Gregorio “Greg” Dionisio

July 16, 1960 – February 8, 2014

One cool night in February 2014, two members of Project Nameless Collective attended the wake of popular activist-artist Tado to deliver a posthumous recognition award. Upon leaving the funeral chapel, they chanced upon a streamer for another wake in a chapel from across the street. While a huge crowd gathered to pay their last respects to Tado, this one is quiet and solemn, with only a few relatives in attendance. They were taken aback to learn that the one in the coffin was a great warrior of the people, who died silently away from the radar of those he served with and fought for. He was Gregorio Dionisio, known to most of his friends and comrades as Jules or Greg the Gentle Giant.

Greg studied BS Geology at the University of the Philippines in the early ‘80s. He was a member of the UP Scintilla Juris when he was recruited to the anti-dictatorship movement. Perhaps because of his built and silent, calm demeanor, he was assigned to lead the security team for high-profile UP student leaders during the Martial Law years. 

Many remember Greg as humble, deep, and a critical thinker who found grounding in the masses he served. Though not one to back down from a debate, especially if he feels strongly about an issue, he never raised his voice. “Tawag sa kanya’y “big man”, “Incredible Hulk”, at “gentle giant” dahil malaking tao. Maitim. Ngunit ang kalooba’y kalugud-lugod, kaiga-igaya. Isang brod, hindi lamang ng SJ, kundi ng lahat. Tunay na kasama, naglingkod sa bayan, lalo sa masang Pilipino”, said one of his comrades during his memorial service.

Another comrade who served as “buddy” — someone who comes with a person during protest actions as a security measure – recalled, “Sa pagkakaalala ko, dalawang beses kong naging buddy si Greg noong 1980 sa getaway car ng mga student leader. Ako ang driver, si Greg ang “composite”. Mainit ang mga leader ng UP noon — nagtatago; ipinupuslit papasok sa UP campus para magsalita sa rally, tapos ipupuslit palabas matapos magsalita.

Isa sa mga leader na inilabas namin matapos siyang mag-rally ay si Lisa Dacanay. Wala namang aberya sa biyahe namin. Ang isa pang leader na naging pasahera namin ay si Malou Mangahas. Noong inilabas namin ni Greg si Malou, napansin kong may bumubuntot sa amin paglabas ng UP campus. Kaya nagpaikot-ikot ako ng route para mawala ang buntot. Sa kaiikot, medyo naligaw ako, hanggang na-dead end kami. Pagtigil ko sa dead-end, bumaba agad si Greg, nakaporma na para protektahan si Malou. Bumaba na rin ako at pumormang katabi ni Greg habang nasa loob ng kotse si Malou. Wala naman palang buntot. Mabuti na lang! Hindi ako sanay sa bakbakan, pero malakas ang loob ko kahit paano, dahil kasama ko si Greg.” 

Another comrade shared, “Dahil sa laki ni Greg, para malaman ng mga ahente kung nasaan si Malou, and dapat lang hanapin ay si Greg kasi siya ang close-in security ni Malou.” 

In the ‘80s, Greg was one of 19 student activists who were arrested when they barricaded Vicente Cruz Street in Sampaloc Manila during a rally arranged by UP organizations. Because of this incident, more students from the College of Arts and Sciences became activists.  

Plenty others recall Greg as a calm personality who makes people feel secure with his presence. Stories about how he never shies away from a task shows the kind of activist he was. “Naalala ko, nag-OP kami with Louie et al. Amin ang pader ng Pepsi, sa isang grupo yung pader ng St. Paul’s. ‘Yung pader ng RVM, napunta kay Greg. Uso pa nuon ay sponge, sa lata ng pintura. Pagkatapos ng OP, bumalik sa eksena, nakumpleto ang Pepsi at St. Paul’s walls, buong-buo at namumula ang mga slogan. Pero ‘yung kay Greg, ang naisulat yata ISULONG lang. Eh bakit? Sa laki yata ni Greg, nadurog ‘yung sponge!”.

After Greg finished college, he went to work with the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) in 1996, alongside his former comrades from UP. He became PRRM’s Branch Manager, continuing to exhibit the calm demeanor he is known for. In the NGO, despite his high position and even when the situation typically called for it, colleagues never saw him get angry. One of his PRRM colleagues remembered, “Ang tagal kong nakasama ni Boss Greg. Ten years yata. Super bait, tahimik, at hindi ko nakitang nagalit kahit kailan, especially nang makabangga ko ang isang governor dahil sa Gold Mine Project. Grabe hindi ako talaga pinabayaan ni Greg. Nagmalasakit sa akin ng todo-todo”. 

His PRRM colleagues has this to say about Greg. “Mataas ang posisyon ni Greg sa PRRM. Pero ni minsan hindi ako nakaramdam ng kahambugan o astang Boss mula kay Greg. Mabait at masayahin, matulungin, at mahusay makisama sa staff. Malimit naming kasama sa bulaluhan sa bangketa sa may Roces Avenue para mananghali”.

Greg spent many years as a development worker, looking for concrete solutions to the ills of society that plagued the communities he was working with. In the ‘90s, one of his former comrades recalled how he bumped into a different Greg in a bar in Bacolod City. They had a long hearty talk, he said. Greg seemed happy even then doing what he has always loved to do, serving the people.”

In the UP Alumni’s Facebook group, Greg was described by many as a “cool dude”; a comrade first and a frat man next. They said that he “shunned the trappings of the bourgeoisie and was never a “lumpen”. With him, discussions about Mao’s Red Book, all the great political thinkers, the Dictatorship, and the movement were as lively and vivid as the smell and the effect of tear gas during dispersal operations directed against mass mobilizations organized and led by the Alliance of Concerned Fraternities and the Student Council”. 

In their moments of solitude, friends and comrades recall how they would lightly banter about “what the future would be if the United Front would win. What would be the role of the Frat in the new order?” They will find themselves in silent contemplation, lost in private thoughts about what tomorrow would bring. Still, Greg went on with the struggle. With his prodding, “brods (brothers) eventually found themselves in the forefront of the anti-dictatorship movement”. And even as his “brods” conquered the high-profile tasks assigned to them, “Greg was always in the background, because his was of the larger and bigger task. He had the entire Metro Manila and Rizal regions to handle.”

In the eulogy delivered by friends, “brods” and comrades during Necrological Rites sponsored by the Scintilla Juris Fraternity at Greg Dionisio’s wake in Marikina on February 15, 2014, they echoed the call consistent with the big man’s motto in life: “SOW INTRIGUE, SCORE HIGH, AND TURN THEM RED!”