In death, tributes for political prisoner Eduardo “Ka Eddik” Serrano pour in. Across the land, the tragedy of a man about to be freed, unjustly charged by the state for crimes he did not commit, and for which he had endured 11 long years in prison, is not lost among his comrades and fellow prisoners – political and otherwise.
In death, tributes for political prisoner Eduardo “Ka Eddik” Serrano pour in. Across the land, the tragedy of a man about to be freed, unjustly charged by the state for crimes he did not commit, and for which he had endured 11 long years in prison, is not lost among his comrades and fellow prisoners – political and otherwise.
Serrano, a peace consultant for the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), died last January 8 at the Philippine Heart Center after a series of heart attacks since December 16, 2015. Serrano was detained for more than a decade in Calapan in Mindoro, Camp Crame in Quezon City, and the Special Intensive Care Area (SICA)-1 in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City. Freedom was forthcoming, Serrano and his lawyers expected, after a Quezon City Court resolved that he was not Rogelio Villanueva, the person charged with multiple frustrated murder and murder, among many others. The court also lambasted the military for “the mockery of justice” in its effort to keep Serrano behind bars.
Political prisoners in the Iloilo District Jail, who include NDFP peace consultant Concha Araneta-Bocala, said, "We are appalled and disgusted, though not surprised, at the extent to which the fascist state would go to suppress and break genuine revolutionaries… Our hearts reach out to his family and friends as we feel their pain and anguish throughout Ka Eddik’s incarceration until his passing away." They said they realized that what happened to Serrano could also happen to them.
Comrades in the First Quarter Storm Movement (FQSM), an organization of activists in the 1970s, also honored Serrano for being an exemplar of their generation. Serrano was among the youths of the 1970s who fought against the Marcos martial law regime and persisted in the revolutionary movement even after the 1986 Edsa Uprising. Serrano, a graduate of the UP Los Baños, set aside a promising career to “serve the people as a revolutionary.” The FQSM slammed the Noynoy Aquino government “for perpetuating the climate of impunity and eventually causing the death of Ka Eddik.”
Detained police Col. Rommel Miranda, who is charged with murder, also issued a tribute to his former inmate in Camp Crame. He said, "Salamat, Ka Eddik sa karangalan ng iyong pagiging kaibigan. Sa ilang taon na kasama kita sa mahirap na kundisyon ng pangungulungan, hindi kita nakitaan ng panghihina ng loob o kapaitan sa buhay. Madalas kang nakangiti, laging abala sa mga gawain, at pag kausap, puno ng mga ideya at kaalaman," (Thank you, Ka Eddik, for the honor of being your friend. In the many years in your company in the trying conditions of imprisonment, never had I seen you become bitter or lose hope. You had that constant smile, kept busy, and always brimmed with ideas and knowledge.)”
"Ano mang maliit, o minsan ay maling pang-unawa ko sa pakikibaka ng masa, ako ay iyong naturuan. Binigyan mo ako ng lalo pang interes na magsaliksik at tingnan sa ibang pananaw ang mga dahilan ng kahirapan at kawalang hustisya dito sa ating bayan," (You led me to correct whatever misconception I entertained about the struggle of the masses. You made me interested to find out and see from a different perspective the root causes of poverty and injustice in our country.),” Col. Miranda said in his tribute.
Eleven political prisoners in Northern Luzon wrote, "We, who, like Ka Eddik, languish in jail for crimes we did not commit, take his sacrifices and death as an inspiration to enlighten fellow prisoners, their families, and friends. We will always cherish the spirit of Ka Eddik. Even behind bars, we will strive hard to become instruments for change to fulfill the Filipino people’s aspirations for peace based on justice and national liberation."
Political prisoner Grace Abarratigue-Verzos in the Samar Provincial Jail composed a poem for Ka Eddik while JP Versoza made a painting.
A statement of “grief and rage” was issued by inmates in the SICA-1. "We, Ka Eddik’s fellow NDFP peace consultants and other political prisoners detained in Camp Bagong Diwa and in all jails throughout the country, vehemently protest what the prevailing reactionary ruling system had done to him, and which it continues to do to us.” They added, “As we grieve, we rage. This we declare by embarking on a hunger strike and fasting starting on first day of Ka Eddik’s wake in January 12 up to his interment in January 17.”
Political detainees in Iloilo said, "Leaders would be captured, but there is no stopping the Filipino masses in their millions from rising up to break their chains and surely triumph."