Philippine Daily Inquirer February 13, 2001
http://www.inquirer.net/
Lagman buried at sunset
By Philip C. Tubeza
Inquirer News Service
SOME 30,000 people yesterday joined the six-kilometer
funeral march for labor leader Filemon "Ka
Popoy" Lagman from the Parish of the
Holy Sacrifice in Diliman, Quezon City, to
the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina.
As the sun set, the labor leaderfs body
was finally lowered to the ground at 6:15
p.m.
His teary eyed comrades sang the "Internationale"
and other revolutionary songs, including
his favorite, "Kung ako ay Bumagsak
(If I Fall)."
Before Lagman was buried, his family requested
that the coffinfs lid be opened. It was
then that Lagmanfs children hugged their
fallen father.
The labor leaderfs relatives put in his
coffin flowers, two packs of cigarette, a
lighter, a necklace, and a sander, which
he used to repair furniture whenever he was
home.
Dante also slipped inside his fatherfs jacket
a slip of green paper. He did not say what
was written on it.
A week after he was laid to rest, the gunmen
who murdered him inside the UP campus in
Diliman, Quezon City, remain free.
Those who attended the funeral were mostly
members of Sanlakas, the Bukluran ng Manggagawang
Pilipino, and the newly formed Partido ng
Manggagawa.
Besides the slain Lagmanfs family and supporters,
politicians and business leaders attended
the Mass and the funeral march.
The Inquirer sighted Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis
"Chavit" Singson, businessman Jose
Concepcion Jr., UP Professor Walden Bello,
actor Danny Javier of Kompil II, Pastor "Boy"
Saycon, and former Rep. Jose "Peping"
Cojuangco and his wife Tingting.
The leaders of the "reaffirmist"
wing of the Leftist movement were not present
but Nathanael Santiago, Vic Ladlad and Satur
Ocampo came during the wake.
Lagmanfs allies in the rejectionist wing,
like leaders of the Sosyalistang Partido
ng Paggawa, Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya
(KPD), and the Freedom from Debt Coalition
joined the funeral march.
What caught the attention of onlookers were
the beret-wearing members of the Partido
ng Manggagawang Pilipino (PMP), the underground
political party that Lagman formed after
he broke away from the Communist Party of
the Philippines.
PMP members, wearing red shirts and red kerchiefs
hiding half of their faces, served as the
"close-in security" for the Lagman
family. Lagmanfs coffin was mounted on a
10-wheel truck.
Director Edgar Aglipay, Task Force Popoy
head, told the Inquirer that the police were
having a hard time arresting Lagmanfs killers
whom he described as "professionals."
"But I brief the family everyday about
the investigation and they are satisfied
with its progress," said Aglipay, who
attended the funeral Mass around 1 p.m.
But former Rep. Edcel Lagman, the victimfs
brother, said he and his relatives were not
happy with the "slow pace" of the
probe.
"We will only be happy if the culprits
are arrested and are put behind bars,"
he said.
"If they donft fulfill what they promised
(to collar the suspects), I myself know what
has to be done (Pag di tinupad, ako na mismo
ang maniningil)," the senior Lagman
said.
The funeral march started at 2:30 p.m. as
BMP and Sanlakas members chanted and waived
their red and blue banners. They vowed to
continue Lagmanfs struggle for the welfare
of workers.
PMP members carried red flags with the hammer
and sickle printed on it. Four PMP members
also stood guard beside Lagmanfs coffin
on the truck.
The march snaked first around the UP campus,
passing the Bahay ng Alumni, where Lagman
was shot Tuesday last week, and the College
of Mass Communication, where he studied journalism
for a year before going full time in the
revolutionary movement.
Thousands of restaurant workers, students,
carpenters, and urban poor lined Katipunan
Avenue as the march passed by Miriam College
and Ateneo de Manila University.
When the procession reached the boundary
of Marikina and Quezon City, Marikina Mayor
Bayani Fernando and around 10,000 of his
constituents welcomed the funeral cortege.
The march reached the gate of Loyola Memorial
Park at 5:10 p.m. but its rear end was still
in front of Ateneo, according to Supt. Domingo
Alzada, Marikina Traffic Enforcement Unit
Chief.
Firecrackers and cries for justice greeted
the truck carrying Lagmanfs body as it entered
the cemetery. Thousands of other BMP and
Sanlakas members were waiting.
But as it wound up the final stretch of road
from the entrance to Lagmanfs grave, the
marchers were noticeably quiet except for
the chants from the marchersf sound system.
The silence continued as Lagmanfs casket
was brought down from the truck for the final
viewing of his family.
When the coffin was opened, Lagmanfs mother
Cecilia kept her eyes on her dead son, who
still wore his brown jacket and blue pants.
She sobbed continuously.
"She is a brave mother," Edcel
said as he comforted his mom.
Edcelfs elder brother Hermon, also an organizer,
disappeared during martial law. He is presumed
dead. It was his birthday yesterday.
"Ka Popoy" was not an "emotionally
expressive" father. He left his children
to the care of his mother when he went underground
and would visit them usually during summer.
He had said that the revolutionary movement
was his priority.
"This is not the end. The struggle will
go on," said Wilson Fortaleza, Sanlakas
president, after Lagmanfs grave was finally
sealed.
Earlier in the day, comrades of the fallen
labor leader trooped to the Bahay ng Alumni
for the launching of the new party-list group
Partido ng Manggagawa.
Victor Briz, president of the Bukluran ng
Manggagawang Pilipino, said the new party-list
group would carry out Lagmanfs vision for
an electoral party for Filipino workers.
The party, he said, would campaign to put
these representatives in Congress.
The party might also field candidates in
the local elections to fulfill Lagmanfs
dream of empowering the workers.
"The goal of its participation in the
elections is to enact pro-labor legislation
and ensure the implementation of pro-worker
policies. Its minimum platform is the protection
of workersf interests; its maximum is the
emancipation of the working class,"
the PMP said in a statement.
Elected to represent the party in Congress
should it win enough votes in the coming
elections were Sanlakas Rep. Renato Magtubo,
Briz, Gerry Rivera of the Philippine Airlines
Employees Association, Roy Cordova and Leody
de Guzman. With a report from Andrea Trinidad-Echavez