Dan Vizmanos: The original 'Rebel soldier' foregoes military honors

MANILA, Philippines - Even in death, retired Navy Captain and anti-Marcos activist Danilo “Ka Dan" Vizmanos preferred to keep it simple. There will be no honor guards nor medals and flags draped on his coffin. Instead, Ka Dan just wanted a few mementos from his time in the mass movement. These were the words used by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Thursday night as friends, kin and comrades prepared for a tribute for the former military officer who died Monday due to complications from prostate cancer and other illnesses. He was 79. He is set to be cremated on Saturday, June 28. His remains currently lie in state at the Sacred Heart Shrine in San Antonio Village in Makati. A tribute for Ka Dan will be held Friday night, June 27. Vizmanos was a member of the ROTC-Hunters group during World War II before entering the US Merchant Marine Academy in Kingspoint, New York. He graduated in 1950 and then took his oath of commission in the Philippine Navy. Vizmanos served in the Armed Forces of the Philippines for 20 years. He started his career as a naval ensign engaged in anti-dissident operations of the AFP. In the Navy, Vizmanos served on seven patrol vessels, three of which he commanded. Later on, he was designated as one of the inspectors at the Office of the Inspector General and would be sent to Vietnam to check on the Philippine Civic Action Group (Philcag), the Philippine government’s contribution to the American war on Vietnam. He also attended the National Defense College in 1970-1971 where he wrote a thesis on the emergence of China as a world power. In it, he recommended that the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) develop diplomatic ties with the People’s Republic of China and that all military agreements with the US be abrogated. From then on, he earned the ire of the Marcos dictatorship, an earlier report said. Vizmanos was promoted to the rank of navy captain in 1971. He resigned when martial law was declared. He was later arrested, detained and tortured for more than two years. His captors never broke him, colleagues said. On Thursday, Bayan said in a press statement that only pictures from protests and tributes from friends and comrades adorn his coffin. Though entitled to full military honors for being a ranking officer of the Philippine Navy during the late 60's and early 70's, Ka Dan had thought that the image of military honors would “clash" with the tributes coming from his comrades in the Left. Bayan described "Ka Dan" as a man who lived a simple life whether as an activist or as a military officer. Vizmanos has been hailed as the original “rebel soldier" for standing up to the Marcos dictatorship during Martial Law, even facing arrest, detention and torture. He continued his activist work even during the Aquino, Ramos, Estrada and Arroyo administrations but found time to write books. He wrote three books - “Through the Eye of the Storm," “Martial Law Diary" and “A Matter of Conviction" “Ka Dan always believed that corruption in the military was institutionalized during Martial Law. Corruption was needed to pamper and bribe the implementors of Martial Law. The lifestyle of the military officer changed radically then. It set the precedent for the corrupt generals of today," BAYAN said. Vizmanos was also the chair of the human rights group SELDA which organized Marcos human rights victims in their fight for justice. “It is a sad thing that Ka Dan has left us without seeing the fulfillment of the fight for justice for the Marcos human rights victims. The inability of the Philippine government to advance this cause is utterly shameful," BAYAN said. Vizmanos was also a former chair of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and an official of the Partido ng Bayan, the precursor of partylist group Bayan Muna. - GMANews.TV