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TRIBUTE TO KA ROGER
By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
Founding Chairman, Communist Party of the Philippines
Chief Political Consultant, National Democratic Front of the Philippines
15 October 2011

Julie and I wish to convey our most heartfelt condolences to the daughters and entire family of Comrade Gregorio Rosal, Ka Roger, and to all cadres and members of the Communist Party of the Philippines, all the Red commanders and fighters of the New People's Army, all adherents of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines and the broad masses of the Filipino people.

All of us mourn the passing away of Ka Roger and feel a deep sense of loss. But more importantly we celebrate his outstanding achievements in loyal revolutionary service to the proletariat and people. We honor him as an exemplary communist cadre, as an outstanding Filipino patriot, as a valiant Red fighter, as a lucid communicator and as an effective educator and organizer among the toiling masses.

We join the CPP, NPA, the NDFP, the organs of democratic power, the mass organizations and the entire people in paying tribute to Ka Roger. His revolutionary record is well summed up in the statement of the Central Committee of the CPP, giving him the Red salute, and in the statement of the Southern Luzon Regional Party Committee, describing him as the undying voice of the Philippine revolution and the Filipino people.

Julie and I have always admired Ka Roger for having come from a family of peasants and farm workers in Batangas and having done hard work in order to augment the income of his family and save money for getting a certain amount of formal education. We have been proud that he joined the Kabataang Makabayan and subsequently developed his patriotic and progressive consciousness and activism to the level of a proletarian revolutionary.

We were happy to know that he was among those who escaped from Camp Vicente Lim in 1973. And we laughed a lot when we learned from some of his co-escapees that he had a great sense of humor and they narrated to us some of his jokes which had carried serious political content against the US and the Marcos fascist dictatorship. We were amused by the fact that he had not been informed about the escape plan but sensed it eventually and insisted on being included in the escape.

He excelled as an educator and organizer in Party and mass work. Thus, he rose to high positions in the Party, especially in the Southern Tagalog region. But the job that he loved most was that of being a radio broadcaster. He enjoyed making his own broadcasts from the Sierra Madre radio station and answering questions from his fellow broadcasters in the big Manila-based radio networks.

He was serious when he often said that he would not like to occupy any high position in the revolutionary government but his ambition was to become a steady radio broadcaster after the victory of the new democratic revolution. At any rate, he was so good at propaganda work that he would be promoted to central positions as spokesperson of the CPP and the NDFP and as head of the CPP Information Bureau.

Whenever I slackened in making radio interviews in the 1990s, because I had other work to do, I was always happy that Ka Roger was the frequent voice of the Philippine revolution and the Filipino people. He had the superlative advantage of speaking right within the Philippines and from among the revolutionary forces and masses. And he had a clear and direct style that expressed in simple terms for the benefit of the masses the most complex situations and analysis.

We, in the NDFP Negotiating Panel, had a plan in the early years of the previous decade to bring him abroad as a political consultant, not so much to provide him with medical care because he was getting excellent care from competent doctors in the Philippines but to take him away from conditions by which he always demanded to do hard work and take long walks on rough terrain. But unfortunately, the peace talks started to flounder in June 2001.

We refer to the frustrated wish to show how much love and concern we who were abroad had for Ka Roger. But of course our comrades and friends in the Philippines gave him excellent care and comfort despite the risks and difficulties. No amount of help is enough to show gratitude for the selfless dedication and service of Ka Roger to the people.

The revolutionary movement also showed strength of character and organization by being able to secure him from constant manhunt by the enemy as well as from the recurrent inquiries from his fellow broadcasters in the big mass media.

We are grateful to Ka Roger for his legacy of fearless commitment and resolute struggle that he has left with his people and the revolutionary forces. His revolutionary life and deeds have become part and parcel of the ever growing and ever advancing forces of the Philippine revolution. His legacy inspires the current generation and future ones. His example will always be emulated by the revolutionary youth and the entire people. ###

___________________________________________________________________________
Website: http://home.casema.nl/ndf Email address: ndf@casema.nl
Telephone: +31 (0)30-2310431 Fax: +31 (0)84-7589930
Mailing address: Amsterdamsestraatweg 50, NL-3513 AG Utrecht, Netherlands

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PARANGAL KAY KA ROGER

ni Prop. Jose Maria Sison
Tagapangulong Tagapagtatag, Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas
Punong Konsultant, Pambansang Demokratikong Prente ng Pilipinas
10 Oktubre 2011

Nais namin ni Julie na ipaabot ang pinakatauspusong pakikiramay sa mga anak at kamaganakan ni Kasamang Gregorio Rosal, Ka Roger, gayundin sa lahat ng kadre at kasapi ng Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas, lanat ng Pulang komander at mandirigma ng Bagong Hukbong Bayan (BHB), lahat ng kapanalig sa Pambansang Demkratikong Prente ng Pilipinas (PDPP o NDFP) at sa malawak na masa ng sambayanang Pilipino.

Ipinagdadalamhati nating lahat ang pagpanaw ni Ka Roger at dama natin ang malalim na pangungulila. Subalit higit na mahalaga ay ipagbunyi natin ang mga tanyag na tagumpay niya sa matapat na rebolusyonaryong paglilingkod sa proletaryado at mga mamamayan. Pinaparangalan natin siya bilang ulirang kadreng komunista, katangi-tanging makabayang Pilipino, magiting na Pulang mandirigma, malinaw na tagapagpahayag at mabisang guro at organisador sa hanay ng masang anakpawis.

Kaisa tayo ng Partido, BHB, NDFP, mga organo ng kapangyarihang demokratiko, mga organisasyong masa at ng sambayanan sa pagpaparangal kay Ka Roger. Ang kanyang rebolusyonaryong talaan ay mahusay na nalalagom sa pahayag ng Komite Sentral ng PKP na nagbibigay ng Pulang saludo at gayundin sa pahayag ng Panrehiyong Komite ng Partido sa Timog Katagalugan, na naglalarawan sa kanya bilang walang kamatayang tinig ng rebolusyon sa Pilipinas at ng sambayanang Pilipino.

Lagi kaming humahanga ni Julie kay Ka Roger na galing siya sa pamilyang magsasaka at manggagawang bukid at masigasig na nagtrabaho siya para dagdagan ang kita ng pamilya at makaipon ng pera para kumuha ng ilang pormal na pag-aaral. Ipinagmamarangal namin na sumapi siya sa Kabataang Makabayan at kasunod nito'y umunlad siya sa kamalayan at aktibismong makabayan at progresibo hanggang sa antas ng rebolusyonaryong proletaryo.

Nagagalak kami nang malaman namin na isa siya sa kasamang nakatakas mula sa piitan ng Camp Vicente Lim noong 1973. Maraming tawanan nang ikuwento ng mga kasamahan niya sa pagtakas ang kanyang hilig sa pagpapatawa at ibinahagi ang ilan sa kanyang mga patawa na may mahalagang pampulitikang laman laban sa US at sa pasistang diktadura ni Marcos. Katawatawa sa amin ang pangyayaring di-ipinaalam sa kanya ang balak sa pagtakas subalit naulinigan niya ito at naggiit siyang isali sa pagtakas.

Nagpakagaling siya sa pagiging guro at tagapag-organisa sa Partido at sa gawaing masa. Sa gayon tumaas ang mga panunungkulan niya sa Partido, laluna sa Timog Katagalugan. Subalit ang gawaing kinahiligan niya sa lahat ay ang pagiging brodkaster sa radyo. Kasiya-siya sa kanya ang gumawa ng sarili niyang mga brodkast sa radyo Sierra Madre ng kilusan at ang pagsasagot sa mga tanong mula sa kapwa niyang mga brodkaster sa malalaking network ng radyong nakabase sa Maynila.

Seryoso ang madalas niyang sabihin na ayaw niyang maging mataas na pinuno ng rebolusyonaryong pamahalaan at ang ambisyon niya ang magpatuloy na brodkaster kapag nagtagumpay ang bagong demokratikong rebolusyon. Gayunman, napakahusay niya sa gawaing propaganda kung kaya sumulong siya sa sentral na posisyon bilang tagapagsalita ng Partido at ng NDFP at bilang pinuno ng Kawanihan sa Impormasyon ng Partido.

Noong dekadang 1990 kapag nanlulubay ako sa pagtugon sa mga interbyu sa radyo mula sa Pilipinas, dahil sa ibang gawain ko, natutuwa ako na naririnig si Ka Roger na siyang madalas na tinig ng rebolusyon sa Pilipinas at ng sambayanang Pilipino. Malaking bentahe niya ang magsalita sa loob ng bayan mismo at mula sa hanay ng mga rebolusyonaryong pwersa at ng masa. Malinaw at tuwiran ang kanyang estilo ng pagpapahayag sa simpleng mga termino na gagap ng masa tungkol sa mga pinakamasalimuot na kalagayan at pagsusuri.

Nagkaroon kami ng balak sa negotiating panel ng NDFP noong nakaraang dekada na papuntahin si Ka Roger sa labas ng bansa bilang political consultant, di gaano para mabigyan siya ng medical care pagkat napakahusay ang nakukuha niya nito sa mga makakayahang mga doktor sa bayan natin kundi dahil sa nais namin siyang alisin sa kalagayan na nakakapagmupilit siya na gumawa ng mahirap na trabaho at lumakad nang malayo sa mahirap na daan.. Subalit nauntol magmula Hunyo 2001 ang usapang pangkapayapaan.

Tinutukoy namin ang bigong pagnanais na ito para ipakita kung gaano namin kamahal si Ka Roger at gaano ang aming pag-aalala sa kanya dito sa labas ng bansa. Mangyari pa, di namin tinatawaran ang napakahusay na pag-aruga sa kanya ng mga kasama at kaibigan sa loob ng bansa sa kabila ng mga panganib at hirap. Wala anumang laki ng tulong ang maaaring itumbas para ipakita natin ang pasasalamat sa walang pag-iimbot na dedikasyon at paglilingkod ni Ka Roger sa sambayanan.
 

Naipakita rin ng kilusan ang lakas ng rebolusyonaryong katangian at organisasyon sa kakayahan nitong pangalagaan ang kaligtasan ni Ka Roger mula sa walang habas na pagtugis sa kanya ng kaaway, gayundin sa paulit-ulit na pagtatanong ng kanyang kapwa mga brodkaster sa malaking media.

Nagpapasalamat tayo kay Ka Roger sa kanyang pamana ng walang-takot na paghahandog-buhay at matatag na pakikibaka na dulot niya sa sambayanan at mga rebolusyonaryong pwersa. Ang kanyang rebolusyonaryong buhay at gawa ay bahagi ng patuloy na lumalaki at sumusulong na pwersa ng rebolusyong Pilipino. Nagbigigay sigla ang kanyang pamana sa kasalukuyang salinlahi at sa mga susunod. Laging tutularan ng kabataan at sambayanan ang kanyang halimbawa.###
 

Paalam Ka Roger
ni Judy Taguiwalo on Sunday

Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal - Karaniwang Tao na Naging Kawal

Nakasama ko si Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal sa panahon ng diktadurang Marcos. Ka Deo ang pangalang dala niya noon at malalaman ko na lang ang tunay niyang pangalan sa panahon ni Fidel Ramos nang naging laman siya ng media bilang tagapagsalita ng rebolusyonaryong kilusang nagpatuloy kahit na napatalsik na ang diktadurang Marcos. .

Gawaing masa sa hanay ng mga kainginero at magkokopras sa Timog Luzon ag naging gawain namin sa panahon ng aming pagsasama. Wala nang basal na kagubatan sa lugar na kinilusan namin. Inubos na ng malalaking logging companies na gumamit ng mga electric saws at iba pang modernong kagamitan. Kalaan o second growth ang nalalabi pang mga gubat at kahit ang mga ito ay hindi pinatawad ng mga loggers.

Ang mga kainginero ay karaniwang mga magsasakang nataboy mula kapatagan dahil sa pangangamkam ng lupa ng mga asendero at sila ay nagtitiyaga sa mahirap na buhay nang paglilinis ng kapirasong lupa sa gilid ng bundok para makapagtanim ng palay o balinghoy. Palakol at itak lamang ang kanilang gamit sa panglilinis at matutulis na kahoy para gumawa ng butas na paglalagyan ng binhing palay. Habang di pa nakapag-ani ng palay o hindi pa nagkakaroon ng laman ang mga balinghoy, umaasa ang mga kainginero at ang kanilang pamilya sa pagbebenta ng uway sa poblacion kung saan binabarat naman sila sa presyo. Naabutan namin isang gabi ang pamilyang nag-aantay sa ama at anak na lalaki na nagbenta ng uway para may pang hapunan sila. Bakas sa mukha ng mag-ama ang pagkabigo nang dumating sila na halos walang dala kungdi katiting na bigas na nilugaw para sa hapunan ng pitong miyembro ng pamilya.

Ito ang konteksto ng kantang Awit ng mga Kainginero na sinulat ni Ka Roger : http://www.esnips.com/doc/8f3d5e82-6556-4afd-80a1-4aab4f2df1d2/awit%20ng%20kaingero

Kay hirap ng buhay dito sa kaingin
Sa maghapo’y pagod sa ating gawain
At maging sa gabi’y di ka patulugin
Sa bigat ng ating mga suliranin.

Masukal na gubat matapos hawanin
Malalaking kahoy maihapay natin
Ang palay at ahoy ating itatanim
Upang may makain ang pamilya natin.

Ngunit ano itong gawa ng gobyerno
Bawal magkaingin sabi ng montero
Habang ang konsesyon nitong si Morato
Nagpapatuloy sa pagkuha ng troso

At ang lalong grabe ay ang mangangamkam
Hayop na surbeyor at PCng tulisan
Matapos mangikil tayo’y babantaan
At walang awa pang ipagtatabuyan.

Kaya’t ang lunas ay ang pagkakaisa
Humawak ng baril tayo’y makibaka
Ipagtanggol natin lupang sinasaka
At ang pang-aapi’y ating wakasan na.

Sa tulong ng hukbo, gabay ng Partido
Pakikibaka ay susulong, lalago
Pagsasamantala ay maigugupo
At ang tagumpay ay ating matatamo

Makauring Paninindigan

Mahigpit ang hawak ng kilusan sa makauring paninindigan sa kanayunan—umasa sa manggagawang bukid at maralitang magsasaka. At sa maraming pagkakataon, pinatunayan ng masang magsasaka ang paging tapat sa kilusan kahit sa panahon ng mabangis na mga operasyong militar ng mga tauhan ng diktadurang Marcos.

 

Kaya naman, pangunahing tinitiyak ang pagsandig sa kanila at ang pagpapabuti nang kanilang kalagayan. Ang isang mahalagang kontribusyon ng kilusan sa panahong kasama ko si Ka Deo ay ang pagtransporma ng praktika ng “suyuan” sa hanay ng mga magsasaka. Ang naabutang praktika ay ang sama-samang pagtrabaho sa pag-aararo at pagtatanim sa lupang inuupahan ng mga kasama o mga parsela ng lupa na pag-aari ng mga panggitna o mayamang magsasaka para kaagad matapos ito. Labor-exchange ang katangian ng suyuan-umiikot sa mga sumama sa pagtrabaho ang ganitong pagtutulungan. Noong una, pakain ang praktika—magpapakain ang may-ari ng lupa sa mga kasama sa suyuan. Disbentahe ito sa mga maralitang magsasaka dahil wala silang sapat na panustos para gawin ito; kaya maaaring mangutang sila o kaya’y di na sumama sa suyuan. Sa pamamagitan ng mahusay na talakayan at paliwanagan, pinalitan ang praktikang pakain sa mga kasama sa suyuan ng kanya-kanyang baon sa panahon ng pagtatrabaho. Laking luwag ito sa
maralita at mababang panggitnang magsasaka.

Bawal ang pagtatanim ng marijuana

May panahong natisod namin ang isang magsasakang nagtatanim ng marijuana sa bundok. Matataas na ang marijuana at nalaman namin na inalok nang madaling pera ang magsasaka para gawin ito. Hindi ito hinayaan, hindi lamang dahil kadalasan mga tauhan mismo ng diktadura ang nangangapital sa ganitong tipo ng tanim kundi masama ang epekto nito sa kabuhayan ng magsasaka at ng mga tagalunsod. Matiyagang pinaliwanag ni Ka Deo na sa pagtatanim ng marijuana, pinababayaan na ang pagtatanim sa mga pananim na makakain tulad ng palay, mais at mga bungang kahoy at naging bahagi pa ang mga sa kanayunan sa pagbibiktima sa mga kabataan sa lunsod na malulong sa droga.

Paalam sa Karaniwang Tao na Naging Kawal ng Rebolusyong Pilipino

Hindi ko na muling nakita o nakasama si Ka Roger mula noong panahon ng diktadurang Marcos. Ngayon sa pagbabasa sa kanyang dinaanan at walang bahid na paninindigan para sa rebolusyong Pilipino at para sa sambayanan, lalo kung nauunawaan ang kanyang kadakilaan.

Galing sa hirap si Ka Roger:

Nagbanat siya ng buto sa murang edad upang makatulong sa kabuhayan ng kanyang pamilya. Walong taon siyang nagsilbi sa bahay ng panginoong maylupa, mula elementarya hanggang ikalawang taon sa hayskul. Pakikinig sa radyo at pagbabasa ng komiks ang kanyang kinahiligan. Dulot ng kahirapan, ilang taon siyang nahinto sa pag-aaral. Para maipagpatuloy niya ang kanyang pag-aaral, pinasan niya ang mga kulambo't sarisaring kalakal na inutang sa mga usurero. Nilakbay niya ang kasuluk-sulukan ng iba't ibang baya't lalawigan. Saanman mapadpad sa kanyang pakikipagsapalaran, iisa ang larawan ng kahirapan at pagkaapi na kanyang nasaksihan.

Kaya angkop sa kanya ang rebolusyonaryong kantang “ Karaniwang Tao Ang Nagiging Kawal” http://www.maxalbums.com/mp3/Karaniwang+Tao/Karaniwang+Tao+Ang+Nagiging+Kawal/_ImeZj_lnVo/)

Karaniwang tao ang nagiging kawal
Mga magsasaka na karet ang tangan
Mga manggagawa na walang sandata kungdi ang bisig lamang
Mga taong api, mga taong dukha
Mga kulang palad at mga kawawa
Kawaning maliit, estudyante at walang hanapbuhay
Kayong walang yamang sukat ipagtanggol
Walang pag-aari ni silungang bubong
Magbuklod, kumilos
Handang masawi
Sa pagsasanggalang sa sariling bayan
Ang natipong lakas naging kabuuan nang datihay wala
Mandin ay nanggaling sa kailaliman ng matabang lupa
At dagling nag-angkin ng kaluluwa’t buhay
Na kahanga hanga
Matuling kakalat na tulad ng baha
Ang Bagong Hukbong Bayan ang siyang papapagitna
Sa paglaban sa pyudalismo
Ipagwawagi kabi kabila
Isang rebolusyon
Kasabay ng dahas ng pakikidigma

Paalam, Ka Roger! Paalam, mabuting anak ng bayan!

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Ka Roger inspired a generation of Filipino youth to serve the people
Renato Reyes, Jr,
October 9, 2011

The Communist Party of the Philippines today announced the passing of an icon of the Philippine revolution, Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal. According to the announcement made by the CPP, he died in a guerilla zone in June 22, 2011 due to a heart attack. According to the statement, the belated announcement was due to difficulties in first informing his next of kin who were in highly militarized areas.

Youth and student activists of the 1990’s fondly remember the radio and TV interviews of Ka Roger. Whether it was discussing the policies of the revolutionary movement, explaining NPA tactical offensives, releasing prisoners of war, or discussing the Second Great Rectification Movement, Ka Roger’s distinct voice and simple language brought the news of the revolution to the entire nation.

Somehow Ka Roger appealed to youth activists in the 90’s. Maybe it was the critical and creative surge coming from the rectification movement which swept entire mass movement. Or perhaps it was Ka Roger’s simple yet profound ways of explaining issues to ordinary people, a skill that is sometimes lost on many intellectuals. Or the fact that Ka Roger himself was once a student activist from the Golden Gate College in Batangas, and a member of the Kabataang Makabayan (KM).

The man who would become the voice of the Philippine revolution came from humble beginnings, from a middle peasant family according to the statement of the CPP Central Committee. It was from this life of poverty that he would come to know of the national democratic alternative and struggle.

“At a young age, Ka Roger was witness to poverty under an oppressive and exploitative system. He worked hard even as a child in order to help his family. From grade school to his second year in high school, he was for eight years a servant at their landlord’s household. He became an avid radio listener and read comic books as a pastime. Poverty forced him to stop his schooling for several years. To continue his formal education, he peddled mosquito nets and other goods that he bought on credit from loan sharks. He traveled far and wide to different provinces. Wherever he went, it was the same face of poverty and oppression that he saw”. – Statement CPP Central Committee, October 9, 2011

He would join the ranks of the revolutionary forces of the CPP-NPA-NDF in the area known as Southern Tagalog. He would gain national prominence as spokesman of the Melito Glor Command. After two decades, he would become CPP spokesperson in 1993.

Ka Roger inspired a generation of Filipino youth activists to serve the people in the countryside. Some of them are known today as martyrs of the revolution. Many continue their revolutionary work in various capacities. Activists in the 90’s were awed by pictures of Ka Roger in a mountain camp working on his laptop computer and reading the latest newspaper, before giving interviews to the media.

Activists were thrilled to hear news of huge gatherings to commemorate the anniversary of the CPP. His December 26 statements on radio were mini “national situationers” that also gave updates on the status of the revolutionary forces. Activists followed Ka Roger’s radio interviews, especially his lively interactions with DZRH anchors Joe Taruc and Deo Macalma. Ka Roger’s on-air duet of “Lumang Simbahan” with Tiya Dely is now the stuff of broadcast legend.

Many educated youth responded to Ka Roger’s call to the masses to send their best and brightest sons and daughters to join the revolutionary struggle. He helped them understand the need for thoroughgoing social transformation. He challenged them to study Philippine society beyond the confines of the classrooms.

Next to CPP founding chair and NDFP Chief Political Consultant Jose Ma. Sison, Ka Roger was perhaps the most recognized face, the most photographed figure, of the Philippine revolution.

That Ka Roger died not in enemy hands but because of an illness, in a way, shames the reactionary armed forces. It is no secret that they have tried but failed to arrest Ka Roger on many occasions as the recent CPP statements show. Till the end, Ka Roger eluded capture by the AFP.

During the past years, the AFP alternately spread rumors of Ka Roger’s demise while offering him medical assistance. As the cliche goes, rumors of his death were greatly exaggerated by the AFP. Ka Roger’s 2011 New Year’s Day message was another rebuttal of those rumors

The CPP said that if ever Ka Roger died, it would not be kept a secret. He would be given the highest honors for his work in the revolutionary movement. A look at the CPP website will show just that. A grayscale image of Ka Roger, his name and the years 1947-2011, are now splashed on the homepage. In perhaps the first of its kind, all units of the New People’s Army nationwide will be in formation to give Ka Roger a gun salute on 12 noon of October 15.

The national democratic movement and the masses have lost one of their best and brightest sons with the passing of Gregorio Rosal. It is however to Ka Roger’s credit that he inspired a generation of Filipino youth who will carry on the unfinished tasks of the Philippine revolution. ###

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Information Bureau
Communist Party of the Philippines
October 9, 2011
Press Release
 

Ka Roger, 64
 

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) released the following statement today concerning the demise of its spokesperson Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal:
 

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) wishes to inform its entire membership, all revolutionary forces and the public in general that CPP spokesperson Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal passed away in a guerrilla zone on June 22 after suffering a heart attack. He was 64.
 

The public announcement was delayed to allow the concerned organs of the CPP to inform Ka Roger's daughters of their father's demise. Intense military operations prevented information from reaching his daughters with dispatch. Ka Roger's siblings have also been informed of his passing.
The entire membership of the CPP, Red fighters of the New People's Army (NPA), revolutionary forces and the Filipino masses mourn Ka Roger's death. In a separate statement, the CPP Central Committee paid tribute to Ka Roger, saying hi s life of service to the revolution will serve as an inspiration to the people to carry forward their revolutionary struggles.
 

On October 15, all units of the NPA will fall in formation to pay tribute to Ka Roger. At exactly 12 noon, they will carry out a gun salute in his memory. All units of the CPP and revolutionary mass organizations are enjoined to launch tribute meetings to remember Ka Roger and his contributions to the historic revolutionary struggles of the Filipino people.
 

The CPP Information Bureau can be reached through Media Liaison Marco Valbuena via cellphone (09156596802 or 09282242061), email (cppmedia@gmail.com), Twitter (www.twitter.com/marcocpp) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/cppmedia).

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A Red salute to Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal, 1947-2011
Central Committee, Communist Party of the Philippines
October 9, 2011

The leadership and entire membership of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), all Red fighters and commanders of the New People's Army (NPA) and all revolutionary forces salute Gregorio ?Ka Roger“ Rosal. Ka Roger passed away on June 22, 2011 at the age of 64 after suffering a heart attack in a guerrilla front in Luzon.
 

For more than a decade as the Party's spokesperson, and prior to this, as spokesperson of the New People's Army in Southern Tagalog (Melito Glor Command), Ka Roger was the face and voice of the revolutionary movement of the Filipino people. He symbolized the struggle of ordinary folk--the peasant masses, workers, the urban poor, employees and small professionals--who had lofty aspirations of liberation from the ruling system that oppressed and exploited them.
 

As the spokesperson of the Communist Party of the Philippines, he was the bearer of good news about the revolution. His voice fired up the courage of both Red fighters and the struggling masses. The oppressed and the downtrodden thirsting for justice saw him as the conduit for airing their grievances.
 

Like the majority of Filipinos, Ka Roger grew up oppressed and impoverished in the countryside. He was born on April 19, 1947 in Barangay Talaibon, Ibaan, Batangas. ?Goring“ was the third of six brothers and sisters: Nicetas, Bernardo, Felecidad, Emilia and Remedios, now deceased. Their father Pablo Rosal and their mother Crispina Crusat were both tenants serving a small landlord whose fields were mainly planted to sugarcane. His father boiled and stirred sugarcane juice to make muscovado while his mother tended to the fire. His family belonged to the middle stratum of the middle peasantry and supported calls for revolutionary change.
 

At a young age, Ka Roger was witness to poverty under an oppressive and exploitative system. He worked hard even as a child in order to help his family. From grade school to his second year in high school, he was for eight years a servant at their landlord's household. He became an avid radio listener and read comic books as a pastime. Poverty forced him to stop his schooling for several years. To continue his formal education, he peddled mosquito nets and other goods that he bought on credit from loan sharks. He traveled far and wide to different provinces. Wherever he went, it was the same face of poverty and oppression that he saw.
 

He was able to enter college at the Golden Gate Colleges in Batangas City in 1971 only at the age of 24. It was a time of ferment for the youth and students in Manila and other cities.
 

As he went around selling his wares, Ka Roger occasionally encountered rallies and listened to the speakers. He began joining street protests and seriously studied history and current social conditions. Ka Roger became a member of the Kabataang Gabay ng Bayan, a Batangueño activist group. He later joined the Kabataang Makabayan. Through his study of society and integration with the masses, he was able to deepen his grasp of the roots of the poverty and oppression suffered by the people. Gradually, he steeled his determination to become part of the historic movement that would change the face of society and open a new chapter in the people's lives.
 

When martial law was imposed in 1972, Ka Roger decided to continue his revolutionary involvement. He became part of a team that was tasked to organize workers at the Batangas Sugar Central in Balayan, Batangas. In July 1973, he was captured by the enemy and detained at a military camp in Kuomintang, Batangas City. He was later transferred to Camp Vicente Lim in Canlubang, Calamba, Laguna. Determined to continue working for the revolution, he bolted prison along with nine other leading Party cadres in the region in November 1973 in what became known as ?The Great Escape“.
After their escape from prison, Ka Roger and his other comrades took the path of armed revolution in the countryside. He became part of the guerrilla front established in the Laguna-Quezon border along the Sierra Madre mountains--the so-called Larangan ng Kagitingan or Front of Heroism. Under Ka Lorena Barros' leadership, Ka Roger and other comrades were sent to Mindoro in 1974 to undertake social investigation and prepare the island for revolutionary expansion.
 

By 1975-76, Ka Roger became part of the first organizing team in the Quezon-Bicol Zone that led the advance of people's war in Camarines Norte. He eventually led the guerrilla front committee established in the area.
 

In succeeding years, Ka Roger became part of the history of revolutionary expansion and advance in the whole of Southern Luzon, especially in the Southern Tagalog region. In 1980-81, the CPP Southern Luzon Commission issued a decision forming the Southern Tagalog Regional Committee encompassing the provinces of Laguna, Batangas, Cavite and Rizal. Ka Roger was appointed to the regional committee as deputy secretary for education. When the South Quezon guerrilla front was later placed under the jurisdiction of the Southern Tagalog Regional Committee, Ka Roger played a major role in expansion work in South Quezon and the Bondoc Peninsula. After a few years, he became secretary of the Laguna-North Quezon-Eastern Rizal guerrilla front.
 

Under his leadership, armed struggle and mass struggles advanced in these areas. The Quezon-Bicol Zone, South Quezon and the Bondoc Peninsula played crucial roles in expanding and consolidating the revolution in other parts of the Bicol region and Southern Tagalog. Mass struggle and mass actions launched in these areas played major roles in invigorating protest actions nationwide at the start of the 1980s. In 1985, Ka Roger was appointed as the fourth member of the Southern Tagalog Party Committee, elected member of the Regional Executive Committee and the Regional Secretariat a year later.
 

It was also at this time that Ka Roger met Ka Soly (Rosemarie Dumanais) who would later become his wife. Ka Soly was then a young Red fighter. They had two daughters who they loved dearly and whose care they entrusted to their relatives and friends. Even if their daughters largely grew up away from them, Ka Roger and Ka Soly consistently saw to their welfare and security.
 

In 1989, AFP Southern Luzon Command chief Gen. Alejandro Galido ordered fascist agents to abduct Ka Roger and Ka Soly's elder daughter Andrea from her grandmother's house in Ragay, Camarines Sur. The AFP had wanted to pressure Ka Roger to surrender. Instead of succumbing to such pressure, Ka Roger bravely exposed this heinous crime to the media. The military was forced to release Andrea in the face of the ensuing public outcry.
 

Ka Roger was witness to the major strides taken by the revolutionary movement in Southern Tagalog. Nonetheless, he also witnessed one of the darkest episodes in its history. In 1988, the region launched ?Operation Missing Link,? an anti-deep penetration agent campaign that led to violations of democratic rights. Although he had no direct role in the detention, torture and killing of a number of the victims, Ka Roger was among those criticized and meted disciplinary action because of his accountability as one of the region's leading cadres and his failure to take a stand against the hysteria. He criticized himself for this with all humility.
 

When he was later assigned to Laguna where OPML was mainly conducted, he constantly reminded the Red fighters to humbly apologize to the relatives of the victims. The wounds eventually healed and revolutionary mass struggles advanced in the guerrilla front.
 

Whatever he experienced in his personal and political life, Ka Roger never despaired. He fulfilled his duties as best as he could. Beyond this, he made outstanding contributions in the field of propaganda.
 

As a leader of the Party, he knew full well the importance of propaganda work in advancing people's struggles. Ka Roger pioneered active propaganda work on radio and other mass media. In 1986, he first became known as ?Ka Roger? when he oversaw the release of prisoners of war in Quezon. In 1987, he served as the spokesperson of the National Democratic Front (NDF) in Southern Tagalog in peace negotiations with the Government of the Philippines. In the next several years, as spokesperson of the Melito Glor Command, Ka Roger tirelessly engaged the mass media to explain the CPP and NPA's views on various issues. He likewise oversaw the publication of Kalatas, Southern Tagalog's revolutionary mass newspaper, and broadcasts of Radyo Pakikibaka, the region's revolutionary radio station.
 

Ka Roger was appointed as Party spokesperson in late 1993. Among his first duties was to advance the Second Great Rectification Movement in the field of propaganda. He went all out in engaging in political battles the counterrevolutionary renegades who resisted the rectification movement and maligned the Party.
 

Ka Roger was appointed to the National Propaganda Commission in 2001 and served as its deputy secretary. Besides serving as the CPP's spokesperson, he also helped oversee the regular publication of Ang Bayan, as well as work in the Philippine Revolution Web Central and Sine Proletaryo, the CPP's video outfit.
 

For more than a decade, he served as Party spokesperson and headed the CPP Information Bureau. From VHF radios to modern cellphones, he used all methods of connecting with the mass media to transmit nationwide news from the guerrilla fronts. Ka Roger's voice and his straightforward explanations of complex issues were eagerly awaited daily by Red fighters and ordinary folk throughout the country.
 

His simple style of presenting the Party's stand was extremely effective in helping people deepen their understanding of the issues and raising their political consciousness. He always exposed the lies spewed by the reactionaries, especially the fascist spokespersons of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) who endlessly concocted one prevarication after another. Thus, he was deeply hated by the reactionaries.
 

He invited reporters, broadcasters and writers from the media to the guerrilla zones so that they could see for themselves the reality of the revolutionary movement and how this was being advanced by the Filipino people. Inside the guerrilla zones, they came to know Ka Roger as a simple man. They listened to him as intently as he listened to them convey their problems and grievances. Ka Roger gained their respect, if not their admiration. The ability and patience, the sharpness and intelligence, the patriotism and love of country demonstrated by Ka Roger further raised the prestige of the Party and the revolutionary movement.
 

As the CPP's spokesperson, Ka Roger was indefatigable in bringing news of the Philippine revolution. He would hike for days, cross rivers and seas and go on long road trips to get to wherever he was needed. He granted almost all requests for interviews, any day and at any hour. Because of this, he gained many friends in the media. Ka Roger once sang ?Lumang Simbahan“ in a duet on the air with the famous singer and broadcaster Tiya Dely Magpayo.
 

As Party spokesperson, Ka Roger led several public activities, including a celebration of the Party's founding anniversary in Laguna in 1993 attended by thousands of people who gathered under the CPP banner. He oversaw the release of several prisoners of war in Southern Tagalog and Bicol. Despite intense AFP operations, he was able to conduct press conferences in guerrilla fronts in Laguna, Albay, Quezon, Mountain Province and other areas.
 

With their extreme hatred for Ka Roger, the military kept on slapping him with various trumped-up charges. He was demonized and portrayed as a criminal. A `5 million bounty was offered for his capture and millions of pesos were spent on fascist military operations to kill or capture him.
The AFP launched a number of military campaigns to capture Ka Roger in Laguna (1998), North Quezon (2000-2001), South Quezon (2002), Albay (2003), Masbate (2004), Mountain Province (2005) and again in South Quezon in 2005-2006. Their intelligence operations were relentless. Fascist operatives continually surveilled his daughters, siblings and other relatives and friends. The CPP Information Bureau security unit figured in a number of gunbattles. But because of the depth of mass support, Ka Roger was able to overcome all the enemy operations against him.
 

Ka Roger paid no mind to fatigue and the dangers attendant to the fulfillment of his duties. He would spend late nights writing, studying and presiding over meetings. He would rise at dawn and immediately resume working. Tireless work soon took a toll his health and resulted in a number of major illnesses. In 1995, he almost died of typhoid fever contracted after a long and gruelling journey to a guerrilla zone. He suffered a relapse when he decided to immediately resume his revolutionary tasks despite his doctor's advise for him to take a month-long break.
 

In 1997, he suffered his first stroke. But he quickly recovered and was able to return full swing to his revolutionary work. He suffered his second stroke in 2000 and had to go on leave for a few months. But as he did after his first attack, he strove to return to his revolutionary work in the countryside.
He suffered another stroke on May 1, 2006. This third stroke caused more damage to his body. Despite his physical incapacities, he was determined to continue being of service to the revolutionary movement. He persevered in overcoming his disabilities. But the severity of the damage caused by this stroke led to the gradual deterioration of his condition until it became impossible for him to resume his previous tasks.
 

From 2006 to 2011, Ka Roger was cared for by a team of comrades who ensured his security, medical needs and quality of life. Although he could no longer assume his usual responsibilities, he kept in close touch with the Information Bureau and was consulted from time to time on its work. Despite his handicaps, Ka Roger kept himself well-informed about advances in Party work, especially in the bureau. He continued to participate in collective discussions, education work, planning and criticism and self-criticism sessions. He happily engaged in discussions with comrades who never tired of listening to his stories about his activist days, his experiences in the countryside, his daughters, wife and mother. During light moments, he would grant comrades' requests for him to play his harmonica.
 

His daughters were able to visit him on several occasions and stay for weeks to months on end to help care for and deepen their bonds with him. Ka Roger was happy to see his daughters grow up serving the people. He was also pleased with the fact that although he and his wife divorced in 2003, they remained friends and good parents to their daughters. Although they were often away from him, his daughters wrote to him often to keep in touch and ask his advice on various life concerns.
Even with his disabilities, Ka Roger still woke up at dawn to listen to the news. At times, he was able to review statements issued by the Party. He was deeply concerned upon hearing about about media killings and about the deaths of several reporters in the Maguindanao Massacre in November 2009. On New Year's day of 2011, he personally reviewed and approved his message to the Filipino people, calling on them to intensify their revolutionary struggles in the face of the absence of change under Benigno Aquino III's new reactionary regime.
 

Ka Roger spurned the offers of medical assistance from the AFP. He was aware that these were traps and saw the hypocrisy behind them, as the military never withdrew the bounty on his head and relentlessly pursued operations for his capture.
 

Ka Roger and Atty Romeo Capulong of the Public Interest Law Center (PILC)
and others from PILC and the Philippine Peace Center, which assisted the ICRC in the release of he POW..

On April 19, 2009, comrades gathered for Ka Roger's 62nd birthday. The CPP took the occasion to pay tribute to him and remember his contributions to the Philippine revolution. They sang ?Awit ng Kainginero“ which Ka Roger composed in the 1980s in Southern Tagalog as a tribute to ordinary peasants. They all saluted him for the life he dedicated to serving the people, the Party and the revolution.

Until he breathed his last, Ka Roger devoted every moment of life to the hungry and deprived and their revolutionary struggle for social justice and national liberation.
 

The entire membership of the Communist Party of the Philippines, Red fighters of the New People's Army and the Filipino people are one with his family and friends in mourning his death. With clenched fists raised and rifles held in salute, they hail Ka Roger, an oustanding communist, courageous Red fighter, militant defender of the people, respected comrade and good friend.
 

Ka Roger leaves behind a legacy of triumphs and memories that are permanently etched in the

revolutionary annals of the Filipino people. His name, which now joins that of other heroes of the Philippine revolution will forever inspire the Filipino people in their struggle for national and social liberation.~

x

Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal: The Undying Voice of the People and Revolution
Executive Committee
Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee
October 9, 2011

Fierce-browed, I coolly defy a thousand pointing fingers,
Head-bowed, like a willing ox I serve the children. – Lu Hsun

His radiant smile. His comradely stance. The Party’s firm and clear stand on people’s issues and concerns heralded by his voice that resonated across the country’s hundred islands. It was his – Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal’s undying voice that fused the voices of the oppressed and exploited Filipino people into one great revolutionary force.

Gregorio Rosal, widely known as “Ka Roger,” was born to Pablo Rosal and Crispina Crusat in Ibaan, Batangas on April 19, 1947. Born to a peasant family, his father and mother both as farmworkers in a small sugarcane plantation in Batangas, Ka Roger witnessed and experienced early on the sufferings and struggles of the masses. He left school at an early age, became a landowner’s help and a huckster selling mosquito nets and other small items to help support his family economically.

He reached secondary education only at the age of 24 at Golden Gate Colleges in Batangas City. He became a member of Kabataang Gabay ng Bayan (KGB), a group consists of Batangueño activists. He later became a member of Kabataang Makabayan (KM), a revolutionary group of Filipino youth and students. During the Martial Law years, Ka Roger was among the organizers of farmworkers at Batangas Sugar Central in Balayan, Batangas. In 1973, he was arrested, jailed in Camp Vicente Lim, Canlubang, Laguna and later escaped from prison along with other political prisoners in a feat dubbed among activist circles then as the “Great Escape of the Papillion Squad” (coined after the saga of Papillion, a French escapist) and which has drawn inspiration for the prison struggle among political activists jailed by Marcos regime. After the escape, he decided to join the armed struggle being waged in the countryside.

His contributions in building, consolidating and expanding revolutionary bases in the Southern Tagalog Region and Quezon-Bicol Zone (QBZ) during the 70’s and the 80’s were commendable. He was part of the pioneering efforts in earlier attempts of establishing guerilla zones in Batangas, Laguna and Mindoro. During the latter part of the 70’s he played a key role in successfully establishing guerilla zones in Camarines Norte under the Quezon-Bicol Zone Party Committee. Between 1979-80, he was sent by the Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee to consult with comrades tasked with guerilla zone building in the Sierra Madre of Laguna. Between 1982-83, Ka Roger had a brief stint in urban revolutionary work and headed the central command of the region’s huge mobilization during the Papal visit in 1982 in protest against Marcos dictatorship. In 1983, he headed the effort of establishing a network of guerilla zones stretching from Eastern Batangas to Central Quezon known as the Himalayas comprising three (3) guerilla zones—codenamed Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Because of his great contributions, Ka Roger was elected to the Executive Committee of the Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee (STRPC) during the 2nd Regional Party Conference held in 1985. After the Edsa Revolution of 1986, he served in the secretariat of the STRPC.

Ka Roger’s potential as a Party propagandist was honed when he headed and oversaw the pioneering work in setting Radio Pakikibaka in 1990, the first guerilla radio broadcast in Southern Tagalog. For several years, Radio Pakikibaka survived the military’s numerous scheme of suppressing the airing of the voice of the revolution in Southern Tagalog by operating clandestinely and constantly moving to evade enemy detection and triangulation. Soon Radio Pakikibaka became popular among the revolutionary masses both in the region’s countryside and cities, including the outskirts of the National Capital Region.

Ka Roger exhibited diligence and dedication as Spokesperson of the National Democratic Front in the Southern Tagalog Region in 1987. From 1988 to 1992, he became the Spokesperson of Melito Glor Command. In 1994, he was appointed as the Spokesperson of the Communist Party of the Philippines while serving as the concurrent Party secretary of the Banahaw-Sierra Madre Guerilla Front Party Committee. Ka Roger was a paragon of an eminent people’s soldier: a fearless warrior, a resilient organizer and a compelling propagandist rolled up into one. Ka Roger’s humor and appositeness to the feelings and concerns of the masses were his best strong point during mass work. Furthermore, his sharp analysis on the burning issues of the day and use of language in a way understandable to ordinary people—the common readers and listeners—were among the qualities that the masses admired about Ka Roger.

He was particularly an inspiration to the Filipino youth. These days when the youth can easily get misinformed through easy access and exposure to different mediums of mass communication, when truths and facts are obscured and entangled in a string of lies propagated by the ruling classes, Ka Roger inspired the youth to study, investigate and integrate with the masses to come up with objective facts and knowledge. Facts and knowledge about the Philippine society that serve as basis of unity within the youth sector and for partaking actions with the peasantry, the working class and other basic sectors for the betterment of society.

If there is one thing mass media remembers about Ka Roger, it is his integrity. Ka Roger never issued fabricated statements, twisted facts or distorted data. He never retracted his pronouncements. In due course, the people and mass media are able to prove that his words are true and verifiable.


Whence melodramatic and sensational newscasts are opted by the mainstream media, Ka Roger combated it with pure and earnest enthusiasm to apprise the public about the true to life dramas of the masses – events that are by far important and noteworthy such as protest actions staged by the peasants and workers, victorious tactical offensives of the New People’s Army (NPA) or the release of prisoners of war (POWs) in different parts of the country in compliance with the rulings of the people’s revolutionary court. He also never misses to apprise the public about the fake and deceptive dramas being portrayed by the US imperialist and its local cohorts such as repressive and anti-people laws, wicked maneuvers to pander to the whims and caprices of the US and propaganda that seek to discredit and demonize the Party and revolutionary movement.

Ka Roger’s voice does not strike deep at the hearts of the masses alone. His voice – straightforward, incessant, sharp – strikes deepest the US imperialist and the ruling classes to the core; the very reason the enemy instigated dangers by staging many a plan to capture, capitulate and kill Ka Roger. During the height of Corazon Aquino’s ‘total war’ policy, to lure Ka Roger to surrender, his eldest daughter Andrea, then a three-year old child, was kidnapped by the mercenary armed forces of the Philippines (AFP) upon the order of the Southern Luzon Command (SOLCOM) chief Gen. Galido. But Ka Roger stood firm on his principles, immediately brought the incident into the open and showed to the world that the people who should surrender instead, are the very people that do criminal acts such as kidnapping innocent children like Andrea; people who are oppressors; people who call themselves decent and right while wallowing in wealth at the expense of people’s sweat and blood.

Yet, it was his discipline and dedication to every task given him that most endeared Ka Roger to every person who met him. For Ka Roger, revolutionary works are always at the fore. Even after suffering from his first major heart attack on 1997, Ka Roger literally continued climbing high and steep mountains, crossed the deepest rivers and rough seas and faced countless enemy assault just to bring “the good news of the revolution” to the people. It was not that Ka Roger was impervious of his own health. It was just that his genuine love for and ardent passion to serve the people surpasses any of his personal agenda. Ka Roger did not mind the heat of the sun or the heavy rains while looking for a better signal to honor every media interview. He did not mind spending many days and nights in the deeps where he could safely talk on-air especially when the enemy had intensified its surveillance and military operations for the sole purpose of capturing Ka Roger.

Indeed, life in the revolution is full of hardships and sacrifices. Ka Roger, as well as his wife, Ka Soly, also a revolutionary martyr who died in an encounter with the AFP early this year, were both conscious of the sacrifices they have to make in the course of serving the people and the revolution. Ka Roger and Ka Soly had more days spent apart than days spent together. They had much more days spent apart from their two children than days they spent together as a family. But these were sacrifices for the sake of fulfilling a higher call and greater goals. Goals that in due time both her children have embraced as their own. Like many revolutionary families, seeing their own children resolutely answer the call to serve the masses are Ka Roger and Ka Soly’s outright victory. Their children as fulltime revolutionaries of the underground movement are Ka Roger and Ka Soly’s unshakeable victory, an honor beyond price.

When Ka Roger stopped speaking on air for security reasons and later due to his flailing health condition, it was not only the masses that missed hearing his voice (perhaps the enemy, too?). It was, in fact, Ka Roger who missed seeing the faces of the masses, hearing their stories and sharing their everyday struggles. But Ka Roger did not lose heart. Despite his condition and limitations, he earnestly waits for and follows the news about every mass action, every triumphant tactical offensive and other revolutionary events that he hears over his worn out transistor. Quite believing that these actions are in themselves the voices of the people – the soul of the revolution.

The enemy may have also missed KR’s voice. But not out of concern but basically to fulfill their treacherous plan. One minute, the AFP maliciously announces about Ka Roger being dead, the next minute they would ironically offer medical assistance to an “ailing” Ka Roger on condition that he surrenders. Tricky offers that Ka Roger all turned down. Tricks that he comes up smiling in the end.

The National Democratic Front, the commanders and red fighters of the New Peoples Army and the revolutionary community in the Southern Tagalog Region salute and give tribute to a one great voice that shook the pillars of the present reactionary system; one great voice that exposed, opposed and refuted many a deceit and violence propagated by the local ruling class and its imperialist master, the United States.

On June 22, 2011, Ka Roger passed away due to heart attack. But his memory will live on in the hearts and minds of the masses. His voice will continue to resonate across the country’s hundred islands. It was Ka Roger’s undying voice that fused the voices of the oppressed and exploited Filipino people into one great revolutionary force. So great that we remember and honor his martyrdom by steadily strengthening, consolidating and advancing mass movements of the forces of national democracy – the working class and the peasantry; the petty bourgeoisie; and the national bourgeoisie. So great that we pay Ka Roger our highest tribute by transcending our grief into revolutionary fortitude and rally the broad masses of our people towards a resolute revolutionary struggle until victory.

Mabuhay ka, Ka Roger!
Mabuhay ang lahat ng martir ng rebolusyon!
Mabuhay ang sambayanan!