Farewell to the Dean

More than mourning a great man’s passing, the relatives and friends of the late Dean Armando J. Malay celebrated his life late Sunday night at the Chapel of the Holy Sacrifice at the University of the Philippines.

"This is a celebration of his life through the people he touched and touched him in return," Malay’s son-in-law, Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Satur Ocampo told reporters.

"This was how he wanted it to be – celebratory. He had lived to a ripe old age of 89. He had lived a full life and he deserves to rest."

Malay, a journalist, teacher and human rights activist, died Thursday night after suffering a stroke.

"He went quietly, which was what he wanted. He wanted his death to be sudden and painless," Ocampo said.

The necrological service for Malay, dubbed "Gabi ng Parangal," interestingly started with a traditional Catholic ceremony remembering the dead.

"Frankly, he won’t appreciate this kind of religious ceremony," Ocampo admitted.

Malay regarded the church as a representation of obscurantism. And the man was a free thinker who was not given to religious ceremonies, Ocampo said.

The Catholic service was prepared by Dean Malay’s in-laws, Ocampo said.

At the Gabi ng Parangal, members of the academe, journalists, advocates of the revolutionary movement, and even admirers – the ones who did not have the privilege of knowing the Dean personally but respected and idolized him – gathered to celebrate the life of the man who inspired and motivated each one of them to pursue their passions and convictions.

Among the estimated 250 people who attended the necrological service were Luis V. Teodoro, Bienvenido Lumbera, Randy and Karina David, Joe Burgos, Sen. Joker Arroyo, Agrarian Reform Secretary Obet Pagdanganan, the Abueva brothers — former UP president Jose and National Artist Napoleon — Ricky Lee, Behn Cervantes, Carol Araullo, and Teddy and Ruth Casiño.

"He always kept track of his students. And he didn’t mince words when he criticized them," Ocampo said.

Among Malay’s students was the founding chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), Jose Ma. Sison. Copies of Sison’s own remembrance of the Dean was distributed to the crowd.

Burgos, Teodoro, Inday Espina Varona, and Today editor-in-chief Lourdes Molina-Fernandez, representing the various generations when Dean Malay was an influential and inspirational figure, spoke about the lessons they learned from him in the classroom and on the streets.

"Dean Malay thus combined in one person the virtues of authentic journalism, of active involvement in the fight for human rights, and the struggle for an alternative future," Teodoro said.

Varona said despite all his achievements and the high regard for him by people, Dean Malay remained "humble to the end."

A three-minute video by the UP Journalism Department reminisced on the Dean through the years – not only as an activist and journalist but as a family man as well. The video was prepared by Marichu Lambino, Crysta Rara, and Julo Quinto.

John Lennon’s "Power to the People" was a fitting song to the tribute.

The Journalism Department faculty also presented Malay’s family with a copy of their resolution to name the department’s office as the Dean Armando J. Malay Room.

The resolution is to be submitted to the UP Board of Regents for approval.

Journalists present were asked to recite a journalistic oath, inspired by Dean Malay’s passion for the craft.

The rites ended with the crowd singing "Bayan Ko" with their fists clenched, true to the Dean’s nationalistic fervor.

Dean Malay’s remains were cremated yesterday at 9 a.m.

Ocampo said that as was the Dean’s wish, his ashes were joined with those of his wife, Paula Carolina, at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina. Mrs. Malay died in 1993.

Dean Malay is survived by children Armando "Buddy" Jr., Carolina "Bobbie" Ocampo, and Ricardo, in-laws, and 17 grandchildren.

For his contributions to society and the practice of journalism in the Philippines, Malay received such awards as the Gintong Ama; Sampung Ulirang Nakakatanda (Ten Outstanding Senior Citizens); and the Movement for Press Freedom’s recognition, Alay sa Aming Gabay, among many others.

In recognition of his contribution to the field of journalism, a permanent repository of his works has been established in the UP Archives. Lambino has proposed that the UP journalism department be named after the Dean.

Anvil Publishing launched last year Malay’s biography titled "Armando J. Malay: A Guardian of Memory, The Life and Times of a Filipino Journalist and Activist" authored by Marites Sison and Yvonne Chua.

Malay, UP’s former dean of student affairs, himself co-authored two books with his late wife, Paula Carolina Malay, "Our Folkways" and "Our Animal World." His other works include "Atlas of the Philippines," "Memoirs of Ricarte," and "Occupied Philippines."

Sison and Chua, in chronicling the dean’s colorful life, pored through 51 volumes of Malay’s diaries in the UP Archives, entitled "The Rushing Years."

In a review of the book that appeared in the May 26, 2003 issue of Newsbreak, Patricio Abinales wrote: "Malay is not only the guardian of our national memory; his diary is as much about himself and the nation, as it is about us. What we could not write ourselves because we lack the time..., do not have the talent and the discipline to do it, or are simply lazy, Malay has jotted down for us."