CHARLIE DEL ROSARIO

Recognized as Martyr on November 29, 2001 By the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Foundation

By: Estelita Del Rosario

Nasaan na si Kuya? (Where is my Kuya Now?)

These are the words emblazoned on the campaign poster calling for the
enactment of an anti-disappearance law in the Philippines. The photograph on
the poster is that of Professor Charlie del Rosario, the first Filipino
desaparecido, kuya to six siblings.

“Kuya” is the Filipino term of endearment of younger siblings for their older
brothers. “Nasaan na si Kuya?” was intended to evoke in the reader the feelings of a younger siblings desperately
searching for a dear big brother. But, shortly after the initial mounting of the anti-disappearance campaign posters, the
television show Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) gained popularity, so much so that people who see the campaign poster
would jokingly claim that they know where Kuya is -he’s somewhere in the vicinity of the Big Brother house,
supervising the surveillance of the housemates. As the PBB craze swept the country, the word “Kuya” has taken on a
new meaning: that of an omniscient, omnipresent entity who calls all the shorts. A veritable panopticon, constantly
watching the housemates, closely monitoring every move made and every word said. He has the absolute power to
punish those who break his rules and reward those who abide by them. In this way he has total control, ensuring that
nobody goes against Kuya’s system. The Kuya charater in PBB inspired by the character of Big Brother in George
Orwell’s novel “1984″ on which the television show itself is based. In the novel, Big Brother is an agent of the
fictional State of Oceania who, with the help of ubiquitous high-end espionage devices, is able to see everything that
everyone in Oceania does. People who are found to be in any way expressing dissent to the state- in deeds, words, or
even thoughts-are abducted. The term Orwell uses for his forcible deprivation of liberty of a person is “vaporization”
This act of vaporization is essentially what constitutes an act of enforced or involuntary disappearance. It is an ironic
coincidence that people identify the kuya in the anti-disappearance poster, kuya Charlie, with the Kuya in PBB whose
character was inspired by the character of Big Brother in 1984. Ironic, because Kuya Charlie was a victim of
“vaporization” perpetrated by a “Big Brother” Charlie was last seen mounting campaign posters before he was
forcibly disappeared. Now, his is the face gracing the campaign poster decrying enforced disappearance and
demanding the enactment of a law against it. Professor Charlie del Rosario, missing for thirty-five long years now, is
Kuya Charlie to six younger siblings. To me, he is simply Charlie, a beloved younger brother. I may not be able to
answer the question. “Nasaan si Charlie?” But being his only Ate, I can definitely tell you kung sino si Charlie- who
Charlie is.

Who is Charlie?

My brother was born Carlos B. del Rosario. He was “Carling” during his childhood days, “Caloy” in high school, and
“Charlie” during his College and professional life. He was born in Sta Cruz, Manila on November 4, 1943, and the
second among eight children of our poor parents who worked as market vendors to support the family, endeavoring to
provide all of eight of us siblings a good education. We children had to do our share and as early as the primary
grades, all of us, including Charlie, had to help manage the family store which exists up to now. Having to divide time
between working at the stores and studying did not keep Charlie from excelling in school. My little brother was very
much an achiever. He graduated from the Bonifacio Elementary School in 1957 with an honorable mention award. At
the Arellano High School, he served as Boy City Councilor of Manila during the Boys and Girls Week; won awards as
stage actor, orator and declaimer; represented the school in student leadership and press conferences and upon
graduation in 1961, received the prestigious Juan dela Cruz Award for Leadership.

Do not mislead though, his academic excellence does not mean that he was one to avoid mischief like the plague.
Charlie did have his share of “naughty acts.” His high school classmates, Professor Loida Yacat of the Polytechnic
University of the Philippines (PUP) would relate to me several incidents of the vanishing pan de sal inside her school
bag during their physics class, only to see it reappear in the hands of Charlie and his male seatmates whom she would
catch clandestinely munching her baon while listening to their teacher discuss the properties of matter and the laws of
motion. Charlie’s scholastic prowess guaranteed his admission to the University of the Philippines (UP). But, after a
year in UP, he told me that he would transfer to a different university. He wanted to use his leadership ability to serve
Del Rosario, E. (2006). Charlie del Rosario, The First Documented Filipino Desaparecido. Beyond Disappearance, Chronicles of Courage. Quezon City: The
Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND). Page 1 of 3
as president of the Student Council, but UP being the vast campus that it is, he acknowledged that his desire of
becoming the president of UP’s Student Council might not prosper for financial reasons. He then transferred to the
Lyceum of the Philippines where he earned his AB Political Science degree in 1966. This move didn’t make him the
President but Charlie was more than happy to be given the opportunity to offer his leadership skills as Vice President
of the student government.

It was in Lyceum where Charlie started to become the student activist that he was until his graduation. He even served
as Chairman of the Philippine Delegation to the International conference for the Liquidation of Foreign Military Bases
held in Jakarta, Indonesia in 1965. His friends attest that it was Charlie who built the chapters or core groups which
later on became the mass bases of future founders of the militant group Kabataang Makabayan (KM). Charlie was one
of the founding members of KM in 1964 and was deeply involved in its activities. He was elected as KM’s first Vice
President National Treasure, General Secretary and Executive Member of the Committee of Advisers in the National
Council. After attaining his AB Political Science degree from Lyceum. Charlie taught at the Philippines College of
Commerce (now PUP). Students sought after him as instructor because of his being comic despite being an activist.
He would go to class wearing sandals, which would draw the attention of his students to his feet. When he catches
them looking at his feet. He would say “Hoy, walang patay na kuko yan!” (“see? No dead toenails!”) Even when we
were little, Charlie always was an amiable individual who had no trouble connecting with any person and blended
easily in any group. His warmth and genial disposition stayed with him and manifested itself even inside the Scholarly
classroom; quickly endearing him to his students as he incorporated humor in what otherwise might have been overly
cerebral college lectures. His colleagues, on the other hand acknowledge him for his being an organization man; an
outstanding instructor; an effective articulator for nationalism, social reforms and civil liberties; a silent worker who is
diligent, trustworthy and dynamic. Charlie being who he is, I had much respect for him despite his being younger than
me. It was he who saw the potential teacher in me and suggested that I give teaching a try at the PCC in December
1970 on a part-time basis. Today, thirty-six years later, I am still teaching at the College of Engineering of the PUP.

Where is Charlie?

Six months before his disappearance, Charlie was no longer living with us. He was last seen on the night of March 19,
1971 putting up posters on the National Congress of the Movement for a Democratic Philippines (MDP) at the PCC
compound in Lepanto. He was scheduled to attend the MDP meeting in Cubao, Quezon City afterwards. It is believed
that the so-called Task Force Lawin, a military unit, abducted and had done away with him. This happened before the
suspicion of the writ of habeas corpus and the declaration of Martial law, and therefore he is considered as the first
desaparecido or victim of involuntary disappearance in the Marcos regime. Charlie’s disappearance was a shattering
experience for the family. Our father, Feliciano, would search through newspapers, monitor the radio and television
broadcasts for reports on found bodies and would send someone to check if it is Charlie only to find out, every single
time, that it’s not him. In 1980, nine years after Charlie disappeared, our father died without ever seeing his eldest son
again.

As if the pains our family suffered were not enough, our suffering was further aggravated when in the midnight of
June 11, 1974, two truckloads of military men raided our house. Unsatisfied even after opening all drawers and
cabinets for undisclosed reasons- and without any search or arrest warrants- we were brought to Camp Crame, where
our father and there brothers Reynaldo, Felicito and Manuel were detained while I, along with my sister Teresita were
sent to the Ipil Rehabilitation Center in Taguig without knowing the reason why. The military said there was a red
alert on because the next day was June 12, Independence Day, so they had to round up all possible suspects. We were
detained for about a month. I became sick and was hospitalized upon release. The temporary release was followed by
more than a year of weekly reporting to RECOC IV by all members of the family. We experienced a lot of physical,
emotional, and mental torture. I found my locker at the Department of Civil Engineers of the University of the East
broken and searched. Many of my friends became afraid to be seen with me. The only visitors I had who braved the
detention center were my co-members in the Legion of Mary. My brother Felicito was kicked out of the PCC and my
youngest brother Manuel was refused readmission in high school and we had to appeal to the military to give him
clearance.

My father passed away in 1980. He never got to know that Martial law was lifted. He did not live long enough to
witness the people war revolution in 1986. He did not know that victims filed a suit against Marcos, and that we won.
My father did not have an idea that there would actually be an organization of families of victims of involuntary
disappearance, that there would be small but concrete success in the battle against enforced disappearance. All he
knew was that Charlie is still missing. After thirty-years, the fate and whereabouts of my little brother are still
Del Rosario, E. (2006). Charlie del Rosario, The First Documented Filipino Desaparecido. Beyond Disappearance, Chronicles of Courage. Quezon City: The
Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND). Page 2 of 3
unknown. We have yet to know where we can recover his body. But we believe that our brother Charlie did not die in
vain. The following testimonies are a testament that the life he lived, though unfairly and cruelly curtailed, was a life
lived to the fullest:

“He died in the service of the Filipino people and nation.”

“Ka Charlie was a staunch nationalist, a firm believer and advocate of our country’s right to national sovereignty and
genuine independence.

“He advocated the unity of all the exploited sectors and classes of our society, particularly the peasants, and the
workers, armed with a worker’s ideology that is the best antidote to the exploitation by local and foreign tyrants.”

We may never know the answer to “Nasaan na si Charlie?” but as long as we know the answer to ”Sino si Charlie?”
he can never be truly gone. Whoever was responsible for Charlie’s disappearance may think that they have vaporized
my little brother, but they never have. And they never will.

Del Rosario, E. (2006). Charlie del Rosario, The First Documented Filipino Desaparecido. Beyond Disappearance, Chronicles of Courage. Quezon City: The
Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND). Page 3 of 3