Nine-year-old Andres Cordero, son of labor organizer and former political prisoner Benjamin ‘Banjo’ Cordero, portrayed St. Francisco Marto in the annual Parade of Saints held at the Kristong Hari Parish – Shrine of the Youth in Novaliches, Quezon City on November 1.
The Parade of Saints has become a common practice in parishes and schools, serving as a counter-cultural activity to Halloween celebrations in observance of All Saints’ Day. According to church groups, it is an opportunity to teach children and their families about the lives of saints.
For young Andres, representing St. Francisco Marto is both significant and symbolical especially while holding a placard bearing the call “Free All Political Prisoners” to complete his ensemble.
This call resonates deeply within Andres’ family as his father, Banjo, was previously arrested following alleged frustrated homicide raps which were dismissed in 2023. Various rights groups and labor advocates slammed the charges as politically motivated.
Despite the provisional acquittal, Banjo continues to actively participate and advocate for labor rights, livable wages, and the right to organize. He is currently the executive director for Defend Jobs Philippines and the chairperson for Sandigang Manggagawa ng Quezon City (SMQC).
St. Francisco Marto, whom Andres portrayed, was one of the three children who witnessed the apparition of the Virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal in 1917. He is venerated as the Patron of Prisoners and the Sick.
Though he never experienced imprisonment, the young saint had a profound sense of solidarity with suffering and a willingness to sacrifice for the sake of others, choosing “to console Jesus for the sins of the world” following the Virgin Mary’s call for repentance during her apparitions.
Surface desaparecidos
On November 2, families of desaparecido gathered at the Bantayog ng Mga Bayani to urge the Marcos Jr. administration in surfacing the 14 victims of enforced disapperances since he took office in 2022.
“We demand the surfacing of the 1,894 documented victims of enforced disappearance since the regime of Marcos Sr. This serves as a stark reminder of the state’s failure to prevent this grave violation and to protect the human rights of its people.” said Dr. Edita Burgos, mother of Jonas Burgos who was abducted in April 2007
Rights group Karapatan also called for the implementation of the Anti Enforced and Involuntary Disappearance Law. They also echoed the Republic Act No. 10353, which defined enforced or involuntary disappearance as a crime and penalizes it. The said law was passed since December 2012.
“This obligation of state forces has yet to be fulfilled,” said Karapatan in a statement.
The rights group named 14 victims including Elgene Mungcal, Ma. Elena Pampoza, Renel delos Santos, Denald Laloy Mialen, Lyn Grace Martullinas, Dexter Capuyan, Gene Roz Jamil de Jesus, Deah Lopez, Mariano Jolongbayan, Lee Sudario, Norman Ortiz, William Lariosa, James Jazmines and Felix Salaveria Jr.
