“There's a lot of activism that
doesn't deal with empowerment, and you have to empower yourself in order to be
relevant to any type of struggle.” Talib Kweli
By Alex P.
Vidal
NEW YORK
CITY – Now that Marcos has fallen and there seems to have no more dictators lording
over the Philippines with iron hand to fight against, is there a need for Filipino-American
writer and activist Jose V. Fuentecilla to continue fighting from a distance?
In a chance
meeting at the Madison Square Park June 17 during the 117th
Philippine Independence Day parade, Fuentecilla averred that he chronicled how
his fellow Filipino exiles helped topple the dictatorship in the 1986 EDSA
Revolution in his book “Fighting From A Distance.”
When (former
Philippine President Ferdinand) Marcos was curtailing the freedom of the press,
we were already here in the United States together with (the late former
Senator Raul) Manglapus and other opposition leaders,” Fuentecilla said in an
exclusive talk.
The
University of Illinois graduate of communication studies was among the
pre-cursors of the opposition movement in the United States during the Martial
Law.
“In my book,
I narrated our struggles and how we fought the dictatorship outside the
Philippines where press freedom was among the first casualties during the
Martial Law,” he explained.
INSPIRATION
The “People
Power” in 1986 served as the inspiration for oppressed citizens to rise up as
demonstrated by the peaceful revolts of the Arab Spring and the fall of the
Berlin Wall, Fuentecilla recalled in the book.
“Much has
been documented about how the Filipinos achieved their historic feat on their
home ground, on their own,” he wrote. “Much less is known about how groups of
Filipinos living overseas, mostly in the USA, helped in this effort. Now for
the first time, a book-length history describes their role.”
Fuentecilla’s
book was first released in May 2013 by the University of Illinois Press.
It describes
the personalities, the politics, the perils of conducting a US-based campaign
against a powerful regime. And how they ultimately succeeded.
The
University of Illinois Press has interviewed Fuentecilla in relation to the
book:
During
February of 1986, a grassroots revolution overthrew the dictatorship of
Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos.
Jose V. Fuentecilla was involved in the anti-Marcos movement in the
United States. Fuentecilla answered our
questions about his new book Fighting from a Distance: How Filipino Exiles
Helped Topple a Dictator.
Q: As a
native of the Philippines who emigrated to the United States in 1968, how did
you first view the Marcos regime?
Fuentecilla:
When I completed my graduate communication studies at University of Illinois, I
had plans to return home to apply what I learned. One of Marcos’ first decrees
after imposing his dictatorship was to muzzle the press and imprison
journalists. So, heck! Why enter the lion’s den?
MEASURES
Q: Were you
surprised by the increasing measures the Marcos regime took leading to the 1972
declaration of martial law?
Fuentecilla:
No. It was inevitable that he had to do what he did in order to consolidate his
power — restrict the press, round up oppositionists and throw them into prison,
dissolve Congress, employ the military establishment as his personal police,
weaken the judiciary, etc.
Q: How did
you become personally involved in the anti-Marcos movement?
Fuentecilla:
At the founding convention of our group in Washington DC in 1973, whose history
is the subject of my book, I was elected the first Secretary General. Hence I
was an on-the-ground participant of the
Movement from its birth.
Q: Were
there many Filipino immigrants who supported the declaration of martial law?
Fuentecilla:
The Marcos regime was very successful in intimidating immigrant relatives and
their friends to refrain from joining opposition groups in the U.S. Reports of
roundups of oppositionists back home gave the impression that if they
participated in any U.S.-based anti-Marcos activities, their kin back home will
suffer consequences. As a result, our movement could not mobilize a large
following.
Q: What was
the most shocking event to affect the movement during the Marcos regime?
Fuentecilla:
The assassination on August 21, 1983 of a Filipino Senator (Benigno “Ninoy”
Aquino) who returned to Manila on that date after three years in the USA for a
heart operation. His murder at the airport upon his arrival was the spark that
led to a gathering “people power” revolution that finally forced the Marcos
family to flee the country in 1986.
Q: How much
resistance did the exiles encounter from the U.S. government in their attempts
to lobby for anti-Marcos policy?
LOBBY
Fuentecilla:
Lobbying the U.S. government to limit military aid to the Marcos regime because
of its rampant human rights abuses was the focus of their activities. We won
allies in Congress but the White House administration, concerned that Marcos
will retaliate against the U.S. bases in the Philippines for any military aid
reductions, continued to support his regime in the 14 years that he was in
power. Indeed it was this support that prolonged his rule. Ironically, it was a
U.S. helicopter that flew him out of Manila and gave him refuge in Hawaii where
he died.
Q: Did the
Movement for a Free Philippines lean any particular way ideologically?
Fuentecilla:
There were two main groups opposing the regime in the U.S.– one allied with a leftist militant armed
anti-Marcos New People’s Army operating throughout the
Philippines;
the other was our group which preferred a non-violent return to democracy by
various groups of society: students, workers, businessmen, the clergy, etc.
Q: Did you
reflect at all on your experiences “fighting from a distance” when you saw the
wave of political change that resulted in the Arab Spring?
Fuentecilla:
Yes, as we watched the triumphant masses overthrowing dictators with minimal
bloodshed, we said, “Been there! Done that!” It has been cited many times that
the Philippine “People Power” revolution of some 20 years ago was the template
of the Arab Spring.
