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In
Memory of Ka Bel
Free Ka Bel Movement
Kapatiran Special Issue on Ka Bel
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Crispin "Ka Bel"
Beltran, 1933 - 2008
The Philippines Solidarity Network of Aotearoa (PSNA)
joins the global outpouring of grief and sadness at the
news of the tragic death of our good friend and comrade,
Congressman Crispin Beltran, universally known as Ka Bel.
In a life of death defying militant political activism
spanning half a century, there was no greater champion of
the oppressed Filipino workers and the wretched poor who
comprise the great majority of that countrys
people.
If there are any positives to be taken from his sudden
death, they are that he lived to 75 (despite everything
that that the Filipino State and a variety of serious
health problems threw at him); that he died at home, a
free man and a serving Congressman and from natural
causes (none of which seemed likely to be his fate as
recently as this time last year when he was the
Philippines most high profile political prisoner, facing
the prospect of life imprisonment if he
didnt die first). He did not die as a result of
brutal torture and murder, which has been the fate of so
many Leftwing activists and union leaders, including Ka
Lando Olalia, his immediate predecessor as head of the
Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU May First Movement trade
union confederation). He was not abducted, never to be
seen again, which has also been the fate of so many
victims of the systematic regime of State terror.
Ka Bel was well known to many in New Zealand because of
his two decades as leader of the KMU, which included
indefinite imprisonment without charge or trial during
the Marcos martial law dictatorship in the early 80s (he
escaped and lived underground, organising workers and the
poor, for a couple of years until resurfacing after
Marcos had been overthrown). He was visited in detention
by veteran Kiwi unionist Ken Findlay and they forged a
lifelong friendship when PSNA toured Ka Bel
through NZ in 1999, it was Ken who hosted him in
Wellington and drove him all round the North Island .
Id known Ka Bel since I first went to the
Philippines , in 1987. I have a vivid memory from one 80s
trip of a group of Kiwi anti-bases delegates having a rip
roaring night out in a Manila karaoke bar with Ka Bel and
colleagues from the KMU Executive. In 1991 I and Paul
Watson (of the NDU and a colleague on the PSNA Committee)
were the NZ delegates to the annual KMU International
Solidarity Affair. As Ive already mentioned, PSNA
hosted Ka Bel for his fortnight long NZ speaking tour in
1999 he spent several days staying with Becky and
I in our Christchurch home, plus I accompanied him to
Nelson. He was an absolute pleasure to host.
And just last August Becky and I, while in Manila
visiting family, had the great honour of being able to
attend the official event to celebrate Ka Bels
release from 16 months of utterly false imprisonment on
trumped up charges. He was delighted to see us again and
we were just glad to see him free again and so obviously
in fighting spirits. Nothing frightened him he got
the biggest laugh in his typically stemwinding speech
when he detailed how hed seriously contemplated
escaping by disguising himself as a doctor (because of
his age and poor health, he was detained in hospital
at his own expense. PSNA raised several thousand
dollars to help with the extortionate hospital bills).
Sadly, that was to be the last time we will see him but
he was in unforgettable form when he spoke that day and
if that has to be our last memory of an old friend and
comrade, its a great one.
People have expressed disbelief that a 75 year old would
be up on the roof of his house (he died as a result of
falling off it he was up there to fix a leak). But
that doesnt surprise me. He was very much down to
earth and hands on. When he stayed at our place in 99,
the car decided to play up the day we had set aside to
take him sightseeing. Proclaiming himself to have been a
Manila taxi driver for 16 years decades ago, he plunged
under the bonnet in an attempt to fix it (in the end the
AA did the trick). Just as many of our discussions were
about everyday practical things as they were about the
high octane politics of the Philippines . He had an
insatiable curiosity about all manner of things and he
found both New Zealand and its people fascinating.
The Philippines has lost a great man who was a much finer
leader than any of the Presidents who make it their
mission to oppress, exploit, assault, abduct, torture,
imprison, frame and murder workers and the poor. The
world has lost one of the finest exponents of genuine
grassroots activism and leadership, a man who lived what
he preached, namely to be at one with the people and to
serve the people. His friends and comrades in New Zealand
have lost a mate, one who exemplified working class
internationalism and whose courage and principled
militancy made him an inspiration to all who had the
privilege of knowing him.
Murray Horton
Secretary
PSNA
Philippines Solidarity Network of Aotearoa
Box 2450, Christchurch , New Zealand
cafca@chch.planet.org.nz
www.converge.org.nz/psna
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