Communist rebels bid ‘Ka Bel’ goodbye
By Delfin Mallari Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:26:00 05/27/2008
LUCENA CITY, Philippines -- The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its New People's Army guerrillas will bid goodbye to the departed labor activist and Anakpawis partylist representative Crispin “Ka Bel” Beltran by clenching their fists and raising their weapons at high noon Wednesday to honor the leftwing leader.
"This they will do while observing a minute of solemn silence to salute and honor Ka Bel," CPP spokesman Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal said in a statement sent to the Philippine Daily Inquirer Monday.
In this manner, Rosal said, the CPP and its armed wing “pay their highest tribute to Ka Bel."
He also extended the CPP’s condolences to Beltran’s wife “Ka Osang” and his entire family, friends and colleagues in the labor movement.
"While the working class and people are saddened at his passing away, they celebrate as well the victories Ka Bel has helped achieve and all the valuable contributions he has made in advancing the struggles of the toiling masses and the entire Filipino people," Rosal said.
He said the blood of Andres Bonifacio and all the country’s revolutionary heroes of the past flowed through Beltran’s veins.
“He devoted his entire life and gave everything in service to the working class, the toiling masses, the Filipino people and all oppressed peoples of the world," said the communist leader.
Rosal noted that inside an institution that serves as haven for billionaires and corrupt officials, Beltran took not a single centavo.
“Poverty killed him. The circumstances of his death underscored further his life of dignity and devotion to the people's cause and struggles,” he said of the former leader of Kilusang Mayo Uno (May First Movement, KMU).
Rosal described the late leader as a “humble worker, a people's servant and fighter."
Beltran died in a fall while fixing a leaking roof in his mortgaged home in Bulacan province.
His remains will be buried at the Angel of Meadows Memorial and Nature Park at Pulong Yantok in Angat town, Bulacan.
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