In Commemoration of the Bulacan Martyrs of 1982
This article on the 1982 Bulacan Martyrs is an edited version of the original article published on June 22, 2021. All revisions were made to improve readability, without changes to the data and the amount of information in the original.
This article also contains stories of Human Rights Violations Victims of the Martial Law era. To view the rest of the Roll of Victims see this link: Roll of Victims
This article is Part 2 of a series of articles on the 1982 Bulacan Martyrs . To read part 1, press this link: Bulacan Martyrs Part 1
The Families Take Action
A day after the massacre, the families of the victims were just getting word of what had happened. Aguirre’s sister only found out about her brother’s arrest around 11 AM. She was told to visit the PC Camp in San Rafael to ensure her brother’s safety. On her way, she met Borlongan’s mother.[1] At the camp, she heard whispers that her brother was already dead. In disbelief, she went to San Rafael to ask for reports of recent deaths. She was shown pictures of badly mutilated corpses. Due to their state, she could not identify if one was her brother. She then confidently signed a statement certifying that her brother was not among those killed.[2] However, after speaking with other residents, she grew more suspicious that her brother might be among those killed.[3]
Relatives of Medina and Llorente narrated similar experiences when they first learned that their loved ones had been arrested. The Medina and Llorente families marched to the San Rafael Camp to inquire about what happened.[4] They were also shown pictures. This time, Medina’s family managed to recognize, albeit barely, his disfigured face among the other slain victims.[5] On the other hand, Llorente’s family could only go so far as to take a quick glimpse at her picture. The photo showed a big gaping wound on her chest along with bruises and contusions. This caused fears among them that she may have been raped before she was killed.[6]
The Medina family claimed that they were told to consult the commanding officer of the 175th PC company to request the retrieval of Medina’s body. They were, however, made to wait the entire afternoon at the Malolos PC Camp. They sensed after some time that the military was only delaying and preventing them from getting the body. They left and accompanied the Llorente family instead to the Malolos diocese to request assistance from Rev. Edgardo “Ed” Villacorte. Villacorte was a member of the Church-Military Liaison Committee (CMLC). The CMLC served to facilitate dialogue between church group members and the local PC units.[7]
Retrieving Borlongan and Manimbo
Borlongan and Manimbo’s bodies were finally retrieved by their families on June 26, five days after the incident. Even then, it was only possible after an arduous negotiation with local authorities. They were given the run-around and were made to comply with demands, including a hefty fee, before receiving the bodies.[8] Recovering the bodies of the other three proved more difficult. The families were likewise made to go through lengthy bureaucracy just to see and obtain heir loved ones’ remains.
The Intervention of the CMLC
Fr. Cirilo Almario, Jr. (left) and former congressman Rogaciano Mercado (center) listening to concerned Bulacan citizens during a discussion on the so-called San Rafael Massacre.
Photo taken from Alex Magno’s "A Feast for Worms in Bulacan," in Who Magazine 4, no. 65 (1982), accessed through the archives of the Human Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Commission.
On June 29, Malolos diocese Bishop Cirilo Almario, Jr. invited the families of the victims for dialogue in his residence at the Bishop’s Palace. The meeting was attended by Rev. Villacorte and former congressman Rogaciano Mercado. Also present were representatives from concerned organizations such as Buklod Lakas Kapatiran, Ecumenical Movement for Justice and Peace (EMJP), the Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP), WE Forum publication, and Luzon Times. During the meeting, the families provided their aforementioned testimonies. Thereafter, they implored Rev. Villacorte to summon the implicated military officials for a special meeting.[9]
Meeting with the Constabulary
The meeting was held on July 1. It started with the victims reiterating their claims before a PC panel. This panel was composed of the PC’s Provincial Commander and Bulacan Police Superintendent Maximo Mejia, administering officer Maj. Estepa, commanding officer Maj. Hermogenes, along with other high-ranking officers Capt. Lampen, Capt. Sumortin, Capt. Saguilayan, Capt. Alzate, and one of the incriminated officers, Capt. Danilo Mangila.[10] Afterward, Supt. Mejia and Capt. Hermogenes spoke, asserting their original position. They insisted that the incident was an encounter between government troops and “terrorists.” Both parties’ accounts were starkly conflicting. As such, the families requested Supt. Mejia to at least authorize the exhumation of the remaining three bodies, so they may at least be given a proper burial. The military officials told the families that final authorization rested on the municipal or provincial health officer.[11]
Final Requirements for Retrieval
Once the meeting concluded, the families of the remaining three victims whose bodies were yet to be found proceeded to the San Rafael Municipal Hall. They consulted with the municipal health officer, Dr. Valemento, who was instructed by Mejia to have the final say on the release of the bodies. Dr. Valemento asked the families for two more requirements: a certification from a municipal judge and a signed waiver relinquishing their right to ask for autopsies. Though both requisites were highly dubious, the increasingly desperate families felt they had no choice but to comply.[12]
They were then accompanied to the house of the nearest available municipal judge, Hon. Nestor Duran from Baliwag. Though he signed a certification all the same, Duran did so hesitantly. When confronted, he told them that his signature was unnecessary, since Dr. Valemento would still have the final say. He also told the families that he himself witnessed the bodies as they were laid on display on June 22. He noted that Llorente’s body bore the freshest marks and surmised that she might have been the last one killed.[13]
Retrieving Llorente, Aguirre, and Medina
With the requirements met, they brought along a sanitary inspector and a grave digger to the San Rafael Municipal Cemetery. Before midnight, the bodies of Llorente, Aguirre, and Medina were finally exhumed for their families.[14] All three were unsightly and had been decomposing for quite some time. Medina’s body, the first to be found, had the left side of his skull blown apart. His teeth were damaged. Worse, his chest had a gaping hole and bullet holes which exposed his innards. Llorente’s body also had a similar gaping hole. She also bore numerous black patches on her torso, similar to bruises from severe blows. Aguirre’s body, noted to be the most advanced in the decomposition process, had the most bullet holes. The sanitary inspector also observed that his head was almost blown off from his body. They assumed Aguirre was the first killed.
They were forbidden from requesting an autopsy, but there was no need for one. The visible damage sustained by the bodies already suggests in gruesome detail how the victims were executed. The bodies were then removed from their caskets and placed into cadaver bags for transfer. They were then placed in sealed coffins at the Barasoain Church in Malolos for a short period of mourning for relatives and sympathizers.[15]
A Tense Funeral Wake
It took ten days since the incident, but by midnight of July 2, the bodies of Llorente, Aguirre and Medina were finally with their loved ones. The families opted to stay for the night at the church. They contacted their remaining relatives to visit the wake and mourn the three. Food supplies were furnished by visitors as well as people from the church. The wake was overseen by a priest, a seminarian, and three lay workers.
At about 3 PM, the church workers left to go replenish the food for the people holding the vigil. Upon reaching the courtyard where vehicles were parked along the pathway, they heard a shot ring out. This was followed by another four in quick succession, seemingly aimed towards them. Since there was nothing hit behind them, they assumed the shooter was using an air rifle to scare them off. They knew the families were in the church, defenseless should they leave. As such, the workers went back inside and waited for more people to arrive before leaving.[16]
The Final Mass and Funeral March
Later in the afternoon, a mass was concelebrated by nine priests. The priests exhorted the attendees not to cry over the untimely deaths of the five martyrs. According to them, the five had lived short but fulfilling lives. The priests presented them the options of either remaining safe and silent or pursuing the ideals of and the path taken by the victims. Afterward, the funeral march commenced from Barasoain Church ending at the Malolos Public Cemetery.[17]
During the procession, as they turned towards the town center, witnesses claimed that a blue car was parked nearby. They also saw three uniformed PC personnel along with a plain-clothed man eyeing the funeral cortège. Two of them carried rifles. One kept cursing at the marchers and even raised his gun at them before being stopped by his companion. The grueling process of putting the three slain organizers to rest reached its end at the cemetery, where relatives put up posters challenging the killers. “Pagpatay ba ang alam ng militar (Does the military only know how to kill)?,” “Wala na raw ang batas militar, bakit sila pinatay (If there is no more martial law, why were they still killed)?,” and “Katawang lupa ang mamamatay, hindi ang kaisipan (Their bodies may have died, but their ideals have not),” read the posters.[18]
Lingering Calls for Justice
Indeed, while the victims were laid to rest, their killers remained free. The victims’ families and relatives echoed the same questions throughout their ordeal. The victims were meeting at a farmer’s house in Pulilan. Somehow, their lifeless bodies were discovered at San Rafael, some twenty kilometers away. They surrendered without protest. Somehow, they were reported to be killed during an NPA encounter. They were even supposedly found with arms and ammunition. Had it not been for their colleague narrowly escaping capture, the narrative espoused by the military might have been unanimously accepted as the truth.
On July 10, Congressman Mercado connected the families to the Bulacan Lawyers on Human Rights (BLOHR). BLOHR was active in Bulacan, investigating local cases of human rights violations and offering free legal assistance. They aimed to launch an immediate investigation on the suspected perpetrators, pursuing their relief from duty and prosecution.[19] Unfortunately, the trail of information ended on this day. Soldiers of the 175th PC Company are not known to have ever been prosecuted. When Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. was assassinated in 1983, Bulacan residents also took part in nationwide protests. They integrated in their rally cries the call for justice for the five young martyrs.
The five toiled greatly to advance the rights and welfare of farmers in Bulacan. Their families also struggled to uncover the truth of what happened to them on the day of their death. They struggled to recover their bodies after they were buried unceremoniously. They struggled to pursue the perpetrators in the hopes of holding them accountable. They labored for the victims to be recognized.
Honoring the Bulacan Martyrs
The Wall of Remembrance at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani in Quezon City, showing the names of Danilo Aguirre, Edwin Borlongan, Teresita Llorente, Renato Manimbo and Constantino Medina, who were all honored on November 29, 2012.
Photo cropped and taken by Reginald C. Coloma on June 10, 2021.
On November 29, 2012, the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Foundation held its annual Honoring of Martyrs and Heroes. Headlining the list of honorees were a church activist, a market vendor, a driver-mechanic, a student activist, and a fisherman. These five helped the AMGL take root in Bulacan and led the farmers’ movement in the province at the cost of their young lives. Their names, etched in the Wall of Remembrance, were Teresita Llorente, Danilo Aguirre, Edwin Borlongan, Renato Manimbo, and Constantino Medina. They were known thereafter as the Bulacan Martyrs.[20] With the creation of the Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board (HVRCB), the victims’ families filed a claim for reparation and recognition in 2014 and 2015. Their claims were approved and they were given due compensation.
More than 40 years after the Bulacan Massacre, the victims have been honored and their families compensated. However, the perpetrators have not yet been brought to retribution. With the passing of years, the story of the massacre may be slowly fading from the collective memory of Filipinos. Many might not even be familiar with this incident in the first place. Nowadays, people contend with malicious historical revisionists. These revisionists continuously push the narrative that human rights violations and massacres hardly occurred during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos. They may thus take advantage of a fading memory and, as the massacre perpetrators once did, label the Bulacan martyrs as mere communist rebel casualties.
Let not the hands of time erase the heroism exhibited by these five. Let not falsified narratives and fading recollections diminish the impact of their lives, and even their deaths, in the resistance movement against the dictatorship. The families of the victims were once given the choice to remain silent or to pursue the path they took. Today, we are faced with the same choice. The martyrs’ young lives were tragically cut short, but their legacy and the ideals they fought and died for live on through those who remember them and continue their struggle. For the Bulacan Martyrs, in pursuit of justice and truth, #WeRemember.
Photo cropped and taken by Reginald C. Coloma on June 10, 2021.
On November 29, 2012, the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Foundation held its annual Honoring of Martyrs and Heroes. Headlining the list of honorees were a church activist, a market vendor, a driver-mechanic, a student activist, and a fisherman. These five helped the AMGL take root in Bulacan and led the farmers’ movement in the province at the cost of their young lives. Their names, etched in the Wall of Remembrance, were Teresita Llorente, Danilo Aguirre, Edwin Borlongan, Renato Manimbo, and Constantino Medina. They were known thereafter as the Bulacan Martyrs.[20] With the creation of the Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board (HVRCB), the victims’ families filed a claim for reparation and recognition in 2014 and 2015. Their claims were approved and they were given due compensation.
More than 40 years after the Bulacan Massacre, the victims have been honored and their families compensated. However, the perpetrators have not yet been brought to retribution. With the passing of years, the story of the massacre may be slowly fading from the collective memory of Filipinos. Many might not even be familiar with this incident in the first place. Nowadays, people contend with malicious historical revisionists. These revisionists continuously push the narrative that human rights violations and massacres hardly occurred during the regime of Ferdinand Marcos. They may thus take advantage of a fading memory and, as the massacre perpetrators once did, label the Bulacan martyrs as mere communist rebel casualties.
Let not the hands of time erase the heroism exhibited by these five. Let not falsified narratives and fading recollections diminish the impact of their lives, and even their deaths, in the resistance movement against the dictatorship. The families of the victims were once given the choice to remain silent or to pursue the path they took. Today, we are faced with the same choice. The martyrs’ young lives were tragically cut short, but their legacy and the ideals they fought and died for live on through those who remember them and continue their struggle. For the Bulacan Martyrs, in pursuit of justice and truth, #WeRemember.
This article is Part 2 of a series of articles on the 1982 Bulacan Martyrs . To read part 1, press this link: Bulacan Martyrs Part 1
Footnotes
[1] “Bulacan Massacre,” 2; “Application Form,” (Case No. 2014-14-00348, Quezon City, 2014), accessed through the archives of the Human Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Commission.
[2] Pumipiglas, 91; Magno, “A Feast for Worms in Bulacan,” 12.
[3] Magno, “A Feast for Worms in Bulacan,” 12; “Bulacan Massacre,” 2.
[4] Ibid. The Medina family even brought some barrio officials along with them.
[7] “Bulacan Massacre,” 3; Pumipiglas, 93; Magno, “A Feast for Worms in Bulacan,” 12. It was also the Llorentes who learned that there were witnesses who saw three jeepneys containing the PC troopers personally commanded by Maj. Bartolome Baluyot heading to the farmer’s house where the five victims had been meeting.
[8] “Bulacan Massacre,” 3; Pumipiglas, 92.
[9] “Bulacan Massacre,” 3; Magno, “A Feast for Worms in Bulacan,” 13. The testimonies of the families were published in a write-up “San Rafael Massacre: The Truth Behind the “Pulo, San Rafael Encounter,” included in the fact-sheet by the Task Force Detainees Luzon, and published by Alex Magno in Who Magazine, all sourcing from documentation on the June 29 and the subsequent July 1 meetings.
[11] Ibid, 4; Magno, “A Feast for Worms in Bulacan,” 15.
[12] “Bulacan Massacre,” 4; Magno, “A Feast for Worms in Bulacan,” 15.
[14] “Bulacan Massacre,” 4. On their way to the cemetery, they also consulted the police station where a policeman showed them the logbook which detailed that the 175th PC company led by Mangila and Baluyot arrived at San Rafael with the bodies around midnight of June 22 and noted that these were from an encounter taking place in a field near Balagtas and Maronquillo.
[15] Ibid., 5; Magno, “A Feast for Worms in Bulacan,” 15.
[17] Ibid.; “Profiles and Citations of Martyrs 2012,” 24. Initial sources published shortly after the incident claim that the bodies were laid to rest in the Malolos Public Cemetery, but the profile produced by the Bantayog ng mga Bayani placed their final resting place at Meycauayan Cemetery. Given that they began the funeral march from Barasoain in Malolos, it may be more likely that they were interred in Malolos. However, it is also possible that they — or at least some of them — were later moved to Meycauayan, especially since two of the three, Llorente and Aguirre, hailed from there.