A Surviving Spouse's Testimonial to Indispensability of People's Lawyers PDF Print Email

Delivered during the First Assembly of National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL)-Bicol by Marilyn B. Estrellado, the surviving spouse of Rodel Estrellado, Bayan Muna member in Sorsogon, Bicol, Philippines)

30 November 2011, Legazpi, Albay, Philippines

Around 8:30 in the morning of February 25, 2011, while Rodel was walking home from the public market, four men forcibly dragged him inside a gray car. He struggled, kicking and shouting for help, calling for my father’s name.  The rice and fish he was carrying were scattered on the street.  As the men pushed him inside the car, one of them punched him in the abdomen and kicked him. He was hurled inside the car like a pig. As people rushed to help him, my husband’s abductors, poked a gun to more than 50 bystanders and yelled, “Daeng makiaram, PDEA kami!” (Nobody intervenes! We are drug enforcement agents!) They sped off towards the direction of Legazpi City with a convoy of men riding in motorcycles and two more cars.

Three to four hours after, Rodel’s bullet riddled body was brought by Major Danilo Ambe and 2nd Lt. Mariel Bonilla of the 9th ID Philippine Army at the Bato police station. They reported to the police he died in a firefight between government soldiers and the NPA around six o’clock that morning. He sustained 3 gunshot wounds at his back passing through a rib which ripped a huge part of the skin near his collar bone. The proximity of the bullets’ entrance was very near each other. One of the bullets didn’t exit from his body, which was later identified by the SOCO, came from the M4 rifle issued to Major Danilo Ambe.

They covered-up Rodel’s abduction and murder by giving false interviews to the media as early as 6 o’clock that same morning. They arrogantly declared the neutralization of a certain Elmer Estrellado who was killed by their troops in an encounter in Buluang, Bato, Camarines Sur. The 9th ID even bragged about, according to them, another blow to the revolutionary movement. My husband was already dead to the media while he was still very much alive doing our laundry in Malilipot.

The theatrical stage of their story happened in three municipalities of two provinces. He was abducted in Malilipot, killed in Buluang, Camarines Sur and brought in a funeral parlor in Nabua. The fish and rice he bought from the market were turned into improvised explosive device, a caliber .45 pistol and subversive documents. Equally insulting to the human mind, is the place of the encounter, which even a civilian could easily conclude the impossibility of the so called “valiant fight” between government troops and NPA guerillas. The firefight ensued in the middle of the grassy field with little bushes, some coconut trees and bamboos. Based from the findings of SOCO, the proximity of the recovered assortment of empty shells were only a meter away from each other. Worse part is, it seemed the soldiers were on top of each other during the encounter and hidden behind small trees, the trunks only the size of my arm.

The impunity from which such acts of human rights violations were committed, is beyond condemnation.

I am not new to issues on human rights. Being a community development worker over the years, I have participated in fact finding missions and mobilizing the basic sectors on varied social and environmental issues. I was persistent in convincing the poor to fight for their rights to life, land, decent shelter, and basic social services. All the while I thought I understood how they felt. Such years of experience however, didn’t prepare me in facing and coping with the grief of the violent death of my husband.

Families of victims like us, go through not just the pain of losing a loved one, but the painful process of finding justice. The despair in finding witnesses, mostly refused to testify out of fear. Facing people’s apathy and insensitivity. The exasperation in answering queries and malicious remarks justifying my husband’s death or making it appear Rodel was the villain not the victim. The difficulty in restraining one’s anger and keeping a rational mind in handling people who tend to blame my husband for his death. There are many reasons to be angry. But then I always remind myself, we are all victims here. Our hatred should be directed not to each other, but to the cold bloodied murderers hiding behind a soldier’s uniform.

I also have to contend with the constant fear and the trauma that I might be being watched and followed or get killed myself. The anxiety over my two year old son’s safety and the future that lies ahead of him.  The uncertainty of winning the case despite the strong evidence in our favor. The long wait for the trial to begin, as the respondents exhausts all excuses to postpone the hearings. All through out the process you feel victimized, over and over again. And our ordeal has barely begun.

It was difficult to convince my family and that of Rodel’s to pursue the case. Instead, focus my mind on how to raise my son and provide him a safe and normal environment. It was very tempting to turn my back and walk away. But, I thought, would I let a good man die in vain? If I stop, would there be an assurance that I and my son would not be harmed? Would I let Major Ambe and his cohorts given the medal of valor and continuously trample on people’s rights? Would I let them have the liberty to orchestrate the death of yet another prey? Would I let the state get away clean for its responsibilities over the violence perpetrated to its own very people? If I won’t fight for my husband, then who will?

My decision to pursue the case was made easy given the overwhelming support provided by friends, human rights workers, volunteers and NUPL lawyers who were there with us since day 1. They helped in the search for my husband. They pulled all connections to find Rodel. They knocked at the gates of Camp Simeon Ola and the military detachment in Ligao City.  They facilitated the transfer of my husband’s cadaver so that we can mourn and give him a decent and proper burial. They ensured our safety. They were there by my side, serving as buffers to the media and investigators.

Had it not for them, I won’t be treated more nicely and my husband’s case given serious attention. As remarked by one police officer, this could have been another unsolved case. I saw how our lawyers worked tirelessly during the fact finding missions and case conferences. How they sacrificed their time, their own resources and other commitments to collectively study and discuss how best to try the case. How each lawyer of NUPL here in Bicol and in Manila shared their experiences and identified lessons from other human rights cases that can be of help in our case. I felt at peace knowing my husband’s case is in the hands of trusted and committed lawyers of the NUPL.

I wouldn’t reach this far without them. I couldn’t have the courage to continue had I been alone in this crusade. They provided not just free legal services. They went beyond the usual borders of the client-lawyer relationship, they offered friendship and moral support. When my heart is gripped by distrust and doubts, they gave me strength. In them, I saw hope not just for husband’s case but the thousands of unsolved cases of other human rights victims and their families.

Our journey ahead will never be easy. As said by Engr. Jun Perdigon, an environmental advocate, “This is a battle of persistence. An maluya, pierde! (Ang mahina, talo!).” We are struggling against the greed for power and money by the ruling system. We are up against all state machineries that protect and preserve the status quo. A system shaken by political, moral and economic ills. Out of desperation to pull itself together, it resorts to the cowardly and most gruesome acts of violence to its own people. Such violence only proves the legitimacy of our cause. The extent of violence is the gauge of our strength.

Our fear paralyzes us, hence magnifies impunity. Our silence only consents the mockery of the rule of law, or rather as how Atty. Edre puts it, the rule of justice. Our indifference only brings in our doorsteps the state violence against life, liberty and human dignity. It is never a guarantee that by doing nothing, by not engaging in anything, by just sitting in the comforts of our homes or workplaces, our lives will be spared. It is only by knowing, by engaging, by persistently working together, by building massive support both locally and internationallycan we break the chain of the vicious system of greed and violence.

As I stood there on top of the hill, where my husband was murdered, I saw the serene beauty of Buhi Lake. The clouds suspended over the blue skies gently kissing the mountain tops. The soothing rustle of the grass beneath my feet and the bubbling life of the community on the foot of the hill, seemingly oblivious to the crime that has just occurred in its midst. I thought to my self, it was a good place to die. My husband may not able to fight and defend himself against his killers, but the reason from which he was killed, was worth his death. I am proud for his selfless life’s work no matter how small his contribution might have been.

When my son Ilyian is old enough to understand, I will tell him the story not just how his father died, but how he lived. I will tell him the story of the bravery and unwavering commitment of the paralegals and the people’s lawyers who accompanied us in the journey to find justice not just for his father but for all victims as well. I hope one day, he too, will continue this journey and become one of our people’s lawyers, in the real meaning and essence of the word.

Atty. Edre Olalia, secretary general of NUPL Philippines, volunteer lawyers of NUPL Bicol, law students and all the participants in this historic occasion, I and the rest of the families of human rights victims salute you on your first assembly. Your presence in this activity is an indication of your commitment to people’s lawyering. Thus we salute you for taking a stand with us. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Atty. Madonna Gay Escio, Atty. Joven Laura, Atty. Emil Bermas and Atty. Bart Rayco, for giving us the courage and support.

One of the basic principles I learned in community organizing in confronting the target of those people in power, is “to beat them by their own book of rules”. For you to exhaust all the legal remedies as provided by law to prosecute and hold accountable all those responsible in these spate of extra judicial killings, harassments, enforced disappearances and  torture of human rights advocates, lawyers, the clergy, progressive organizations and even ordinary civilians. It is our responsibility to ensure that the selflessness and martyrdom of all those who died would not be wasted. To give meaning for what they had died and fought for.  To bring our cause not just inside the courtroom, but on the streets and all other avenues possible.

Ang pakikibaka para sa kalayaan, kapayapaan at katarungan ay hindi ibinibigay ng kusa. Ito ay kailangang ipaglaban. Ang hamon sa ating lahat ay kung paano maninindigan sa layuning ating ipinakikipaglaban. Kung hindi tayo maninindigan ngayon, then who will? (The struggle for freedom, peace and justice is not easy. These rights are won through arduous struggle. The challenge for all of us is how to stand firm in what we are fighting for. If we will not stand our ground now, then who will?)

Maraming salamat at magandang tanghali sa ating lahat! (Thank you very much and good noon to all of us!)#

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