FILIPINO JOURNALISTS IN DISSENT

By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

The traditions of dissent among Filipino journalists run deep. When the goings got rough, certain Filipino journalists did not only wield the pen, but joined the armed struggle as well, particularly during the Marcos dictatorship.

Four journalists stood out as prototypes of the dissenting traditions among Filipino journalists: Antonio Zumel, Antonio Ma. Nieva, Henry Romero, and Noe Alejandrino.

Three of the four journalists did organizing works for Filipino workers; the other one engaged in organizing farmers.

In the early 1950s, Zumel joined the now defunct Philippine Herald newspaper as a copy boy, rising to become a reporter and later a desk editor. He later joined the Manila Bulletin newspaper as news editor.

Since his days at the Philippine Herald, Zumel worked to organize media workers into unions to increase their bargaining power. Unknown to many people, Zumel was undergoing political transformation; he became immersed in Marxist ideas.

Jose Ma. Sison recruited him to become a member and one of the leading cadres of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). When Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in 1972 and plunged the country into a dictatorship,  Zumel was among those who immediately went underground.

Zumel headed the National Democratic Front (NDF), the CPP’s political arm, edited "Ang Bayan" newsletter, the CPP’s main organ, and "Liberation" newsletter, the NDF’s main publication. For many years, Zumel was a member of the CPP central committee.

In the late 1980s, Zumel joined Sison in Utrecht, the Netherlands and did revolutionary works in that part of the world. He died of diabetes in 2001.

Nieva was a media union organization, poet, short story writer, and journalist, who strongly opposed the Marcos dictatorship. He was Zumel’s associate, as they both worked as editors at the Manila Bulletin.

Nieva did not go underground, as he chose to lead the legal left by organizing media workers not only in the Manila Bulletin, but in other newspapers as well, particularly the crony newspapers – Daily Express and Times Journal – at the height of the Marcos dictatorship.

Nieva actively organized media workers even after the downfall of the Marcos dictatorship in 1986. He was among the leading organizers of two organizations: the Kapisanan ng mga Manggagawa sa Media ng Pilipinas (Kammpi) and the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP).

In 1995, Nieva assumed the post of secretary-general of the Prague-based International Organization of Journalists (IOJ), the first Asian to hold that position. He served in this post until his death from natural cases in 1997.

Henry Romero worked as proofreader, reporter, and desk editor at the Manila Bulletin. But without the knowledge of his superiors, he actively organized workers in Cavite. In fact, he did organizing works outside of mass media.

In 1974, Romero disappeared without a trace. At that time, the word “salvage” was being introduced as part of the lexicon of the political activists. No, it did mean to save, but its opposite, which is summary execution.

It is widely believed that Romero was among the first victims of summary executions under the Marcos dictatorship. His remains have yet to be found.

Noe Alejandrino led a double life. He was a reporter of the weekly "The Economic Monitor," the first business newspaper in the country.

As a cadre of the old Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas (PKP) and leader of the Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Pilipinas (HMB), the PKP’s military arm, Noe did organizing works of farmers in the Central Luzon area, which was a PKP-HMB stronghold.

Unknown to his editors and colleagues in the newspaper, Noe shuttled back and forth to his base of operations in Central Luzon, even as pounded the beat, which included the then Ministry of Public Works.

Colleagues described him as quiet, and reserved, qualities which are hardly found in a Pampagueno. They saw him filing his reports during Fridays, after which he disappeared to go back to Pampanga or elsewhere.

The late Willy Baun, Economic Monitor editor, once told me that Noe was the grandson of Casto Alejandrino, popularly known as GY. Ka Casto was a long standing member of the PKP central committee and political bureau (Politburo) that ran the day-to-day affairs of the old PKP.

Ka Casto was among the contemporaries of the Lava brothers – Vicente, Francisco, Jose and Jesus – who led the PKP in the 1940s to the 1960s. He was among those who nurtured the PKP young leaders like Jose Ma. Sison, who later broke away to form his faction – the Communist Party of the Philippines.

Willy told me too that Noe was among those HMB operatives, who did summary executions of the cattle rustlers and other criminal elements in the Pampanga, Bulacan and Nueva Ecija areas.

Noe was reported killed in an encounter in 1980 with military elements belonging to the then paramilitary PC-INP, the forerunner of today’s PNP. A grenade launcher hit him in Barangay Wakas in Bocaue, Bulacan.

It is difficult to say if the dissenting tradition still exists among present-day journalists, particularly the younger ones. But it is safe to say that many journalists are opposed to the re-emergence of authoritarianism.