We were happy.
It has been an eventful 13 years, where aside from remembering birthdays and celebrating life, there’s also today when Dad is remembered most. That day was the last day I’d hug him goodbye and casually talk to him as if we’d see each other at the dinner table later. It’s been 13 years of wearing black, talking to people, holding up placards, posting, sharing, and crying because every year we’re reminded that we lost our dad. Thirteen years of fighting for justice would probably stretch longer because of recent developments.
It hurts to see your family endure the fight, where you know it’s a shared feeling that your dad dies again every time the opposition lands blows. It is more than just the death of my dad that I feel, but another small death behind my sisters and my mom’s eyes. It honestly feels like it chips away parts of the soul; it’s slow torture to see them hurt for years.
We were happy before all this happened. We could’ve been happy without fighting the fight or defending anything—just a complete family. Dad decided to fight against the injustice to the Palaweños and to defend the environment. We grew up knowing the values behind that conviction.
And now we still fight against the injustice and impunity of his murder. There’s so much meaning in winning this fight; that’s why it’s important not only to our family but to our people as well.
On days like this, I would always imagine what happens when eventually the day comes that we have to shelf all this, not because we gave up the fight but because we attained the justice we deserve.
*****
Joaquin Philippe Ortega is the son of Filipino broadcast journalist, veterinarian, and environmental activist Dr. Gerry Ortega, who was assassinated on January 24, 2011, inside a thrift shop in Puerto Princesa City. Joaquin is also a frontliner for the Palawan Patriots for Peace and Progress (Palawan Patriots) in the province.
