Ka Bel

I've always said that I am apolitical.

I have no political color or affiliation.

I studied in UP Diliman, but i only got to attend one rally in my entire college life.

I never understood the diversity of the spectrum of the philippine political parties and movements.

I've never met any tibak or political leader in my entire life, not until 2 years ago.

Because of my short stint in malaysia, I got to meet political leaders and community leaders.

It's only recently that I knew about Ka Bel. I never met him personally, but I heard stories about him from friends.

My being apolitical and detached didn't hinder me from shedding tears (buckets of tears actually) every time I read articles or watch programs about his life.

The article below is another tear-jerker for me.

I remember a conversation I had with my father the day Ka Bel died. I told him that I wished that Ka Bel died in the streets. My father said that his death proves one thing: that Ka Bel represents the ordinary Filipino -- fighting the daily struggle of life.

I never knew Ka Bel, but I felt empathy for the old man. I know that I will never achieve his political awareness and stature. But I would just like to pay my respects to a great man. Saludo ako sa iyo, Ka Bel.

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http://allecoallende.wordpress.com/2008/05/21/regrets/

According to Anakpawis Party-List staff, Ka Bel’s remains will be brought to the House of Representatives on Tuesday morning, May 27, for the protocol necrological services. Prior to that, however, there will be a series of tributes for him beginning today, May 21 up to the 26th at the Iglesia Filipina Independiente Cathedral in Taft Ave across the Philppine General Hospital. His body will be brought there later tonight from Bulacan.

I don’t know if I will be able to go tonight because, well, it’s kind of hard to walk, and I’m not sure am up to saying goodbye to a man I loved like a grandfather. Baka bumulahaw ako ng iyak - e iyakin pa naman ako ngayon!

I wrote his speeches and press releases and resolutions and bills and feature articles about him, and through all those pages and pages of words, words, words I got to know him deeply. We talked about his life and we talked about work. We talked about his family and we gossiped about other people (Ka Bel was pilyo — he liked gossip of the political sort, sure; but he wasn’t above listening to your run-of-the-mill, garden variety chismis about people we knew: whom broke up with whom and why; the argument that broke out between so and so; who has a crush on whom, that sort of thing. Of course he was never mean, and he was no blabber-mouth, but he did laugh, even as he promised-cross-his-fingers-hoped-to-die that he would not tell anyone. Hahahaha!).

He was my main ninong sa kasal in Quezon City Hall in 2005, and when my father died in 2003, Ka Bel travelled all the way to Santiago, Isabela where my father’s remains were to condole with my mother and the rest of our family.He polished his own shoes, darned the holes in his pants and barong, cleaned his own desk and put his files and reading materials in order in himself. He washed his own dishes (pag hindi siya naunahan ng staff) and made his own coffee.

Well, for a time he didn’t make his own coffee because of a mistake he made with the containers. He tipped a teaspoon of instant coffee and half a teaspoon of brown powder into his mug, mixed it with water, stirred it, took a sip, and his lips puckered.

“Ne, bakit ang asim ng kape?”

“Po? Paanong maasim?”

He points to a small jar with brown powder. “Baka yung asukal sira na? Pero hindi nasisira ang asukal…”: I take the jar, take off the lid and sniff the jar’s contents: sour and pungent. I know it’s not sugar.

“Ka Bel, iced tea yan!

”Ka Bel never had money in his wallet - most of his allowance he gave to his wife, Ka Osang, and whatever was left he often gave away to people who walked up to him and asked for financial aid. It was sometimes frustrating the way he was too generous, even with the fake media photographers/reporters in Congress who badgered him to buy unfocused, blurry pictures they took of him while speaking in plenary — naaawa daw siya. He was also quite frugal. Some of his efforts were even quite extreme: he one time cut a shoe lace into two pieces, used both to tie his leather shoes and then he kept the other uncut shoe lace.

“Bakit ninyo ginupit?!” I asked, aghast when I found him at his desk burning the ends of one severed shoe lace to make sure that the ends wouldn’t unravel and fit into his shoe eyelets.

“Para may isa pa akong bagong pares ng tali pag naluma na ito.”

“Jusme, Ka Bel naman mura lang ang sintas!”

He just smiled his bright, bright smile.