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Popoy, a rebel with a soft spot, says daughter
By Andrea Trinidad-Echavez and Gerald Lacuarta
Philippine Daily Inquirer February 9, 2001
ON THE EVE of his assassination, Filemon “Popoy” Lagman went shopping and had dinner with his partner Michelle Caños and his two children, Dante and Iskra, at one of the largest malls in Metro Manila.
“He was ecstatic that night. There was a sale and Dante bought him a pair of slacks. He also tried on a pair of shoes but they were a bit expensive,” Iskra recalled with a smile.
“He was so happy in the last few days, always in high spirits,” said Caños, who was with Lagman when he was felled by bullets in front of “Bahay ng Alumni” on the UP Diliman campus on Tuesday afternoon.
The off-white slacks bought by his son became his burial outfit, paired with a green jacket that Michelle gave him last Christmas.
Iskra, 23, described her father, one of the extreme Left's most controversial figures, as “very sweet, thoughtful and a very funny guy.”
He was also a very misunderstood man, she told the Inquirer in an interview at her father's wake at a university chapel.
“People may say nasty things about him. But for those who knew him, he was very sweet, considerate and very levelheaded. He was a gentleman,” she said.
Michelle portrayed her late partner as spontaneous and sometimes childlike, a one-time revolutionary with a soft spot.
“He might have exuded a strong personality but at times, he could be like a child. He was always excited when you would give him a gift,” she said.
In his lighter moments, he was “very naughty,” she added fondly.
But the professional Lagman was a different animal, a former communist cadre, radical labor leader and committed activist with a deep understanding of worker’s issues, Michelle added.
The long route
Iskra said her father–though he traveled without bodyguards–was conscious of the need for security and would usually take maze-like routes to mislead anyone who might be tailing him.
“Even if he was just going to the next street, he would take the long route to make sure that he could not be followed,” she said.
“He would often tell us that he only had two destinies: either jail or cemetery,” said Wilson Fortaleza, spokesperson of the group Sanlakas, which Lagman founded with other labor leaders.
Uncompromising
Iskra, who grew up with her paternal grandmother, said she had “not an inch of doubt” about her father’s integrity, despite allegations linking him to scandals involving the Public Estate Authority and Philippine Airlines.
“I saw how he sacrificed for the cause of the labor movement. He was uncompromising when it came to the principles he believed in. It hurt him, we knew, but he would tell us that the intrigue was part of the struggle,” she said.
“He had no personal ambition. Everything he did was always for the good of the movement. He did not own anything, except perhaps, for his clothes and a few personal things,” Iskra said.
She admitted that, at times, especially when she was confronted with personal problems, she would question her father’s deep involvement in the movement.
“But when he explained things to me, the ill feelings (went away). I know he was doing what he did, not only for us, but for the people,” Iskra said.
While her father spent most of his time away from his family, “he was always there when we needed him,” she said, adding, “all we had to do was call him and he would come.”
50,000
Lagman’s friends, family and comrades hope to mobilize 50,000 people for his funeral march on Monday.
Former Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman vowed to carry on the fight of his brother in the halls of Congress along with militant labor groups who are gearing for the party-list elections in May.
“With more resolve, I am going to run for congressman in the 4th district of Quezon City and carry on the fight,” Lagman said in an interview Wednesday night at the UP Church of the Risen Lord where his younger brother's remains lie.
The former congressman, one of the lawyers who assisted the House prosecution panel in the aborted impeachment trial of ousted President Joseph Estrada, said his brother's assassination was not unexpected.
“It could have happened any time,” he said.
“He lived dangerously,” he said. “He lived by the hour.”
Burial, birth
Sanlakas Rep. Renato Magtubo said the Partido ng Manggagawa, which Popoy Lagman helped organize, was scheduled to hold its founding congress before Lagman's funeral march on Monday.
“The establishment of the Partido ng Manggagawa, the worker’s very own political party that will participate in the coming party-list elections, will be our tribute to Ka Popoy,” Magtubo said.
“The day of his burial will be the day the Partido ng Manggagawa is born,” he said.
“Ka Popoy will not die in vain,” Magtubo said. “We will make sure that this very last project, the Partido ng Manggagawa, will be a success.”
The founding congress will be held at UP's Bahay ng Alumni, where Lagman was ambushed.
A necrological service is scheduled for 3 p.m., followed by the funeral march at 4 p.m. from the Church of the Risen Lord to the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina.
Magtubo said that in the last few days of his life, Lagman was steeped in discussions with union leaders of the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino over the formation of the party, but added that Lagman himself did not plan to run as candidate in the party-list elections.
Lagman had wanted local union presidents to be fielded as nominees in the party-list elections, and as candidates for councilors and provincial board members in the local elections, according to Magtubo.
“Ka Popoy firmly believed that union presidents should be the voice of the working class in the halls of Congress,” Magtubo said.
A lot of dreams
Bob Anduiza, president of the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (Fasap), said the worker’s party was one of Lagman’s “biggest dreams” for the labor movement.
“He would always say that the only way to fight and survive is to organize,” Anduiza said.
Anduiza said he knew Lagman since 1994 and was “impressed by his dedication to alleviate the plight of the workers and commitment to union organization.”
“He had a lot of dreams for the workers,” Anduiza said. “He wanted to unite labor. And his vision was one day to have our own newspaper and radio station.”
"You can't kill ideas"
Edgardo Bilayon, president of the Bagong Kapisanan ng mga Manggagawa sa Philippine National Railways, said the gunmen may have killed Lagman but not the ideals he stood for.
“You can't kill his ideas. You can’t kill his good intentions,” Bilayon said.
Elmer Labog, secretary general of the Kilusang Mayo Uno, said Lagman’s assassination would not deter militant labor groups from continuing with the fight for worker’s rights and welfare.
“Whoever Lagman’s murderers are, they are mistaken if they think that the militancy of the labor movement will be lessened by Lagman’s death,” Labog said.
“We can even say that in the coming months after Lagman’s death, there will be an upsurge in the organization and mobilization of workers espousing genuine and militant trade unionism,” he said.
Popoy, a rebel with a soft spot, says daughter
By Andrea Trinidad-Echavez and Gerald Lacuarta
Philippine Daily Inquirer February 9, 2001
ON THE EVE of his assassination, Filemon “Popoy” Lagman went shopping and had dinner with his partner Michelle Caños and his two children, Dante and Iskra, at one of the largest malls in Metro Manila.
“He was ecstatic that night. There was a sale and Dante bought him a pair of slacks. He also tried on a pair of shoes but they were a bit expensive,” Iskra recalled with a smile.
“He was so happy in the last few days, always in high spirits,” said Caños, who was with Lagman when he was felled by bullets in front of “Bahay ng Alumni” on the UP Diliman campus on Tuesday afternoon.
The off-white slacks bought by his son became his burial outfit, paired with a green jacket that Michelle gave him last Christmas.
Iskra, 23, described her father, one of the extreme Left's most controversial figures, as “very sweet, thoughtful and a very funny guy.”
He was also a very misunderstood man, she told the Inquirer in an interview at her father's wake at a university chapel.
“People may say nasty things about him. But for those who knew him, he was very sweet, considerate and very levelheaded. He was a gentleman,” she said.
Michelle portrayed her late partner as spontaneous and sometimes childlike, a one-time revolutionary with a soft spot.
“He might have exuded a strong personality but at times, he could be like a child. He was always excited when you would give him a gift,” she said.
In his lighter moments, he was “very naughty,” she added fondly.
But the professional Lagman was a different animal, a former communist cadre, radical labor leader and committed activist with a deep understanding of worker’s issues, Michelle added.
The long route
Iskra said her father–though he traveled without bodyguards–was conscious of the need for security and would usually take maze-like routes to mislead anyone who might be tailing him.
“Even if he was just going to the next street, he would take the long route to make sure that he could not be followed,” she said.
“He would often tell us that he only had two destinies: either jail or cemetery,” said Wilson Fortaleza, spokesperson of the group Sanlakas, which Lagman founded with other labor leaders.
Uncompromising
Iskra, who grew up with her paternal grandmother, said she had “not an inch of doubt” about her father’s integrity, despite allegations linking him to scandals involving the Public Estate Authority and Philippine Airlines.
“I saw how he sacrificed for the cause of the labor movement. He was uncompromising when it came to the principles he believed in. It hurt him, we knew, but he would tell us that the intrigue was part of the struggle,” she said.
“He had no personal ambition. Everything he did was always for the good of the movement. He did not own anything, except perhaps, for his clothes and a few personal things,” Iskra said.
She admitted that, at times, especially when she was confronted with personal problems, she would question her father’s deep involvement in the movement.
“But when he explained things to me, the ill feelings (went away). I know he was doing what he did, not only for us, but for the people,” Iskra said.
While her father spent most of his time away from his family, “he was always there when we needed him,” she said, adding, “all we had to do was call him and he would come.”
50,000
Lagman’s friends, family and comrades hope to mobilize 50,000 people for his funeral march on Monday.
Former Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman vowed to carry on the fight of his brother in the halls of Congress along with militant labor groups who are gearing for the party-list elections in May.
“With more resolve, I am going to run for congressman in the 4th district of Quezon City and carry on the fight,” Lagman said in an interview Wednesday night at the UP Church of the Risen Lord where his younger brother's remains lie.
The former congressman, one of the lawyers who assisted the House prosecution panel in the aborted impeachment trial of ousted President Joseph Estrada, said his brother's assassination was not unexpected.
“It could have happened any time,” he said.
“He lived dangerously,” he said. “He lived by the hour.”
Burial, birth
Sanlakas Rep. Renato Magtubo said the Partido ng Manggagawa, which Popoy Lagman helped organize, was scheduled to hold its founding congress before Lagman's funeral march on Monday.
“The establishment of the Partido ng Manggagawa, the worker’s very own political party that will participate in the coming party-list elections, will be our tribute to Ka Popoy,” Magtubo said.
“The day of his burial will be the day the Partido ng Manggagawa is born,” he said.
“Ka Popoy will not die in vain,” Magtubo said. “We will make sure that this very last project, the Partido ng Manggagawa, will be a success.”
The founding congress will be held at UP's Bahay ng Alumni, where Lagman was ambushed.
A necrological service is scheduled for 3 p.m., followed by the funeral march at 4 p.m. from the Church of the Risen Lord to the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina.
Magtubo said that in the last few days of his life, Lagman was steeped in discussions with union leaders of the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino over the formation of the party, but added that Lagman himself did not plan to run as candidate in the party-list elections.
Lagman had wanted local union presidents to be fielded as nominees in the party-list elections, and as candidates for councilors and provincial board members in the local elections, according to Magtubo.
“Ka Popoy firmly believed that union presidents should be the voice of the working class in the halls of Congress,” Magtubo said.
A lot of dreams
Bob Anduiza, president of the Flight Attendants and Stewards Association of the Philippines (Fasap), said the worker’s party was one of Lagman’s “biggest dreams” for the labor movement.
“He would always say that the only way to fight and survive is to organize,” Anduiza said.
Anduiza said he knew Lagman since 1994 and was “impressed by his dedication to alleviate the plight of the workers and commitment to union organization.”
“He had a lot of dreams for the workers,” Anduiza said. “He wanted to unite labor. And his vision was one day to have our own newspaper and radio station.”
"You can't kill ideas"
Edgardo Bilayon, president of the Bagong Kapisanan ng mga Manggagawa sa Philippine National Railways, said the gunmen may have killed Lagman but not the ideals he stood for.
“You can't kill his ideas. You can’t kill his good intentions,” Bilayon said.
Elmer Labog, secretary general of the Kilusang Mayo Uno, said Lagman’s assassination would not deter militant labor groups from continuing with the fight for worker’s rights and welfare.
“Whoever Lagman’s murderers are, they are mistaken if they think that the militancy of the labor movement will be lessened by Lagman’s death,” Labog said.
“We can even say that in the coming months after Lagman’s death, there will be an upsurge in the organization and mobilization of workers espousing genuine and militant trade unionism,” he said.
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