‘Baguhin ang Labor Code Hindi ang Konstitusyon’ Comrades remember Ka Popoy Lagman amid ‘tumultuous’ time

https://dailyguardian.com.ph/baguhin-ang-labor-code-hindi-ang-konstitusyon-comrades-remember-ka-popoy-lagman-amid-tumultuous-time/

‘Baguhin ang Labor Code Hindi ang Konstitusyon’ Comrades remember Ka Popoy Lagman amid ‘tumultuous’ time

February 10, 2024

Filemon “Ka Popoy” Lagman was assassinated inside the University of the Philippines Diliman campus 23 years ago on February 6.

Nobody claimed responsibility for his murder, but his comrades in the labor movement do not rule out state involvement by many means, as the revolutionary labor leader played a key role in mass mobilizations during important social issues of his time, including charter change.

Partido Manggagawa (PM) Chair Renato Magtubo, an Ilonggo who hails from Bacolod, a union president, a partylist representative then, remembers Ka Popoy as someone who adapts to the changing political landscape without losing his revolutionary commitment.

He cited as an example that Lagman popularized the slogan ‘Rebolusyon Hindi Eleksyon’ in anticipation of the transition of power from Cory Aquino to Fidel Ramos during the 1992 elections, as well as the ‘Resign All’ call during the anti-Erap struggle, as he deemed that a Gloria Arroyo takeover of power won’t change anything, which proved prescient.

At the height of Edsa Dos people power, Lagman’s group pushed for the idea of having a caretaker government to be headed then by Chief Justice Hilario Davide, while other left groups supported Gloria Arroyo.

“Hindi katanggap-tanggap na ang panibagong people power ay magbunga lang ng isang Gloria. Dahil para lang nating pinalitan ang bigote ni Erap ng nunal ni Gloria,” Magtubo recalled Ka Popoy saying these words in disgust over the dire prospect of a simple regime change instead of the possibility of system change.

On February 6, 2001, he was shot dead while he was in the thick of preparations for the launching of Partido Manggagawa (PM). PM was founded by working class leaders on February 12, 2001, the same day Ka Popoy was laid to rest through a massive funeral march from UP to Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina.

“Kung nabubuhay lang si Ka Popoy ngayon, malamang ibabalik niya ulit ang kanyang naunang paninindigan noon laban sa charter change na ‘Baguhin ang Labor Code, Hindi ang Konstitusyon,’” explained Mario Andon, PM Iloilo spokesperson. At that time, labor groups were pushing for ‘CBA ng Uri’ as they find in the Labor Code many provisions that prohibit the free exercise of labor rights, including the freedom to organize and to strike as provided under the Constitution.

Today PM pursues a similar line, “Chicha hindi Chacha”, as it finds the motives behind the new push for charter change remain to be the same—dynastic lust for power and service to foreign capital—that runs counter to workers’ most urgent concerns on high prices, low wages, unemployment, and other demands for economic relief.

Members of PM vowed to continue seeking justice for Ka Popoy while pursuing what they believe is his legacy as a working-class hero—the struggle for the emancipation of the working class.

Sa ikadalawampu't apat na anibersaryo ng pagpaslang kay Ka Popoy

SA IKADALAWAMPU'T APAT NA ANIBERSARYO NG PAGPASLANG KAY KA POPOY

dalawampu't apat na taong singkad

katarungan pa rin ang hinahangad

sa pumaslang ba'y sinong maglalantad?

buong kwento ba'y sinong maglalahad?

bagamat karaniwang tao kami

na sa manggagawa ay nagsisilbi

tuloy ang pagkilos araw at gabi

ang bawat hakbang ay pinagbubuti

tulad din ni Ka Popoy, ipanalo

ang asam na lipunang makatao

na tinatawag naming sosyalismo

na mamumuno'y ang uring obrero

hustisya para kay Ka Popoy Lagman

ito'y adhika't ipinaglalaban

itatag nati'y pantay na lipunan

na walang mang-aapi at gahaman

- gregoriovbituinjr.

02.06.2025

* binasa ng makatang gala sa programa ng paggunita sa UP Bahay ng Alumni, hapon ng Pebrero 6, 2025

Lagmans of Albay part of untold migration story

https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/02/05/opinion/columns/lagmans-of-albay-part-of-untold-migration-story/2049585

Lagmans of Albay part of untold migration story

By Marlen V. Ronquillo

February 5, 2025

PATRIOT-parliamentarian Edcel Lagman developed a close friendship with Pampanga's second district representative Emigdio Lingad during their term in the 8th Congress, and the why is easy to explain. Emy's father, Joe Lingad, a fierce opponent of martial law, was assassinated after winning the Pampanga gubernatorial race in 1980, then lost in the Comelec count.

Hermon Lagman, Edcel's lawyer-brother who defended workers and trade unions, disappeared during the early years of martial law, never to be seen again.

Hermon C. Lagman and Jose B. Lingad are names etched on the Bantayog ng Mga Bayani memorial.

And on top of the shared tragedy was regional kinship. Edcel Lagman's forefathers were originally from the Guagua-Floridablanca area, two Pampanga towns that Emy Lingad represented in Congress then. Emy Lingad, who died a few years back, told Edcel he was familiar with one wave of migration involving Kapampangans moving to Mindanao, the Land of Promise, that offered at least 8 hectares of land to new settlers. But the migration to Bicol, he told Edcel, remains an unexplored but interesting story.

Indeed, it is an interesting migration story. The movement from the Kapampangan-speaking plains to the Bicol Region, mostly in the early 20th century, was made more interesting by the prominent names that were byproducts of that migration, including the Lagman family, who turned out three unapologetic dissidents and non-conformists: Edcel, Hermon and Popoy.

Tabaco City in Albay, whose incumbent mayor is a daughter of Edcel, has its place in Philippine literary history. Angela Manalang-Gloria is the name attached to Tabaco, Albay's place in Philippine literature.

Angela Manalang, her maiden name, was born in Guagua, Pampanga. Yes, the same town from where Edcel Lagman's forefathers came before their migration to Albay. Angela Manalang was still a child when her parents moved from Guagua to the Bicol Region and it was during her early school years in Bicol when she first realized her preternatural precocity with words.

During her university years, Angela Manalang competed with another poetic genius for the literary editorship of the Philippine Collegian. She got the editorship at the expense of one name, her competitor, who is now immortalized in Philippine literature, Jose Garcia Villa. While her writing years were short-lived (she edited literary magazines after graduating summa cum laude from UP), the body of poetry she left behind is still recognized today for its vibrancy, relevance and originality.

She was ambushed by the Japanese military with her husband and son in 1945 in Batangas. Her husband died, and she returned to Tabaco and became a successful businesswoman.

Bienvenido N. Santos, who died in Legazpi City in 1996, gained literary acclaim in three genres: novel, poetry and short story. And in two settings: America and the Philippines. He won an American Book Award for his short story collection, "Scent of Apples," in 1980. He was also a Guggenheim Foundation Fellow. For almost 10 years, he was writer in residence and professor of creative writing at the Wichita State University. He won three Palanca prizes for short story writing, among the many honors he received in his native country.

The simple chronology of his life lists Tondo, where he was born; the United States, where he studied as a pensionado and the place where he earned his well-deserved place as one of the more prominent Asian American writers of his generation; and then his return to the Philippines and his final years in Albay.

Like Edcel Lagman, Bienvenido Santos had a great friend surnamed Lingad. He was Genio Lingad of Sta Cruz in Lubao, Pampanga, where the forefathers of the literary giant came from. In the compilation of the letters he wrote from the US, from Manila during his university years and elsewhere, Santos had fond recollections of his youthful days with Genio Lingad. There were several letters describing his visits to Lubao with Genio Lingad as his guide and companion. The trek through the paddies, the sight of a young woman who gained his attention and at one time intended to marry, the lively fiestas.

Lubao was not a distant place in the consciousness of Bienvenido Santos despite the many years — and many honors gained — in America.

Any mention of Filipino American businesswoman Loida Nicolas-Lewis in the Philippine context always centers on her Sorsogon roots. She was born there and raised there. That is where much of her philanthropic work, with a focus on education, is being carried out. But like the Lagmans, both parents of Nicolas-Lewis were children of Kapampangan migrants from Tarlac. The surname of her mother, Manalac, is a giveaway. Just like Vitug or Manalang or Barin or Lagman, anyone with the surname Manalac could have originated only from Pampanga or the Kampampangan part of Tarlac.

Like the Lagman brothers, Loida Nicolas-Lewis has been the bĉte noire of strongmen and autocrats.

Larawan ng magigiting

LARAWAN NG MAGIGITING

nakita kong nakapaskil ang isang ulat

sa burol ni Ka RC nang magpunta ako

makasaysayang tagpo yaong nadalumat

kaya sa selpon ay kinunan ng litrato

aba'y magkasama sa Kill VAT Coalition

na tatlong dekada na ang nakararaan

ang nagisnan kong lider ng kilusan noon

sina RC Constantino at Popoy Lagman

mga dagdag sa dokumentasyon at sa blog

upang mabatid ng sunod na salinlahi

kung sino ang mga lider nating matatag

na nilabanan ang burgesyang naghahari

isang pagkakataong di ko pinalampas

nang pinitikan agad sa selpon kamera

ang kinunang litrato'y mahalagang bakas

na sa aklat ng historya'y dapat isama

- gregoriovbituinjr.

04.10.2024

* nakasulat sa caption ng litrato: "Leaders of the Kill VAT Coalition raise their hands to show unity in their struggle against the tax measure. Fourth from right is former guerilla leader Filemon Lagman who announced his plan to join the movement."

* litratong kuha ng makatang gala sa burol ni RC, dating pangulo ng Sanlakas, 04.08,2024

Ka Popoy at RC Constantino sa isang dyaryo

Ka Popoy and RC, magkasama sa KILL VAT Coalition, balitang nakapaskil sa burol ni RC

* nakasulat sa caption ng litrato: "Leaders of the Kill VAT Coalition raise their hands to show unity in their struggle against the tax measure. Fourth from right is former guerilla leader Filemon Lagman who announced his plan to join the movement."

Gov Lagman visits tomb of his uncle Ka Popoy Lagman

https://bicol.politiko.com.ph/2024/03/20/gov-lagman-visits-tomb-of-his-under-ka-popoy-lagman2/headlines/

Gov Lagman visits tomb of his uncle Ka Popoy Lagman

March 20, 2024

Albay Governor Edcel “Grex” Lagman has paid a visit to the grave of one of his favorite uncles Filemon “Ka Popoy” Lagman, a prominent labor leader.

“One of my favorite uncles growing up. Kan elementary ako, pirmi niya ako pigiimbitaran na mag-iba sa iya “sa bundok”. Siyempre lagi naman ako naniniwala by packing my bags an excitedly waiting na matuloy na yung pamumundok ko with him kasama ang mga cadre,” Lagman recalled.

He also shared that Ka Popoy taught him to ride his “service” big bike —- an early 80s Honda 400 cc.

“I think i found his being a rebel with a cause very romantic,” he said.

Lagman also noted that his father Cong. Edcel and Ka Popoy put up the only law office in the Philippines which was 100% entirely devoted to the interests of laborers.

“Ewan ko bakit sa Bar Exams, Labor Law was one of my lowest grades. Okay naman sa Taxation and sa Commercial law at 88%. Pero sa Labor, pasang-awa at 78%! Siyempre di ko sinabi ito kay papa at kay Uncle Ching. Hahaha Anti-labor ata me,” he said.

“Kayo naman, Uncle Ching, will always be a hero to us. One who gave his life to fight for the working man. Partido ng Manggagawa and Sanlakas were party lists you organized and which both won seats in Congress. We will always honor your memory and the principles you fought for. Happy birth anniversary, Unc,” he said.

Description:

Albay Governor Edcel “Grex” Lagman has paid a visit to the grave of one of his favorite uncles Filemon “Ka Popoy” Lagman, a prominent labor leader.

Pahayag ni Ka Sonny Melencio, tagapangulo ng PLM

Isang pagsaludo sa kabayanihan ni Ka Popoy Lagman

mula kay kasamang Sonny Melencio, tagapangulo ng Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM)

6 Pebrero 2024

Siya ang kauna-unahang biktima ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao sa ilalim ng rehimeng GMA. Hanggang ngayon, kasama ang libu-libo pang biktima, wala pa ring nakakamit na katarungan sa patraydor na asasinasyon kay Ka Popoy.

Ginugunita natin ang kanyang kabayanihan habang pinagtitibay natin ang katangian at pamamaraan ng mga labang kanyang isinulong.

Siya ang pinakamasugid na tagapagbandila, at sa katunaya’y pioneer ng sosyalistang linya para sa uring manggagawa sa bansa. Sinimulan niya ang kritik ng pambansang demokratikong linya na aniya’y hindi umaayon sa kasalukuyang adhikain ng uring manggagawa para sa pagwawakas ng sahurang pang-aalipin at ng kapitalismo – gaano man ito kaatrasado – sa bansa.

Ibinando niya ito hindi lamang sa mga usaping panloob sa kilusan. Sa kauna-unahang pagkakataon sa ilalim ng pambansang demokratikong kilusan, nanguna si Ka Popoy sa pagbabandila ng sigaw at adhikain ng sosyalismo sa mobilisasyon ng kilusang unyon sa naging pagdiriwang ng Mayo Uno. Nagsalita ang mga lider manggagawa ng Maynila-Rizal na sosyalismo ang kanilang adhikain at hindi pambansang demokrasya lamang.

Pinag-ugat ni Ka Popoy ang sosyalistang adhikain sa mga lider at masa ng uring manggagawa, kabilang na ang mga nasa kilusang unyon. Sa halip na mga pag-aaral sa pambansang demokrasya, isinulong niya ang mga pag-aaral sa sosyalismo, kabilang ang mga akda ng mga naunang sosyalistang lider gaya ni Karl Marx at Friedrick Engels at Vladimir Lenin.

Sinimulan din niya ang maigting at matinding protesta laban sa imperyalistang globalisasyon. Ito’y sa panahon na may mga grupong Kaliwa na sinasang-ayunan ang globalisasyon dahil pauunlarin nito ang kapitalismo sa bansa. Kahit nakakulong, iminando ni Ka Popoy na isulong ang martsa-caravan laban sa APEC at globalisasyon noong 1996. Iginuhit ni Ka Popoy ang linya na ang globalisasyon ay nagsisilbi lamang sa imperyalista at kapitalistang pagsasamantala habang dinudurog ang kilusang paggawa at kilusang masa ng uri.

Hindi natin siya makalilimutan sapagkat ang kanyang sinimulan ay ang tamang landas ng sosyalistang pagsulong na dapat lamang nating ipagpatuloy at paunlarin ngayon.

Masidhi rin ang paniniwala ni Ka Popoy na ang rebolusyon ay isang landas na tatahakin ng uri sa harap ng matinding pagsasamantala ng kapital at ng mga naghaharing uri. Para kay Ka Popoy, ang “gyera ay hindi rebolusyon, at ang rebolusyon ay hindi gyera.” Ang rebolusyon ay akto ng masa ng uri at hindi pag-aarmas lamang ng isang seksyon nila, laluna kung ang protracted o mahabang panahon ng pag-aarmas na ito ay nagiging panghalili sa isang malawakan at makapangyarihang rebolusyon na isusulong ng uri.

Gayundin, ang pananaw ni Ka Popoy sa eleksyon sa burges na parlamento na isa lamang oportunidad para ilantad ang baog na demokrasya at isang paniniktik sa pamamaraan ng paghahari ng kapitalista at burgesya sa loob ng parlamento. Ang pinakamahalaga para sa kanya ay gamitin ang lahat ng rekurso mula rito para pakilusin ang masa at palibutan ang baog at reaksyonaryong parlamento. Sa pinakadulo, para buwagin ito at itayo ang tunay na parlamento at kongreso ng masa.

Ang adhikain at pamamaraan ni Ka Popoy ay hindi dapat maglaho. Gawin nating katotohanan ang pagsusulong ng mga sandatang kailangan ng uri para magtagumpay:

(1) ang sandata ng walang-pagod na pagpaparami at pagpapalakas ng partidong mangunguna sa rebolusyon;

(2) ang sandata ng kilusang unyon na hindi dapat saklutin ng mga dilawang lider at burukrasya sa unyon, kundi dapat pamunuan ng mga sosyalista at tapat-sa-uring lider ng mga manggagawa;

(3) ang malawak na pagpapakilos sa masa sa kanilang sariling mga suliranin at isyu at pagkakawing nito sa sosyalistang adhikain; at,

(4) ang pagtatayo ng malawak na nagkakaisang prente ng mga sosyalista, rebolusyonaryo, at progresibong kilusan ng uri na magtitiyak ng tagumpay ng rebolusyonaryong pag-aalsa ng masa.

Hindi lamang dapat alalahanin ang kabayanihan ni Ka Popoy. Dapat sundan natin ang kanyang gabay, paunlarin pa ito, at isulong hanggang sa tagumpay ng sosyalismo sa ating bansa at sa buong mundo. #

Tala: Si Ka Sonny ay matagal nang kasama sa pakikibaka ni Ka Popoy, mula sa erya ng Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Valenzuela (na noo’y bahagi pa ng Bulacan), bago pa man maideklara ang Martial Law. 

Imbitasyon sa pagdalo

Cong. Edcel Lagman's message on the 22nd death anniversary of Ka Popoy Lagman

ANG AKING MENSAHE SA IKA-22nd DEATH ANNIVERSARY NI KA POPOY LAGMAN

Ang pamilyang Lagman ay taos pusong nagpapasalamat sa pagpapatuloy ninyo ng mga adhikain ng aming bunsong kapatid na si Ka Popoy.

Ang aming pamilya ay naging second family lang ni Ka Popoy. Ang uring manggagawa ay ang kanyang pangunahing pamilya.

Naalaala ko na 22 years ago ngayong hapon na ito, ako ay tumakbo galing sa Kowloon House sa Matalino St. papunta sa Heart Center. Doon dinala si Ka Popoy matapos siya barilin sa UP Bahay ng Alumni.

Nakita ko kung ilang oras siya lumalaban upang mabuhay—in the same manner that he fought tirelessly and fearlessly for workers, the poor, and marginalized, so that they could have decent lives.

Madalas natin sabihin, at ito ay totoo, na ang mga ’pinaglaban ni Ka Popoy para sa uring manggagawa tulad ng living wage, security of tenure, freedom to organize and engage in concerted activities are the very same causes that we are fighting for today.

Ang matinding inflation rate na 8.1% ay kinain na ang maliliit na pagtaas ng minimum wage at kailangang taasan pa ito. Kailangang tiyakin din ng gobyerno ang food security at pag-unlad ng agrikultura upang bumaba ang presyo ng basic commodities.

Tapusin na ang ENDO at contractualization upang magarantiya ang security of tenure ng mga manggagawa.

Lumikha ang gobyerno ng non-profit Workers Bank para sa mga manggagawa upang makakuha sila ng murang credit for livelihood support, and calamity and crisis survival. Itong Workers Bank ay isa sa mga labor agenda ni Ka Popoy.

Ang Pilipinas, ayon sa World Bank, ang may pinaka masamang income distribution sa buong Asya at di lang sa buong South East Asia.

What Popoy said is a truism that during good times, capital inordinately profits, but during bad times only the workers suffer. Kapag maganda ang ekonomiya ang mga negosyante ang higit na kumikita, ngunit pag masama ang ekonomiya, ang mga manggagawa lamang ang nagdurusa.

Isigaw natin, Ka Popoy, tuloy ang laban!

Ka Popoy

KA POPOY

dalawampu't dalawang taon na ang nakararaan

nang bigla kang nawala dahil ikaw ay pinaslang

ng mga salaring kaaway nitong sambayanan

dahil pinalakas mo ang 'yong pinamumunuan

taas-kamaong pagpupugay, lider at kasama

ang mga aral mo'y aming isinasapraktika

upang tuluyang baguhin ang bulok na sistema

at mawala ang pang-aapi't pagsasamantala

sinabi mong dapat class line, di mass line, ang tunguhin

ng uring manggagawang pagkakaisa'y kakamtin

ang pag-oorganisa ng uri ang adhikain

makauring kamalayan ay sadyang patampukin

sa mga aral at karanasan nga'y napapanday

kasama ng manggagawang sosyalismo ang pakay

tanging masasabi ko'y taospusong pagpupugay!

tinutuloy namin ang laban mo, kasamang tunay!

- gregoriovbituinjr.

02.06.2023