Subversive Lives: A Family Memoir of the Marcos Years

by Nathan Quimpo, Vicente L. Rafael (Foreword by), Susan F. Quimpo, Nathan Gilbert Quimpo

Overview

From the 1960s to the 1990s, seven members of the Quimpo family dedicated themselves to the anti-Marcos resistance in the Philippines, sometimes at profound personal cost. In this unprecedented memoir, eight siblings (plus one by marriage) tell their remarkable stories in individually authored chapters that comprise a family saga of revolution, persistence, and, ultimately, vindication, even as easy resolution eluded their struggles.

Subversive Lives tells of attempts to smuggle weapons for the New People’s Army (the armed branch of the Communist Party of the Philippines); of heady times organizing uprisings and strikes; of the cruel discovery of one brother’s death and the inexplicable disappearance of another (now believed to be dead); and of imprisonment and torture by the military. These stories show the sacrifices and daily heroism of those in the movement. But they also reveal its messy legacies: sons alienated from their father; daughters abused by the military; friends betrayed; and revolutionary affection soured by intractable ideological differences.

The rich and distinctive contributions span the martial law years of Ferdinand Marcos’s rule. Subversive Lives is a riveting and accessible primer for those unfamiliar with the era, and a resonant history for those with a personal connection to what it meant to be Filipino at that time, or for anyone who has fought political repression.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780896803053
Publisher:	Ohio University Press
Publication date:	07/29/2016
Series:	Ohio RIS Southeast Asia Series , #130
Edition description:	1
Pages:	512
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Susan F. Quimpo is an art therapist and counselor. Besides her private practice, she works with civil society groups to help alleviate trauma in communities affected by typhoons and war, and provides therapy to political prisoners and victims of human rights violations. She also writes for Philippine news publications.

Nathan Gilbert Quimpo, a longtime political activist in the Philippines, is an associate professor of political science and international relations at the University of Tsukuba, Japan. He is the author of Contested Democracy and the Left in the Philippines after Marcos.

Table of Contents

The Family vi

Foreword Vicente L. Rafael vii

Preface xv

Acknowledgements xix

Part I In the Shadow of the Palace

1 Lantern Parade Susan F. Quimpo 2

2 Little Brown Brother on the Rise Susan F. Quimpo Norman F. Quimpo Emilie Mae Q. Wickett 7

3 538 Second Street Susan F. Quimpo Norman F. Quimpo Elizabeth Q. Bulatao Nathan Gilbert Quimpo Lillian F. Quimpo 18

Part II Winds of Change

4 The First Activist in the Family Norman F. Quimpo 30

5 Watching the Storm Nathan Gilbert Quimpo 45

6 Nothing Like Having Two Good Legs David Ryan F. Quimpo 59

7 A Christian's Choice Norman F. Quimpo 68

8 A Radical Activist at an Elite University Nathan Gilbert Quimpo 81

9 Fallout at Cervini Nathan Gilbert Quimpo 106

10 Mother Inviolate Susan F. Quimpo 111

Part III Clear, Present, and Grave Danger

11 Paper Shredders Susan F. Quimpo Norman F. Quimpo 118

12 UG Life, Interrupted Nathan Gilbert Quimpo 128

13 People's War David Ryan F. Quimpo 141

14 Choral Singing Behind Barbed Wire Nathan Gilbert Quimpo 149

15 In the Glare of Photo Lamps Nathan Gilbert Quimpo 157

16 Fugitive David Ryan F. Quimpo 164

17 A World Apart Emilie Mae Q. Wickett 170

18 The Doña Andrea-FB Elvie Affair Norman F. Quimpo 176

19 Lillian Susan R Quimpo 191

20 Awit sa Kasal (Wedding Song) Nathan Gilbert Quimpo Maria Cristina Pargas-Bawagan 196

Part IV Outside Manila: White Areas and Guerrilla Fronts

21 White Areas David Ryan F. Quimpo 208

22 Sunog! Wildfire! Lillian F. Quimpo Susan F. Quimpo 215

23 Hot and Cold Nathan Gilbert Quimpo 226

24 Last Rites Nathan Gilbert Quimpo David Ryan F. Quimpo Susan F. Quimpo 240

25 In the Cult of the Father Emilie Mae Q. Wickett 249

26 Where's Jun? Where's Jan? Nathan Gilbert Quimpo 255

27 Letters from the Red Zone Susan F. Quimpo Maria Cristina Pargas-Bawagan Jun F. Quimpo 265

28 Reality Check Emilie Mae Q. Wickett 278

29 Diwa Susan F. Quimpo 290

Part v Escape and Defiance

30 Departure David Ryan F. Quimpo 306

31 A Warm Davao Welcome Nathan Gilbert Quimpo 318

32 Pondering Insurrection Nathan Gilbert Quimpo 326

33 Globe Steel Susan F. Quimpo 343

34 Like There Was No Tomorrow Susan F. Quimpo 352

35 Asylum David Ryan F. Quimpo 363

36 Boycott Unless Nathan Gilbert Quimpo 371

37 Welgang Bayan! (People's Strike!) Nathan Gilbert Quimpo 379

38 Press Conference in a Guerrilla Zone Nathan Gilbert Quimpo 395

39 Puto Bonghong David Ryan F. Quimpo 406

Part VI Endgame

40 Debate Nathan Gilbert Quimpo 417

41 An Encounter with the CIA Nathan Gilbert Quimpo 422

42 The End of a Revolution David Ryan F. Quimpo 439

Aftermath 449

The Siblings

Acronyms and Abbreviations 464

Annexes 467