022
Archives
2014 © OSM!