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The two photos on
the left side
are our latest photos of
Bishop Ramento. He delivered the closing remarks at the forum on
Sept. 18, 2006 on the
role of the Joint Monitoring Committee in addressing the grievous human
rights situation in the Philippines. The forum was sponsored by the
Ecumenical Movement for Justice and Peace (EMJP) and the
Philippine Peace Center (PPC)of which he was a member of the board.
The two photos above
were taken at the Hacienda Luisita during the workers' strike.
Before his murder,
Bishop Ramento was the
Supreme Bishop of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI),
the
co-chair of the Ecumenical Bishops' Forum (EBF), convenor of the
Pilgrims for Peace, an active supporter of the striking Hacienda Luisita
workers, chairman of KARAPATAN-Tarlac and convenor of
Movement of Concerned Citizens
for Civil Liberties.
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TRIBUTE TO BISHOP ALBERTO RAMENTO
THE BISHOP OF THE WORKERS AND PEASANTS
By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Chairperson, International Coordinating Committee
International League of Peoples’ Struggle
6 October 2006
On behalf of the
participating organizations of the International League of Peoples’
Struggle (ILPS) in scores of countries, I hereby express deepest
condolences to the family of Most Reverend Bishop Alberto Ramento, to all
the clergy and members of the Philippine Independent Church and to all his
colleagues in the people’s movement for national freedom, democracy,
social justice and a just and lasting peace.
All of us are in grief and feel a deep sense of loss over the murder of
Bishop Ramento. But we are all comforted by the fact that he has lived a
full and meaningful life in the service of his faith and the oppressed and
exploited people. His contributions to the people’s struggle for a better
life constitute a vital legacy and will continue to shine. His martyrdom
inspires us to struggle ever harder for the people’s rights.
May I mention that I had the good fortune of knowing Bishop Ramento
personally. We worked together with others in 1994 to persuade the
president of the reactionary government to release from prison a
revolutionary cadre, whose arrest by the military was prejudicing the
GRP-NDFP peace negotiations. Since then, we had fruitful relations in
pushing forward said negotiations, especially after his visit to the NDFP
Negotiating Panel.
We of the ILPS condemn in the most vigorous terms the brutal murder of
Bishop Alberto Ramento last October 3, 2006 in his parish in San
Sebastian, Tarlac City, Philippines. We are informed by his immediate
relatives and colleagues in his church and in the people’s movement that
before his murder he was categorized as an “enemy of the state” and listed
in the “order of battle” of the military and that he received death
threats by text messages for opposing the charter change campaign of the
Arroyo regime, condemning the extrajudicial killings and supporting the
workers and peasants in Hacienda Luisita.
But Bishop Ramento could never be cowed. He was firm with his principles
and was an experienced fighter for justice. Since the time of the struggle
against the Marcos fascist dictatorship, many people have come to know him
as a staunch and fearless fighter for the people’s rights. He was always
conscious of adhering to and promoting the revolutionary heritage and the
continuing patriotic and progressive character of the Philippine
Independent Church.
The ILPS is well informed that the Philippine Independent Church was a
product of the Philippine Revolution against Spanish colonialism and then
against US imperialism. It is the largest church alternative to the Roman
Catholic Church in the Philippines. It has millions of church members. At
the same time, it respects the principle of the separation of the church
and the state. It has concordat relations with the Anglican provinces and
the old Catholic Church abroad.
Bishop Ramento was ever conscious of bringing to the defense of the
Filipino people the strength and influence of his church in the
Philippines and abroad. But he was always personally a humble and
hardworking priest even as he rose to the highest positions in his church
and in the ecumenical movement. He served as the Supreme Bishop of the
Philippine Independent Church (PIC), chairperson of the National Council
of Churches and co-chairperson of the Ecumenical Bishops Forum.
He upheld the revolutionary legacy of his church by word and by deed. He
stood and fought for the rights of the poor, the exploited and the
oppressed. He was on the side of the workers and peasants of the vast
plantation Hacienda Luisita when they launched a strike for the
implementation of land reform, higher wages and the return to work of
dismissed union officials. Together with the workers and peasants, he
faced the attacks of the military against the striking workers. Loved and
respected by the masses, his clergy and the faithful he served, he was
honored as the “bishop of the poor workers and peasants.”
Bishop Ramento was an outspoken critic of the Gloria Macapagal Arroyo,
questioning the legitimacyof her rule and asking her to step down. He also
denounced the US-backed Arroyo regime and her repressive instruments, the
Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police and the
paramilitary. He condemned the rampant acts of state terrorism. In the
strongest terms, he denounced the Arroyo regime for its culpability for
the extra-judicial killings, abductions, torture and other human right
violations.
Bishop Ramento was a strong advocate of just peace. He was indefatigable
in pointing out that the civil war in the Philippines can be resolved
through peace negotiations only by addressing the fundamental problems of
the people through economic, social and political reforms guided by the
principles of national independence, democracy and social justice. He was
outstanding in spearheading associations and actions for a just and
lasting peace.
Bishop Ramento’s parish in Tarlac is a parish of the poor and his church
is simple with no treasures of holy icons or golden tapestry. That is why
no one believes the precipitate claim of the police that robbery was the
cause of his murder. His wealth is his pro-people principles as manifested
in all his efforts to uphold, defend and promote the rights and interests
of the people, especially the toiling masses.
In the last pastoral letter that he signed as Chairman of the Supreme
Council of Bishops, he called on the people to “find courage and confront
the darkness that is engulfing the very soul of the nation and continue to
tread the path towards the establishment of a just society under a
government that genuinely serves the interest and welfare of the
Filipinos.”
His moral leadership and his active participation in the people’s struggle
have earned the ire of the Gloria Macapagal Arroyo regime. Arroyo, her
cabinet oversight committee on internal security and her minions in the
military, police and its paramilitary and death squads are all responsible
for the dastardly murder of Bishop Ramento. It is within the framework of
the Bush-directed war of terror and Arroyo’s Oplan Bantay Laya that our
beloved Bishop Ramento has been taken away from us, like the hundreds of
other victims of extra-judicial killings.
The extra-judicial killings by the Arroyo regime’s cabal of assassins have
failed and will fail again to intimidate and stop the Filipino people from
fighting this puppet, corrupt, brutal, illegitimate and immoral regime.
The murder of Bishop Alberto Ramento brings to a new and higher level the
outrage of the people. His martyrdom arouses us to heighten our fighting
will and capabilities in order to get rid of the Arroyo regime as soon as
possible. It also inspires us for a long time to come to fight for
national liberation, democracy, social justice and peace. ###
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