BAYAN USA pays tribute to Ka Bel

The U.S. Chapter of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, or BAYAN USA, an alliance of over 12 Filipino organizations in the United States, paid tribute to Philippine House Representative Crispin “Ka Bel” Beltran with days of action between May 29th and May 31st. Ka Bel died from suffering head injuries related to falling from his roof on May 20. He was 75 years old.

Actions ranging from prayer services and vigils to forums and concerts were organized by BAYAN USA member organizations and close allies in Los Angeles, San Francisco/Bay Area, Seattle, Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C.

The alliance, founded as the first overseas territorial chapter of the Philippine-based BAYAN in 2005, says it was largely inspired by Ka Bel’s life and struggle to carry the Filipino people’s movement for national sovereignty and democracy to overseas Filipino communities.

“As a Congressman, Ka Bel supported and fought for the rights of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) inside the halls of the Philippine Congress, but it was his decades as a leader of the Philippine and international labor movement, as well as the parliament of the streets that gives us the greatest inspiration,” stated BAYAN USA Chair Chito Quijano, also a trade unionist in the U.S.

For many in the U.S., the name Ka Bel is still unfamiliar. Ka Bel was one of many progressive leaders from the Philippines who are banned by the U.S. government from entering the U.S. Earlier this year, Ka Bel visited parliamentarians in Canada and conducted a national Canadian speaking tour.

BAYAN USA will be conducting an education initiative to educate more U.S. citizens about Ka Bel and strengthen labor solidarity between the U.S. and the Philippines.

For more information, contact info@bayanusa.org. Tributes to Ka Bel continue to pour in from all around the world, including the following one from Taiwan, China.

Dear Comrades, Friends and Family of Ka Bel,

It is a good fortune for many of us in the Taiwanese social movements to have met courageous Philippine fighters like Ka Bel in the past years. But we are not as fortunate as our Philippine comrades who have worked with him, day in and day out, for years and decades. Even so, our sporadic encounters with him have always left deep, indelible impressions.

I personally met Ka Bel in 1999 with a Taiwanese youth group on our exposure. He was the chairman of KMU at that time. Even though we are not some big-shot honored guest, Ka Bel took the time and came to where we stay to give us an introduction of the situation of Philippine labor movement.

In appearance, Ka Bel surely looked like a respectable elder. Befitting his sage-like demeanor, his analysis and his answers to our questions were sharp, succinct, and always to the point. But like all Philippine activists we have met, he told hilarious jokes that were difficult for me to translate, and one can quickly feel the warm friendliness glowing around him. The age gap dissolved in no time.

The most unforgettable thing is this: When the time approached 4 p.m., the voluble Ka Bel abruptly ended our exciting conversation, and apologized that he had to leave, because it was his turn that day to hand out leaflets to employees of a certain Shoemart store during the change of shifts. So away he went.

“So old comrades like Ka Bel also do things like leafleting?” we asked our host, with huge surprise.

“Sure,” she replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

“But he is the chairman. People of his position in our country don’t do this kind of rookie’s job.”

“It’s the decision of KMU that every leader be given tasks in grassroots organizing work so that they keep in touch with the situation on the ground.”

“So he also does house calls, education sessions, and things like that?”

“Sure,” she said, as if there was nothing special about this.

For me, that was the moment that the whole strength of the Philippine movement was expressed in a tiny act. Recalling this, I have the feeling that Ka Bel must have left us with peace and confidence at heart, for as great as Ka Bel was as a fighter, there are hundreds, thousands of Ka Bels, and eventually there will be millions of Ka Bels in the Philippines, and hopefully in all corners of the world, too.

So while we bid farewell to Ka Bel and honor his marvelous deeds, we, here in Taiwan, will strive to do the same thing you do in the Philippines, that is, keeping Ka Bel’s fighting spirit alive and growing.

In solidarity,
Hsin-Hsing Chen
Taiwan Committee for Philippine Concerns