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I will never forget that
Saturday morning of Sept 23, 1972. I was
a 17-year old 2nd year college seminarian of St. Alphonsus' Seminary studying
at the University of San Carlos in Cebu City. I was a non-commissioned officer
(NCO) of the ROTC Scout Ranger Company
and on that day I was on my way to Camp Lapulapu for our weekend training in
counter-insurgency operations. I wore the black ranger uniform. When I arrived
at the camp I noticed that there was a red alert and army trucks filled with
troops were leaving the camp. The guard told me to go home - there won't be any
formation. President Marcos had declared martial law. PD 1081 was signed two
days earlier. I immediately rushed back to the seminary and hid the reading
material and documents considered subversive by the dictatorial regime.
More than a year later I was
back in Camp Lapulapu as a political prisoner (or detainee- as we were referred
to). I was actually arrested on the first anniversary of Martial Law, tortured
for a week in Camp Sergio Osmena and after a month in the Lahug Detention
Center I was transferred to Camp Lapulapu Detention and Rehabilitation Center.
This was to be my home for the next six months. How did I end up here? Well,
after the declaration of martial law I became secretly involved with a group
struggling against the dictatorial regime. I formed a cell within the seminary
and made use of the mimeographing machine to produce anti-Martial law leaflets
and newsletters. I was involved in writing, producing and distributing these
materials. I knew what we were doing was dangerous and I got caught on the
first anniversary of Martial Law.
My experience of torture and
detention during martial law was a defining moment in my life. It was a rite of
passage-- an ordeal. When I went out of
prison I was no longer a young boy or adolescent but a man. I became fearless
and more committed to the struggle for freedom, justice and human rights. After
going through a crisis of faith I became a true believer. And I decided to
continue to respond to the call to the priesthood. It also broadened and
deepened my understanding of what it means to be a priest - not just leading
the Christian community in worship but in denouncing evil in society,
proclaiming the Gospel of liberation and working for justice, peace and freedom
This also means living a
simple life-style and being close to the people - especially the poor. This was
exactly how I lived after my ordination several years later.
