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BRIEF MESSAGES & LETTERS, 2001 - Present |
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August 7, 2004 LETTER OF CONDOLENCE TO THE FAMILY OF ISABEL “KA CHABENG” TOLENTINO OLALIA
Hon. Judge Felixberto T. Olalia, Jr. Julie and I wish to express our condolences to the children and other relatives of Isabel “Ka Chabeng” Tolentino Olalia. We are deeply saddened to learn that she has passed away. We share your grief. We feel the loss of a dear friend, who has done meritorious work on her own account and who has been a strong partner of an outstanding leader of the Filipino working class and the Philippine trade union movement. We have personally known Ka Chabeng and Ka Bert since the early 1960s. We came to know Ka Bert not merely in his trade union office or in meetings of the Lapiang Manggagawa, Malayang Samahang Magsasaka, the Socialist Party of the Philippines and the Movement for the Advancement of Nationalism. But we came to know him even better in the company of Ka Chabeng when we visited them at their home on the UP Diliman Campus and when we attended the same meetings and other functions. We would go to the home of Ka Chabeng and Ka Bert, especially when there were matters to resolve promptly and thoroughly, without having to wait for office hours. As revolutionaries, we were not bound by office routine and schedule. In all instances that we met Ka Chabeng and Ka Bert together, we observed that Ka Bert could be more effectively the conspicuous leader of the proletariat and people in the struggle for national liberation and democracy against US imperialism and the exploiting classes, because he had a great woman as his partner in struggle. Ka Bert was fond of relating his experiences in the struggle because he was conscious of his duty of passing these on to younger people. In this way, we came to know explicitly and implicitly how Ka Chabeng shared weal and woe with him and gave support to him, especially in the most trying times, when he struggled against opportunists in the party of the proletariat, when he was hounded by the military and when he was repeatedly imprisoned by the enemy. After the death of Ka Bert, she continued to uphold the legacy of Ka Bert and promote the unity of Kilusang Mayo Uno and the trade union movement. She came to a very ripe age obviously because she was quite mentally and physically active. If one can survive the most intense struggles, the revolutionary does not simply fade away in retirement but continuously gets refreshed by the revolutionary spirit. We are ever grateful to Ka Chabeng for gracing the occasion to recognize the 45 years of service that we have rendered to the Filipino people through revolutionary struggle. Even at her very advanced age, she came to the occasion to give testimony on how we worked together for the purpose of reviving the national democratic movement from a full decade of intense reaction and making it stronger against the tremendous odds posed by the looming threat of fascism and eventually the full-blown facsist dictatorship of Marcos. Together with other comrades who join us in signing this testimonial, we celebrate the fact that Ka Chabeng lived a life full of significance and relevance to the Filipino people’s struggle for national liberation and democracy. We shall always cherish her memory and emulate her example as one who fulfilled her duty as a wife, a mother and a university employee and as one who served the people by quietly contributing all she could to the revolutionary struggle.###
Jose Maria Sison
August 7, 2004
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