Goodbye "Grand Old Man of Philippine Labor"

im sure somebody out there will not crank out some time today a blog entry about "Ka Bel's" death.. many would think that a blog entry like this will be boring and full of nonsense.

the death of a militant labor leader is a shock especially to those who share the same principles as Ka bel. as a brave militant leader, this is not the kind of death he hoped for. it is ironic that a fighter would leave this world in a simple accidental fall from the roof of his house while doing some minor repairs.

i am keeping my fingers crossed that his untimely demise would not be the end of what we are fighter for. instead, let this be the avenue of the faster passage of legislation bills that workers and the oppressed are DYING to have.

Ka Bel's death is an irreparable loss not only to the working class movement but to every Filipino yearning for genuine social change. He was a tower of a man, a pillar of strength for the progressive people's movement. His name has become synonymous to the militant labor movement.

Indeed, Ka Bel's leadership in the progressive people's movement extended beyond our shores. At the time of his death, he was the Chairperson of the International Coordinating Group of the International League of People's Struggle (ILPS), an anti-imperialist and democratic formation of people's movements from more than 30 countries.

In Congress, Ka Bel proved his mettle as a genuine representative of the marginalized and oppressed, representing Bayan Muna in 2001-2003 and later, Partido Anakpawis. His voice was a voice of conscience and defiance to the well-entrenched, reactionary interests dominating thehalls and corridors of power.

This afternoon, we were expecting Ka Bel to join us in filing a bill to remove the Value Added Tax on power. We shall push through with the filing of the bill and include Ka Bel's name as a co-author in honor of his dedication to the struggles of our oppressed and marginalized people.

In his death, Ka Bel now joins Crisanto Evangelista, Ka Bert Olalia and Ka Lando Olalia in that list of great leaders of the revolutionary working class movement. We shall miss Ka Bel terribly. But his legacy of struggle continues.

p.s.
While doing some research on the life of Crispin Beltran, i learned that he is from Bacacay Albay. Now, that makes me even prouder..