Maria Regina Alpez

Philip, dahil malapit na ang 8th year death anniversary mo sa june 13 gusto ko ipost itong ginawa kong unpublished story about you. Memoirs of my brother By: Regina Alpez It was a rainy night of June 15, 2005…I was having a conversation with my sister regarding her enrolment in a university when all of a sudden, my sister-in-law called our attention because there were people in our house and they were looking for me. I went to our living room to see those people. Some of them were familiar; they were the classmates of my youngest brother, Philip, whom we have never seen for a long time. That night seemed like a different night because normally, one or two of hi s classmates would drop by in our house to inform us with my brother’s whereabouts. As I approached these people, a girl voiced out, saying, “Good evening Ate. We’re here because we have to tell you something about your brother, Philip.” A long silence spread in our house as my heart started to beat rapidly. “Philip is dead.” said Ana, the girl who approached me. The news shocked me literally; it doesn’t sink into my mind. I wanted her to repeat what she had said. But my tears started to fall as I began to speak…” What happened!?!” Ana started to tell us what transpired on that dreadful night of June 13, 2005. According to Ana, my brother was killed in a military encounter in Isabela Province. The men in uniform shot him to death. I can’t believe that this tragic event happened to my beloved brother…. As I reminisced the past, I would always remember my brother, Philip, as a very intelligent but a funny young man. He was next to me in the family line and the youngest among eight brothers. We are a big family. Though we are poor, our parents nurtured us in a rightful manner. My parents are both Catholic and my father was a sacristan in a church that’s why we were brought up as god-fearing children. I know how responsible my parents are; they worked hard and took care of us in order for us to be raised with a dignified life. When we were still kids, I remembered Philip being a naughty boy. He would make a prank on us as if he was innocent of everything. But in school most of his teachers would find him as obedient and a silent student but a very intelligent one. Intelligence is one of his best assets. I can still remember when he was chosen to be a contender in a history quiz bee and he won with flying colors! Aside from his high intellectual capacity, sports are one of the things that interest Philip a lot. He had proven his great knack in basketball when he became the Most Valuable Player of the league and had countless awards and invitations from different amateur basketball games. When he was in his early adulthood, many girls would swoon their feet with my brother’s irresistible charm. Most girls find him mysterious because of his uniqueness-his silent nature; talents and nice features make these girls go crazy over him. As he grows into an adult, he became musically inclined. Music was one of his greatest passions. In fact, he also played musical instruments like drums and guitars and was very good at it. He became a member of an amateur rock band and was doing some front act in his school’s musical events and concerts. He was on his sophomore year in college when he got involved in an activist group in his school. I was one of his trusted siblings, and told me that he joined an organization that would make use of his talent more. According to him, one of his friends in college had convinced him to join the said org. I always reminded him not to get seriously involved in being an activist because it would only ruin his studies. He told me that he will just join to use his talents in teaching other people. I know that my brother respects me so much and he wouldn’t do things that would upset me because I was supporting his studies since my parents were in the province and looking after our two younger siblings. I just didn’t know if it was my busyness at work that made him more attached to the said group that have lessen our serious talks and little bonding and eventually draws him closer to become an activist. It was September of 2003 when my father decided to visit us. I haven’t seen my parents for a year already which made me decided to leave my work to join my father in the province to see my mom and my other siblings. I didn’t know that this decision would change everything most especially, Philip’s fate. As I asked him if it would be alright to leave him while he was still studying, he just said,” Ate, I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself. I know it’s time for you to see our mother. She terribly misses you. It’s also time for you to take your much needed rest. Send my kisses to mom and the kids.” I trusted his words that he will be okay. But I was wrong. Because that day was the last day that I will see him! He was determined to convince me to go with my father because he has other plans. His immediate plan was to go to the mountainous regions in the northern part of the country to fulfill the life of an activist… Knowing my brother, his determination of living the life he wanted would prevail even if it will cost him of loosing us, his family, because he was after the welfare of the majority. His liberal mind and principles has turned him to embrace the beliefs of the radicals. It’s been more than a year when we learned that he became a rebel. Shock and disbelief were written all over our face when the news about his status reached us. We didn’t know that the kind-silent-intelligent man would resort to live the life of a rebel. We were all worried of what will happen to him. I can’t help but to cry and bl amed myself for the decision of leaving him. We tried to keep his whereabouts as secret as possible to protect his reputation and image. We tried to accept the situation as much as we can. We tried to live normally as we can. With this information about his new life, we were still hoping for his transformation and homecoming, that he will comeback to his old self and back to our lives. That someday he will realize how much we needed him as a brother and as a friend. But these things were just a wishful thinking…a false hope out of hopelessness. Learning the news about his tragic death made us cry, for all the hopes to be with him had gone by. It was also one of the greatest trials in our family since at that time I was also pregnant and my parents didn’t know about everything since I also left them in the province to go back to work after several months of staying with them. It is very hard for us to reveal this important news to our parents for we didn’t know how they would accept it. My older brothers decided that the revelation must be done as early as possible. After three days of hearing the news, my parents finally came here for my brother’s wedding which will happen on the 26th of June. They didn’t know that a wedding and a funeral will take place. Upon their arrival, my other siblings told them the tragic news about Philip’s death and my pregnancy. They were all startled upon knowing the tragic end of their beloved son. Mixed emotions filled the entire room, although they were upset about my pregnancy, they were still able to take it since it is a blessing for the family. But the strong emotions about my brother’s demise cannot be suppressed. I know how the entire family felt about the sudden loss of our beloved brother. During his wake, a rush of people went over to see Philip even for the last time. Some of them were classmates, friends, old friends, relatives, and other people who have connection with Philip. Each of them has story to tell; how my brother, Philip at 21, touched their lives…. that in his little ways; he made a difference in the lives of everyone present at his wake. We were surprised for hearing the stories of others who testified how noble he was even if he had chosen a different path, a distinct direction far from what was expected from him. They have loved my brother because he knew what he wanted in life, and he withstands the obstacles in exchange for his life. He had lived with his principles, even though it’s a radical belief, because he wanted change, a revolutionary one. Maybe, until writing his story, some people will not understand his point of view. But for me, he will still remain the same brother with dignity. Our family was really saddened about his untimely demise, but his l oss became an opportunity to bring our family even closer. Despite the tragedy, we have learned to accept his story, his life as a rebel and his tragic fate. His memory and greatness will always live within our hearts forever….