On the 28th anniversary of the disappearance of Fr. Rudy Romano, his colleague, Fr. Emy Maningo reflected on why the legal case against the perpetrators of Fr. Rudy Romano did not prosper: they could not produce another witness who can corroborate the statements of their witness. This, aside from the fact that one of their lead lawyers was murdered and later their sole witness died under mysterious circumstances. Read the full article below: BACKGROUND INFORMATION on the two new songs on Fr. Romano, C.Ss.R. DESAPARECIDO ON 11 JULY 1985, CEBU CITY, PHILIPPINES WRITTEN BY: Fr. Emy, Maningo, C.Ss.R. – Redemptorist Church, Cebu City, Philippines, 11 July 2013 – 28th years since the abduction of Fr. Romano, C.Ss.R. Fr. Rudy Romano, C.Ss.R. was a Redemptorist Missionary Priest. He was only 45 years old when he was abducted by elements of the MIG (Military Intelligence Group) at around 3:30 in the afternoon on 11 July 1985; in Tisa, Labangon, Cebu City. This happened during Martial Law, under the dictatorial regime of President Ferdinand Marcos, 1972 - 1986. A military intelligence team used a car to block Fr. Romano, who was driving a motorcycle on a major and busy road. Corporal Wilfredo “Boy” Dagatan alighted from the car. He ordered Fr. Rudy, “Baba, civilian!” (Civilian, get off your motorcycle!). Then, he yanked off Fr. Rudy’s helmet, and said, “Mao ni!” (This is him!). Boy Dagatan rode Fr. Rudy’s motor cycle, and Fr. Rudy was whisked into the car. Fr. Rudy smiled to the bystanders as he got into the car, conscious that many people were witnessing the incident since there was a feria or fiesta. That was the last time Fr. Rudy was seen alive. Our witness, Andres Suson, saw the whole thing from his house, just a few meters from the scene of the abduction. He knew Boy Dagatan; the people in Labangon knew him too – Boy Dagatan was a resident of Labangon, and a regular “sabongero” (cock fighting aficionado). Andres Suson decided to testify, and went with our lawyers to the Supreme Court in Manila. Our lead lawyers in Cebu were Atty. Alfonso Surigao, murdered when suspected military elements threw a hand grenade into his office in downtown Cebu; and Atty. Meinrado Paredes, now a judge in Cebu. Our lead lawyer in Manila was Senator Jose Diokno, a human rights lawyer; he was also detained by Marcos. After Andres Suson’s Supreme Court testimony, his brother was shot and murdered in Labangon, Cebu City. And, the iron gate of his family’s house was rattled menacingly every night. We understood why the other witnesses would no longer testify. There was no way we could protect them from the vicious machinery of Marcos’ military. One of the justices of the Supreme Court at that time was the future Chief Justice Marcelo Fernan. He told us Redemptorists that we had a solid case. But, we lost because of a legal technicality; we could not produce at least one more witness to corroborate the testimony of Andres Suson. At least two witnesses must give the same testimony. Andres could not return to Cebu, for fear of his life. We hid him somewhere in Luzon. Later, he died or was killed, under “mysterious circumstances.” Fr. Rudy caught the ire of a “triangle” – (1) the business people of Cebu and their allies, the “yellow” labor unions; (2) the military; and (3) the Martial Law regime of the dictator Marcos. Some business people of Cebu asked Cardinal Vidal to “assign” Fr. Rudy out of Cebu. The Cardinal politely replied that he could not do that since Fr. Rudy was a religious and a missionary priest; only his superiors could change his assignment. Of course, Fr. Rudy’s superiors said “No.” Some business people did not like Fr. Rudy because he struggled with the workers who were exploited by them. A classic case was his support of the genuine labor union in the Visayan Glass factory of Guadalupe, Cebu City. They were receiving only 34 Philippine pesos daily (about 70 U.S. dollars). The biggie was when Fr. Rudy supported openly the certification election bid of an independent labor union against a “yellow” or management-controlled labor union within the Atlas Mining Company of Toledo City; the biggest copper mining company in East Asia with 10,000 workers. Fr. Rudy wore his Redemptorist soutane or priestly garb, and gave a stirring talk on genuine labor unionism in from of the gate of the Atlas Mining Company. The independent union won the certification election; it got certified as the legitimate labor union of the mining company. The “yellow” labor union that lost got angry with Fr. Rudy; so did the management and their local/international investors. Fr. Rudy also supported the struggle of the informal settlers, pejoratively called squatters. The truth is that here are no squatters in our own country; the right to a decent home is guaranteed by the United Nations and the Christian Social Teachings. Fr. Rudy was at the barricades with the poor as they tried to defend their homes from demolition, simply because Imelda Marcos did not want their poverty seen when her foreign visitors would arrive in Cebu. Fr. Rudy also supported the farmers, the fisher folk; and others who were poor, deprived, and oppressed. Fr. Rudy worked closely with the youth. He and I (Fr. Emy Maningo, C.Ss.R.) were members of the Redemptorist Mission Team that conducted rural missions in Leyte and Samar in the early 1970’s. I remember Fr. Rudy inviting the youth of our Redemptorist church in Tacloban City to go out with him to the missions in the barrios of Leyte and Samar. They helped him train the people how to sing liturgical songs; Fr. Rudy himself played the guitar with them. They were his sacristans; companions in house-to-house visitation; organizers of the youth; in-charge of “amateur hours” (singing contests at night) in order to gather the barrio people and inform them about the mission activities; etc., etc. When Fr. Rudy was assigned to Cebu City as the Vocation Director of Visayas and Mindanao in 1975, he continued to work with the youth; this time recruiting them to become Redemptorist seminarians. When he got more deeply involved in the struggle for justice and peace against the dictator Marcos, Fr. Rudy also worked with the students and out-of-school youth in order to conscienticize them (make them aware). Once they became aware of the social ills and the challenge of their Christian faith, the youth got involved in Jesus’ mission for integral salvation and liberation. Roland “Levi” Ybanez was one of the student leaders with whom Fr. Rudy worked closely. It was no coincidence that, like Fr. Rudy, Levi was also abducted at about the same time and date, i.e., around 3:30 in the afternoon on July 11, 1985. The only difference was that Levi was abducted at Sanciangco Street, in downtown Cebu; while Fr. Rudy was abducted at Tisa, Labangon, about five kilometers away. Both became DESAPARECIDOS, “disappeared;” meaning, summarily murdered – never to be found again! This is a Spanish word that came from South America. The poor in those South American countries were subjected to the same violation of human rights by their dictators; for example, in Brazil, Chile, Argentina, etc. The military intelligence of South America and the Philippines were trained by the American CIA; in the town of Santa Fe, in the state of New Mexico, U.S.A. President Reagan wanted to stop co-called communists anywhere in the world; in other words, those who threatened the hegemony of the U.S. and its allies or minions. This was how Fr. Rudy became a target of both the military and Marcos, Reagan’s ally. Fr. Rudy’s situation was like that of Bishop Dom Helder Camara of Northeast Brazil. Bishop Camara said, “If I give food to the hungry, I am called a Christian. If I ask why the poor are hungry, I am called a communist. Then, I am happy to be called a communist and a Christian!” Fr. Rudy was accused of being a communist because he not only helped the poor. He also taught them how to analyze why they were poor; what were the unjust structures of society that exploited them; what were the structural sins, not just personal sins. The students, with whom Fr. Rudy worked, were articulate in teaching their fellow-students and out-of-school youth; in motivating them to go out to live with the poor, and in accompanying them with Jesus in their journey towards integral salvation and liberation of all. Fr. Rudy Romano, Levi Ybanez, and the youth yesterday and today – they are INSEPARABLE! Fr. Rudy, the poor, deprived, and oppressed yesterday and today – they are INSEPARABLE! Fr. Rudy, the prophets of the OT and Jesus, the Savior/Liberator – they are INSEPARABLE. TODAY, are we inseparable with Fr. Rudy and all the above?
Posted on: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 06:41:14 +0000
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