Mga Bayani

Richard Fernando, SJ
1970 –1996

In 1996 Richie Fernando SJ was killed aged 26 years by a hand grenade released by a student in the Jesuit Refugee Service technical school for the handicapped near Phnom Penh. On January 3, 1996 Richie wrote in his diary:

"I wish, when I die, people remember not how great, powerful, or talented I was, but that I served and spoke for the truth, I gave witness to what is right, I was sincere in all my works and actions, in other words, I loved and I followed Christ."

Richie Fernando was a long way from home. He was a Filipino Jesuit in Buddhist Cambodia. He was educated and full of promise in a camp where refugees maimed by bullets and land mines and scarred by hunger and disease fought for hope. He loved life in a land where life was hard and death nearby.

Richie went to Cambodia in May 1995 as part of his Jesuit training. He had entered the Society in 1990 and finished the novitiate and collegiate studies. Before going on to theology studies and ordination, he was sent to work at Banteay Prieb, a Jesuit technical school for the handicapped not far from Phnom Penh.

Banteay Prieb describes itself as a "place that enables the disabled to tell their own stories, to gather strength and hope from being with one another, and to learn a new skill that enhances a sense of dignity and worth." Here people disabled by landmines, polio, and accidents learn skills that allow them to earn a living. Banteay Prieb means "the Center of the Dove."

When Richie arrived, his devotion to the students quickly won their trust. He began learning their Khmer language and came to appreciate their religious traditions. And he loved to share their stories, stories of survival during Pol Pot's genocidal regime, stories of the devastation of their society through poverty, displacement, and the nine million landmines that still plague their land.

One of these survivors is Sarom. Already an orphan, at 16 Sarom became a soldier; two years later he was maimed by a landmine. Sarom finished his courses at Banteay Prieb and wanted to stay on there, but school authorities found him disruptive and asked him to leave. Richie Fernando mentioned Sarom in a letter to his friends in the Philippines, saying that although Sarom was "tricky" he still had a place in Richie's heart.

On October 17, 1996, Sarom came to the school for a meeting. Angered, he suddenly he reached into a bag he was carrying, pulled out a grenade, and began to move towards a classroom full of students; the windows of the room were barred, leaving the students no escape. Richie Fernando came up behind Sarom and grabbed him. "Let me go, teacher; I do not want to kill you," Sarom pleaded. But he dropped his grenade, and it fell behind him and Richie. In a flash Richie Fernando was dead, falling over with Sarom still grasped in his arms, protecting him from the violence he had made.

Only four days before his death Richie had written a long letter to his Jesuit friend Totet Banaynal. "I know where my heart is," he wrote; "It is with Jesus Christ, who gave his all for the poor, the sick, the orphan ...I am confident that God never forgets his people: our disabled brothers and sisters. And I am glad that God has been using me to make sure that our brothers and sisters know this fact. I am convinced that this is my vocation."

Three days after Richie's death, his shocked family and friends in the Philippines celebrated his funeral. At the same time, his shocked Cambodian friends carried an urn containing cloths soaked in his blood to a Buddhist funeral mound. In their shock they mourned; and in their mourning they gave thanks for Richie, the man they knew and loved, their son, their brother, their teacher, their friend.

Shocked by what he had caused, Sarom sat in his jail cell and mourned too. In March 1997, Mr. and Mrs. Fernando wrote to Cambodia's King Sihanouk, asking for pardon for Sarom; somehow, someone had to stop the violence. Sarom had not wanted to kill Richie. "Richie ate rice with me," he said; "he was my friend."

Akalain nyo may bayani palang Bataaño hehehe...(ehem taga Bataan din po ako)...

Kahang-hanga naman talaga ang Pinoy at lahat tayo ay bayani in our own way

Mabuti't may mga tao pa rin na marunong kumilala sa tunay na kabayanihan, ang ibang kabataan kasi and kilalang bayani lang ay sina Peter Petrelli at Hiro Nakamura, nakakalungkot isipin pero totoo

Kuya ako hindi ko sila kilala hehe

silip_lang wrote:

Kuya ako hindi ko sila kilala hehe

Si Peter Petrelli at Hiro Nakamura ay mga fictional characters sa TV series na "Heroes"

hindi ako nanonood nun kaya di ko rin kilala hehehe

Andres Bonifacio???

"Ang kabayanihan ay hindi masusukat kung paano ka namatay, yun ay masusukat kung paano ka nabuhay."

Sa tingin nyo, bayani ba si Jun Lozada?

For acts of conspicuous courage, gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty as Commanding Officer, Marine Battalion Landing Team-1, Philippine Marine Corps, Philippine Navy during a 24-hour firefight against an estimated 300 fully armed men belonging to the separatists Moro Islamic Liberation Front at Bgy Inudaran, Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte from 18 to 19 March 2000. Tasked to capture the formidable MILF Camp John Mack (ABDULLATEF). Headquarters of the 303rd Brigade, 3rd Field Division of the MILF commanded by the notorious Abdul Rahman G Macapaar, alias Commander Bravo, LIEUTENANT COLONEL QUERUBIN spearheaded the 1st MBLT composed of 117 officers and men in this hazardous mission against the enemy, superior in numbers and mastery of the terrain, and believed responsible for the spate of bombings in Central Mindanao and the siege of and hostage-taking at Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte. On or about 181815H March 2000, while enroute to their objective, he and his men were subjected to heavy volume of fire by rebels from their well-entrenched dug outs, bunkers and trenches. Unable to maneuver due to darkness and intense devastating fires from both heavy and light machineguns, B-40 rockets, mortar and snipers, he nevertheless ordered his men to hold the line and directed the Special Operation Squad to close in on the enemy camp and pinpoint its location to the Marines battalion artillery supporting fires, and the V-300 and V-150 armored vehicles to dislodge the enemy from their heavily fortified bunkers. Unmindful of his own safety, LIEUTENANT COLONEL QUERUBIN continuously moved from one forward position to another, thus drawing enemy fires to his own location, purposely to pinpoint enemy targets for their artillery support fires. The battle which had raged continuously until the following day, did not deter him from rallying his men in repulsing wave after wave of enemy reinforcements and continued assaults in their attempt to encircle his unit. Despite dwindling ammunition and increasing casualties on their side, subject officer never lost his aggressive spirit as he continued to move around while urging and inspiring his men, including the wounded to continue crumble. Under his inspiring leadership, his men fought ferociously forcing the enemy's last line of defense to collapse and sending them scampering to different directions along with their dead and wounded and leaving behind their vaunted rocket launchers and high powered firearms as well as documents of high intelligence value. The capture of Camp John Mack resulted in the neutralization of the MILF's most strategic staging area for operations and, more importantly, liberated the residents along the coastal municipalities of Lanao del Norte from the oppressive MILF revolutionary collection estimated at P 38M annually. By this gallant deed, LIEUTENANT COLONEL QUERUBIN distinguished himself in combat in the finest tradition of Filipino Soldiery.


Eto pa isang bayaning nakakulong dahil sa paghahanap sa katotohanan

kuya bart, sa haba niyan isa nga siyang bayani hehe....