IN FOCUS

The farmer at heart. Bayan Muna's 7th nominee, Roman Polintan of BAYAN - Central Luzon, June 2005.

ANGELES CITY -- He earned the ire of the country’s most dreaded army general and he may soon be a party list representative in Congress. But if he had his way, Roman Polintan, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Central Luzon [Bayan - CL, New Patriotic Alliance] chairperson would rather go back to what he loved most—farming.

In August last year, after more than 100 left-wing militants in Central Luzon have either been killed or abducted, the 52-year old farmer-leader from Barangay Tangos, Baliuag, Bulacan was leading protests and was often quoted in media blaming the military and retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan for the killings.

According to published reports at that time, Palparan, speaking in anti-communist rallies in Pampanga often singled-out Polintan and Anak Pawis party regional coordinator Joseph Canlas as communists and non-persons.

“Mas mabuti kung mawala na ang dalawang iyan [It’s better that these two are gone],” Polintan, in an interview with GLNS, recounted Palparan as saying.

IN FOCUS

"Survivor". Ka Roman at the height of political killings in Central Luzon, August 2005.

Survivor

But they survived the veiled threats and Polintan was recently named the 7th of 12 nominees of the Bayan Muna party in this year’s run up to the May 14 congressional elections.

In May 2006, after Manuel Nardo, a Bayan Muna leader and a close friend of Polintan was murdered by motorcycle-riding masked men, all the regional and provincial offices of organizations under the umbrella of Bayan-CL were closed and abandoned to evade further attacks.

“We had to adapt to the tight security situation. Our leaders are being killed on an almost daily basis. We will not wait for the killers in our offices,” Polintan said. By this time, aside from the killings and abductions, Bayan offices in Angeles City and Tarlac City and a people’s center in Aurora province have either been set on fire or robbed by armed men suspected to be military agents.

While Polintan have taken precautions for his safety before the decision to close Bayan offices in the region took effect, he believes that the move, aside from ensuring the safety of leaders, prevented more serious damage to the organization branded by the military as “fronts” of the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army.

When Palparan retired in September last year as commanding officer of the 7th Infantry Division that covers the seven provinces of the region, some 120 civilians have died in extra-judicial-executions and at least 50 were abducted and remain missing. The killings and abductions in the region did not stop after Palparan’s retirement but tapered off considerably.

IN FOCUS

The farmer at heart. Polintan with fellow peasant leader Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano during the wake of a slain activist.

Peasant roots

Polintan recalls that he started to work in his grand parents’ farm when he was just 13 years old up to the time he finished high school in 1976. At a young age, he said, he has been imbued with a strong sense of love of country and for his peasant roots.

His grandfather Nicasio Labao, owner of a two-hectare rice farm in Tangos village was known in the community as “Hapon” for his exploits in engaging the Japanese occupation forces in Baliuag town and elsewhere in Bulacan province. While in high school in St. Augustine ’ College, Polintan supported himself by working in his grandfathers’s farm.

After his grandfather died in 1976, he went to Manila to study at the Far Eastern University where he was also a working student employed in a brokerage firm. After earning a degree in Political Science, his relatives goaded him to be employed even as a teacher but he chose to go back and tend the farm left by his grandfather.

”Wala ka nang hahanapin pa sa bukid. Andito ang lahat ng kailangan upang mabuhay ng matiwasay” [In the farm, you have everything you need to live peacefully], Polintan said.

But his love for the soil will also bring him into political activism. During the martial law years, he recalled that students from Manila universities went to their village and held meetings with the farmers. He joined the activities as a matter of course, he said, since their community is a known bailiwick of the Hukbong Mapagpalaya ng Bayan [People’s Liberation Army], the forerunner of the New People’s Army.

IN FOCUS

Stressing a point. Polintan with AMIHAN peasant women leader Lita Mariano.

Reluctant

Polintan was with the Bulacan farmers’ delegation in Mendiola when the massacre occurred on January 22, 1987.

From then on, from being a spokesperson of the village chapter of the Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Bulacan [Bulacan Peasant Alliance] he rose to become chairperson of the district chapter and in 1989 was secretary general of the provincial chapter and a member of the regional council of the Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa Gitnang Luzon [Central Luzon Peasant Alliance].

In September 1997, he was appointed spokesperson and deputy secretary general of Bayan-CL, assuming a role he was at first reluctant to accept.

“It’s an entirely different thing being leader of Bayan which is a multi-sectoral alliance from being a peasant leader that I originally was. I was not used to talking with policitians and personalities. I am a farmer at heart,” Polintan said.

In 1999 he was elected chairperson of Bayan-CL, a position he still holds today. “I have to take up the challenge because this is not for myself but for the people,” he said.

He expressed the same reluctance when he was named a nominee of the Bayan Muna party, but with the same selfless confidence.

IN FOCUS

The leader as flag-bearer. Polintan holds a flag during the indignation march for slain Aglipayan Bishop Alberto Ramento in Tarlac City, October 2006.

Threats

He recalls the past two years with undisguised horror. “So many of my friends and comrades were killed. At some point I shed tears even in public because of the inhumanity occuring all around,” he said.

The last time he visited his home and his family was in January 2006. He was forced not to go back to his village because of numerous threats to his life. He said he was told by his family that armed men frequented their home looking for him. His family also witnessed intense surveillance in their neighborhood all meant to locate and possibly attack him.

Today, he stays with friends and relatives when busy with desk work and comes out in public only in specific occassions that demand his presence as the region’s principal Bayan leader.

Asked on the military’s perception that Bayan and its affiliates are communist fronts Polintan said: “That is an old story used to discredit legitimate people’s organizations. They should charge us in court if we are doing anything illegal. If ever [the charges] were true, then people will understand and maybe even be proud if that is what it takes to serve the people completely and wholeheartedly.”

IN FOCUS

Targets. Polintan with regional peasant leader Joseph Canlas during the press conference against Gen. Jovito Palparan, 22 August 2006.

Target

Polintan explains that the region’s proximity to the national capital region is one of the reasons why Central Luzon bore the brunt of human rights violations in the past two years.

“The Arroyo government wants to silence the mass movement against her rule. Since a bulk of the mobilizations come from the region during mass actions, it will be for the interest of Arroyo to paralyze the source of protests, even to the extent of killing civilians,” he said.

Another reason, according to Polintan is the growing number of supporters Bayan and Bayan Muna enjoys. In the 2001 and 2004 elections, Bayan Muna emerged No. 1 in the Central Luzon .

“If ever I will have the chance to serve in Congress, I will serve willingly and faithful to the people. My dream of becoming a farmer again can wait.” he said.