Chad Booc (C) with Lumad students. Photo from his Facebook page
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 04 March) – Chad Booc, the activist who was slain with four others in an alleged encounter in Davao de Oro, was an “extraordinary man” who consistently excelled in school but chose to devote his life serving the Lumad and laborers after graduation.
This was how Chad’s father Nat Booc described his son during a tribute streamed live over the Facebook page of Save Our Schools Network on Thursday evening.
Nat said he had always supported his son growing up and his advocacies even after he was red-tagged by the military.
He said Chad, a volunteer teacher for the Lumads at the time of his death, was a consistent honor student from elementary to high school and graduated cum laude from the University of the Philippines-Diliman.
“In school, he’s always a first honor until he reached high school. That’s why, I said he was an ‘extraordinary’ man. Well, for me, he was, but for others, maybe he was not. They perceived him as a bad person or a terrorist, but for me, he was not,” he said.
Nat said he had accepted his son’s fate but shared the pain he felt seemed unbearable when he learned that Chad was among the five persons killed by the military in an alleged encounter with the New People’s Army in Barangay Andap, New Bataan, Davao de Oro on Feb. 24.
“He had so many plans for the people who are being oppressed. When he was in Cebu, there was strike against Coca Cola. He was a speaker and supported the workers without getting anything in return. He just wanted to help. They won and he was very happy,” he said.
He said Chad chose to devote his life for the people as he did not want to see them getting oppressed and abused, particularly those who lacked the education and the Lumad people.
Despite this, the grieving father addressed the parents, encouraging them to support their children in whatever vocation they wish to pursue even as the advocacy his son chose cost him his life.
“You parents, always remember your children. Give them the support in whatever vocation they want to do and allow them because if anything happens, at least they are still happy in their lives even in their last breath as they know you have supported them,” he said.
After being red-tagged, Nat recalled telling his son that he was worried for his safety and that he should avoid frequent travels to Mindanao and Manila.
“I told him, do not go out too frequently because I was worried for you. I worried for your safety every time you go to Mindanao and Manila. I fear anything bad might happen to you. Now that what I feared the most had come, this could be the end of my worries since they already took my son’s life,” he said.
Nat broke into tears as he said he could only see his son in memories and apologized to him when he was not there to protect him from the military.
“They ended my son’s life. Maybe now I can say that all my worries and fears are now gone but I could only see him now just in memories. I could no longer see him physically. I remember the goods deeds that he had done while he was still alive, especially for the lumad schools. But physically, that I could no longer see,” he said.
Nat added that as a father, he failed to protect his child.
“I ask for apology because I was not there to protect you when they ended your life, my son. If I was only there, I would have confronted them even they would take my life first,” he said.
Chad Booc outside the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. Photo from his Facebook page
Chad, health worker Elgyn Booc, and teacher Gelejurain Nguho II were among the five fatalities that the 10th Infantry Division claimed were killed in an encounter.
On Feb. 15, 2021, Booc and six other persons, collectively known as “Bakwit 7,” were arrested by police authorities on allegations of kidnapping with serious illegal detention and trafficking in persons for allegedly taking Lumad minors from Talaingod, Davao del Norte to a bakwit school in the Talamban Campus of University of San Carlos in Cebu City.
The court eventually dismissed the cases and ordered their release from detention.
Human rights lawyer Dean Antonio La Viña, who was among the lawyers supporting the “Bakwit 7,” said charges against them were usually dismissed because they were not guilty of the accusations.
He said the devotion of the students and teachers of the Lumad schools has “captivated my heart before to the extent I hired a lawyer as part of my team” to attend to the concerns of the Lumad.
“I have to tell you umiyak ako sa nung pinanood ko ang (that I cried while viewing the) last interviews sa kanya (of him) with my own legal team as they told their stories. It’s a story of love, it’s a story of commitment, story of struggle, and that is not over,” he said.
Bishops condemn ‘massacre’
In a statement Thursday, the Ecumenical Bishops Forum (EBF) said it “strongly condemns the New Bataan 5 massacre in New Bataan, Cagayan de Oro perpetuated by elements of the 10th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army (10th ID PA).”
The EBF said residents of of Barangay Andap revealed that no encounter happened in their place on Feb. 24.
“Reports have it that the victims were traveling home from visiting rural communities in Southern Mindanao when their rental van was stopped and held by elements of the 10th ID PA and the 101st ID PA on the night of February 23, 2022,” it said.
Earlier, the NPA issued a statement also denying that an encounter occurred.
The EBF noted that Chad Booc had been red-tagged, detained for “trumped-up cases,” and received death threats.
“Teacher Jurain and community health worker Elgyn have also been red-tagged before they were killed,” it added. (Antonio L. Colina IV with a report from H. Marcos C. Mordeno)
