OFWs remember 'Ka Bel,' saddened by untimely death

MANILA, Philippines - On a usual busy Sunday afternoon in Hong Kong’s Chater Road, groups of Filipino workers not only gathered on their day off but more importantly, they also took time to mourn the untimely death of Philippine legislator Crispin ‘Ka Bel’ Beltran. It wasn’t hard to see tears flowing from some of the Filipinos there last May 25, especially from those who could put themselves into Ka Bel’s shoes: Juggling hardships and struggles just to make both ends meet. The 75-year-old politician, who represented the sectoral party Anakpawis, died from head injuries on May 20 after falling off a ladder as he tried to fix the leaky roof of his modest home. Filipino worker groups such as the United Filipinos in Hong Kong (Unifil), Migrante Sectoral Party, Mission for Migrant Workers (MFMW), and HK Campaign for the Advancement of Human Rights had difficulty holding back their tears during Sunday's activity. "How many members of Congress do you know who would be fixing their own roof, especially when they’re 75 years old?" asked Bruce Van Voorhis of the HK Campaign. Beltran worked as a farm hand, janitor, gasoline boy, messenger, bus and taxi driver, before becoming a union leader and parliamentarian. "He could relate to the plight of the working poor in the Philippines because his life was one with theirs," he said. According to Unifil’s Eman Villanueva, in the seven years that he served in Congress, Ka Bel continued to live in the P50,000-bungalow which he built on a loan from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), when as a legislator, he had access to an annual countryside development fund of P26-million. Villanueva also recalled the time when Ka Bel, then already a legislator, came to HK wearing dilapidated shoes with frayed shoelaces. Moved by the sight, Villanueva offered Ka Bel a new pair of shoes which had just been given to him, a gift the elderly legislator reportedly was happy to accept. Cynthia Abdon-Tellez of MFMW summed up the group’s sentiment: "If there is anything that political parties in any legislature can learn from Ka Bel, it is that he never compromised his principles. He lived them, because they were always for the people." Tellez also recalled Beltran’s exemplary performance in Congress. She recalled that the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism cited him for filing the most number of bills and resolutions in the 13th Congress, and having a near perfect attendance before his arrest in 2006. During his three-year initial stint at the Lower House, Beltran reportedly won awards as "Outstanding Filipino of the Year" and "Most Outstanding Congressman from 2002-2005." The next year, he was elevated to the Congressional Hall of Fame. HK’s own legislator-activist, Leung Kwok-hung, also paid tribute to Beltran and hit the Philippine government for reviving rebellion charges against Beltran that led to his imprisonment and subsequent hospitalization in 2006. Leung unfurled an old poster calling for Beltran’s release, to remind those gathered that he was with them when they protested against his fellow legislator’s persecution. After his speech, Leung led the singing of the famous socialists’ anthem, "Internationale," which he sang in Mandarin, while the others sang in Filipino. Meanwhile, Filipinos from all over the globe have expressed their sadness over Beltran's sudden passing. The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union in Granville held a commemoration of Ka Bel's life on Monday afternoon. "As Chairperson of the KMU, Ka Bel has visited Australia in 1995 and 1997, attending meetings such as the ACTU congress (in 1997) and visiting and inspiring Australian workers and communities with his keen sense of international solidarity of toiling masses all over the world," Migrante-Australia said in a statement. Ka Bel is survived by 11 children, 29 grandchildren and 5 great-grand children. Filipino-Americans also expressed their mourning for Beltran's death. "Ka Bel is a consummate fighter for the Filipino people, a hero of the Filipino working class and the international proletariat," said the US-based Alliance for Just and Lasting Peace in the Philippines (AJLPP) in a statement. "We salute him and pay tribute to his greatness," it added. Beltran was a staunch critic of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He was imprisoned in 2006 and 2007 on charges of rebellion and sedition. As a member of the 13th Congress of the Philippines with the Anakpawis and a former chair of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), a militant and progressive labor movement, he had been a major figure in contemporary Filipino history. Beltran was the chairperson of Bayan, a vanguard in Philippine political activism, from 1993 to 1999. The Justice for Filipino American Veterans (JFAV) and the International League of People's Struggle (ILPS), an alliance of Filipino community organizations and advocates, also paid homage to Beltran. "Ka Bel may not be a war veteran but he is a consummate veteran working class fighter for the Filipino people. He is a champion of the international proletariat," said JFAV’s Steering Committee. - with reports from Pasckie Pascua and Mark Joseph Ubalde, GMANews.TV