Reds mourn death of Bishop Labayen

LUCENA CITY, Philippines—The communist movement in the country mourned the passing of former Infanta Bishop Julio Xavier Labayen, remembering his relentless campaign to protect the poor and the oppressed particularly during the dark years of martial law.

“Bishop Labayen exuded his love for the poor and the oppressed. He was a firm proponent of a Church of the poor for the poor. He put his strong organizing skills, his intellect and wisdom, his high principles in the service of the poor, in the struggle for social justice,” Luis Jalandoni, chair of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), said in a statement on Thursday which was received by the INQUIRER on Friday.

“His love and service for the poor for social justice, freedom and national and social liberation are a lasting legacy and inspiration to the masses, to his confreres and numerous friends,” Jalandoni said of Labayen, 89, who died last Wednesday morning.

READ: Labayen, bishop of Church of the Poor; 89

Labayen was born on July 23, 1926, in Talisay City in Negros Occidental province, and was ordained priest on July 4, 1955. On July 26, 1966, he was appointed prelate of the Prelature of Infanta in Quezon province. After his retirement as bishop in 2003, Labayen lived at the Alagad ni Maria Seminary in Antipolo City.

Jalandoni recalled how Labayen established social action centers throughout the country when he became the first national director of the National Secretariat for Social Action (Nassa) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). He led the Nassa from 1966 to 1982.

READ: PH Catholic Church mourns passing of Bishop Labayen

“These social action centers became strong pillars for organizing the poor and oppressed masses to struggle for social justice and defy the Marcos regime’s repressive measures, in particular during the martial law period from 1972 onwards,” Jalandoni said.

Jalandoni also recalled how Labayen put up the “basic Christian communities” during his stint as head of the Catholic Church’s social action program.

“Community organizing became a powerful instrument of organizing for the rural masses throughout the country. Militant mass organizations sprouted empowering the people to fight for their rights and to strongly oppose the Marcos dictatorship,” he said.

As bishop of Infanta, Labayen “immersed himself with the poor and oppressed and helped them build their organizations to empower them,” Jalandoni said.

He said when the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos imposed martial law in 1972, Labayen was one of the 17 Catholic bishops who stood up and condemned the dictatorship.

Jalandoni also remembered Labayen’s publication of IMPACT magazine in 1966 that defied the Marcos regime’s repression of the media.

Labayen’s resistance to martial law and his condemnation of the human rights violations of the regime were well known, making him a target of the military.

Jalandoni recalled Labayen’s story, in one of his visits to the NDFP leaders based in The Netherlands, on how a “military agent” tapped to kill the bishop went to Infanta but later had a change of heart.

“After seeing what the bishop was doing for the people and how the people loved him, he decided he could not carry out the killing. He asked for forgiveness and bade goodbye to Bishop Labayen,” Jalandoni said.

Jalandoni said Labayen often visited exiled communist leaders in The Netherlands led by Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria “Joma” Sison.

When Sison was included on the list of terrorists released by the United States and the Council of the European Union (EU) in 2002, Jalandoni said Labayen testified in the European Court and declared their opposition to the inclusion of the CPP founder on the terrorist list.

After a seven-year legal struggle, the European Court of Justice eventually ordered the Council of the EU to remove Sison’s name from the said list.

“Bishop Labayen made his contribution to this legal victory,” Jalandoni said.

He also remembered Labayen as “fearless fighter for freedom” throughout the martial law period and was one of the so-called “Magnificent 7” bishops who fought against the Marcos dictatorship. RAM/rga