Remembering Fr. Rudy Romano: Picket staged to pressure police

CEBU, Philippines – The Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights (Karapatan-Central Visayas) appealed to the police to do their job in solving the cases of forced disappearances recorded in the region as the group commemorates the 24th year since the abduction of Redemptorist priest Rosaleo “Rudy” Romano.

Karapatan yesterday staged a picket in front of the Police Regional Office-7 to once more impose pressure to the police as Romano’s loss remains a mystery until now which is also true to the other 28 cases of forced disappearances reported in Central Visayas.

Today was the day when Romano was abducted in Labangon on his way back from donating medicines to the urban poor community of the barangay.

Romano was said to be an active member and official of various cause-oriented groups during the time of his abduction.

He was the vice president of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Visayas, the executive secretary of the human rights center Visayas Ecumenical Movement for Justice and Peace, the chairperson of the Coalition against People’s Persecution, and convenor of the Cebu Oust Marcos Movement for the Advancement of Nationalism and Democracy.

Karapatan information officer Zimarie Arcilla said that they believe the police and the military was behind Romano’s disappearance. His activism and strong opposition against Marcos are believed to be the reason why he was kidnapped.

“Kasagaran gyod sa mga victims of forced disappearances in the region kadtong mga aktibo sa pagbarog sa tawhanong katungod ug aktibo sa pagduso sa ilang mga demanda para sa sakto nga serbisyo gikan sa gobyerno,” Arcilla said.

She added that the 29 reported cases of forced disappearances are just few compared to the number of undocumented disappearances.

Just last year, Arcilla reported, three more victims were added to the list. These are peasant activists who were firm in their beliefs that the government owes them genuine land reforms, agri-subsidies like farm inputs and assistance.

“We really have observed that most victims are peasant activists who are demanding for their rights to receive services from the government. Pero kung hunahunaon, kung natagaan pa ni sila og saktong serbisyo, wala na untay mag-uuma nga nagsiyagit karon,” Arcilla said.

In relation to the commemoration, a political inmate of the Danao City Jail remembers Romano as “the embodiment of self-sacrifice over personal comfort and gain.”

Ramon Patriarca, in a statement sent to The FREEMAN, said that the murder of Fr. Jovencio Rabusa last Tuesday reminded him of a far worse atrocity against a man of the cloth 24 years ago.

“Fr. Rudy stirred a hornet’s nest when he championed the rights of farmers battling marijuana planters in the Cebu City-Balamban boundary. He attracted more threats when he took the cudgels for the oppressed unionists at Atlas Mining and Visayan Glass Factory,” Patriarca said.

“It was therefore not surprising that it was the poorest of the poor who immediately rushed to the streets to demand freedom and justice for Fr. Rudy. They swelled the ranks of the almost daily protests in Cebu. They heightened the disgust of Cebuanos over the Marcos tyranny and hastened its downfall.”

Further, Patriarca said that “this is why we should remember Fr. Rudy.”

“In a time when authoritarianism cast its long shadow upon us, it is important to learn from the sacrifices of others that we do not deserve the inhuman state of things that we are in right now,” he said. — Jessica Ann R. Pareja/MEEV (THE FREEMAN)