RIP "Tay Pete"

 Iloilo City 
June 20, 2015

 (The last time I met "Kayo" Pete was at the forum at Iloilo National High School June 8, convened to discuss the reasons why celebrating Philippine Independence every June 12 was deceptive. The forum also campaigned to scrap the "La Muy Leal y Noble Ciudad de Iloilo" tag of Iloilo City, a "badge of shame" on the role of  the Ilonggo elite in stifling the nascent Philippine nationalism that led to the 1896 Revolution against Spanish colonialism.The next day, June 9, Louis A. Posa announced on FB of the passing away of Pete.)

Pedro "Pete" Escosia untiringly dedicated his adult life organizing the masses of workers and public sector employees.

We addressed ourselves "Tokayo" for our smiliar sounding nicknames (although our first names are miles apart).

 Martial law declared on Sept. 21, 1972 neither silenced nor scared him. He went on organizing sugar workers particularly those of Central Azucarera de Capiz where he worked as mechanical engineer. 

 Not even his detention 1973-1974 deterred him from organizing resistance against the martial law regime.

 After detention, he was employed at the Air Transportation Office where he was assigned to maintain the power plant of the Domestic Airport at Mandurriao, Iloilo City.

 He helped organized government employees, later to be known as Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (COURAGE) whose immediate purpose was to frustrate--and succeeded--the move of the Cory Aquino administration to fire en masse government workers (300,000 target of mass firing in 1987-1988).

 Irma Espinosa, chair of COURAGE-Panay says that if public sector employees today are enjoying security of tenure and salary increases, they owe it to COURAGE especially "Tay Pete" who heroically went out of their way to awaken and organized government workers all over Panay.

 She and other speakers at the necro services for Pete Escosia cite his common trait as "calm, relaxed, soft spoken, tireless, and meticulous."










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