The Purple Jar

I learned this morning that yesterday, Rene Tabianan, the erstwhile elected Kapitan of Brgy. Villahermosa (Oriental/ Occidental) was gunned down yesterday in the poblacion of Pagsanghan, Samar.  Up to now, I cannot believe that the level of election violence in my home town has reached such a crescendo that the life of an INNOCENT MAN will  be taken away just like that. Pinatay ng mga hindi kilalang tao.  The gunmen fled off into the mountains, with the police giving the noncommittal chase (as if they would really catch those goons noh?).  Rene left behind his young kids and a pregnant wife. Why? Why was this man’s life taken away with a bullet to the head? ALL BECAUSE HE IS A LEADER IN [T]HIS SIDE OF THE POLITICAL FENCE. (And warning for those of you who will read on, what follows is a rant, a very angry rant.)  There is no doubt in people’s minds that he was killed because he was not only a barangay captain of one of the biggest barangays in the municipality but also because he was one of the strongest leaders of Pagsanghan’s “Liberal” party.

A few months ago, SB Member Florencio “Nonoy” Repol (yes, same nickname as my dad’s but not related to my family) was also gunned down and killed by “di kilalang tao”—from the Waray translation, it means hired killers.  Florencio Repol was a man on the other side of the political fence, the so-called Nacionalistas.  However, compared to the killing of Rene Tabianan, the death of Florencio Repol may be–and was—attributed to other factors other than political/ election-related.  Until now, many people believe that it was because of business –may mga nagrabyado raw siya sa negosyo.  Sources close to the family are saying that the family of F. Repol believe that the reason was really because of business and not election-related.  Nevertheless, whether it was election-related or not, F. Repol’s death triggered a series of events that left the other side afraid. (Afraid and desperate enough to kill an innocent man? You be the judge.)  It reached a point that incumbent mayor Violeto “Lele” Ceracas  reached out to the other side and asked Cong. Reynaldo Uy that he be allowed to “surrender” , go to the side of the Liberal, and run under the party of Cong. Uy/ Mayor Sarmiento.  He was so desperate that he wanted to run even as an SB member (because he already knows that the term limits apply to him) However, for reasons that will not be disclosed here, Ceracas and his minions were rejected.  My own tito was already said to have promised Mayor Sarmiento that he will run with the Liberals. Eventually, that just became talk and such promises were not fulfilled. But what did happen was that three barangay captains that used to be on the Nacionalistas’ side surrendered and publicly displayed their support for Mayor Sarmiento, who everyone in Samar knows will run for Congressman in the 1st district of Samar. Thus, the pot of election fever became boiling hot long before even the first certificate of candidacy was filed.  In short, ngayon pa lang, may mga napikon. May mga gustong “gumanti”. The situation was very ripe for election-related violence. And the casualty was Rene Tabianan.

Unlike the killing of Florencio Repol a few months back, everyone will agree that Rene Tabianan was murdered for no other reason than because of politics.  Ginantihan ang mga Liberal, which is outrageous because there is no indication that the Liberals did anything to deserve such murder of one of its own. Bakit sila gaganti kung wala namang ginawa sa kanila? For so many years now, the Liberals in Pagsanghan were the underdogs. Palagi ngang talo, yung isa pa sa mga talo ang pinatay. The streets of Pagsanghan are now abuzz with possible masterminds–lele Ceracas himself? Or Jim Cañones–the Nacionalistas’ candidate for mayor? There is talk that the latter said something to the effect that “Antonieto hira, Antonieto liwat kami”–which is some sort of admission that since they think the other side is willing and able to kill, then they too are willing and able to kill (”Antonieto” being the mayor of a neighboring municipality, notorious for alleged extrajudicial killings).

Let me clarify that this is being written not to point any fingers at any one.  THis is being written as a narrative of events that transpired.  This is being written with one’s own opinions. And most of all, this is being written out of a concern for how violent the politics in Pagsanghan has become. Ganyan na ba ka desperado ang mga tao Sa Pagsanghan para sa pera at puder para pumatay sila ng inosenteng tao? And I would not even care except that my own mother is a leader of the Liberals. And call me biased if you will but it is a truism that all politics is personal.  My mother, being the good Catholic that she is, will never stoop down to the level of election-related killing.  But unfortunately, she has found herself in the middle of the war path.

It used to be so different.  I grew up with politics as an essential part of the history of my family.  The first mayor of the municipality of Pagsanghan was my dad’s father.  Then after the Edsa revolution, he was ousted by my mom’s brother.  As a child, my mom and dad were of course on opposite sides. Uy v. Repol.  The first three mayors of Pagsanghan were either Repol or Uy— my lolo, my tito, and my tito’s wife. It used to be so mundane as my dad supporting his brother’s wife rather than my mom’s brother for mayor.  It was about the meetings de avance. There were yet no outrageous sums of money being paid to voters.  There was yet no illegal registration of voters.  There was no bantayan of each side’s people. There was no such thing then as murdering political leaders.

But the picture of politics in Pagsanghan has now changed. It has become bloodied by the lives of innocent victims like Mr. Tabianan.  Hindi ba dapat laro lang ang pulitika? That’s how it’s called, an election CONTEST.  The other side used to pay dirty by alelgedly cheating their way into the municipal hall—every recent election was rife of ballot switching and terror tactics.  PERO NGAYON, MAY PATAYAN NA.  I know for a fact that politics is dirty.  But I didn’t know just how dirty and twisted it was—until now.  For me, it just seems so stupid that for pride, money, and power, things would have to end up like this. And nothing could be closer to home than killings like that in a small town like Pagsanghan.  Dapat kahit anong away sa pulitika, at the end of the day, all of us belong to and are from that town.  When we go to Manila and see each other here in the malls, it doesn’t really matter if you’re Liberal or Nacionalista but that you are from Pagsanghan.  Politics in our town used to be exciting, crazy, and yes, dangerous pero kung may patayan na, ibang usapan na yan.  Naisip ko talaga na “ganon na pala kasama ang mga tao diyan.”  For me, Pagsanghan had always seemed so idyllic, not just referring to it as a place but also to its people. Yes, i have also seen how bad it can get when it comes to politics but I never expected that a day will come when the concept of election-related killings will reach our shores.  Not in Pagsanghan.  Until the day of October 14.

I knew Rene Tabianan. He was welcomed as a guest in our house many times over. He was just not a face nor just a name.  He was a leader, a son, a husband, a father. But now, he has also become an unfortunate victim of the insanity of politics.

So what now? Will the killings not stop until one side says stop?  Otherwise, the cycle of violence will simply continue.

As my mother’s daughter, I will be lying if I say now that I am completely sure that I still want my mother to remain in the political realm.  We will not go hungry if my mother exits politics. (She lost an election once and her business became even more successful.)  Politics may have been in our family’s tradition and history but it was never our bread and butter. Hindi kami yumaman at nagpayaman dahil sa pulitika. in fact, if we compute everything from day one, if politics were purely treated as a monetary investment, lugi pa. Dahil hindi kami magugutom maski wala yan sa amin, we will never be desperate to take lives–unlike some very sick people.

But then again, whether win or lose, what about playing cleanly, openly, fairly? Play politics decently. Be real men. Do not hide behind the anonymity of your hired killers. Do not erect higher fences along your noveau riche houses.  And most of all, do not spill blood in the streets of Pagsanghan because of your hunger to hold on to your power. Meron ba kayong tinatago? What are you so afraid of that you will kill just so that you can remain in power? Are you simply afraid to lose or is it something else? Hey, losing in the elections should not be the end of anyone’s world.Or talaga bang wala na kayong ibang pagkakakitaan?

I fear for my mother’s safety everyday that I am not there with her. But on the other hand, one part of me cries out for justice. And to this end, I will support my mother in her fight. HINDI PWEDENG PALAMPASIN ANG MGA GANYANG KABALASTUGAN.  Will we do more justice for Mr. Tabianan by continuing with our fight or by simply taking ourselves out of the game? Kung nasa isang laro ka, at kung sobra sobra na ang pandaraya at panggagago ng kabila, wala ka nang ibang dapat gawin kung hindi huwag na maglaro. And that is perhaps the only way anyone will win.  Because the other side cannot really call themselves the winners if they had cheated and murdered their way to their positions.  And because there will never be winners –only losers–if both sides perpetuate the violence.

Should we say to hell with you /GAME OVER or should the next course of action be simply to stay the course and fight the good fight? What I only hope for is that there will be an end to the violence that has flared up in my beloved town.  There is a little hope in me that this will be an isolated incident—that the cycle of violence will soon stop before it even starts. I hope that people will realize how senseless these murders are when put out of the context of election fever and hot heads.  I hope that people from both sides of the political fence will be shocked and outraged with what has happened that they will realize the truth that this is all a game and that lives of people should never be paid as a price to win at something as stupid and childish as this game.

It’s a fool’s hope. But that will be my hope and my prayer.

And perhaps that is the only way we can give justice to Rene Tabianan.