Lucio “Lui” Gamit

May 6, 1962 – February 1, 2010

Lui Gamit, as he was popularly known, was a political science student at the University of the Philippines during the height of activism in the 1980s. He was a member of the UP Scintilla Juris Fraternity when he was recruited to the people’s movement. Lui has always been a glib talker with a very happy and bubbly disposition. That made him perfect as lead organizer of the UP Diliman Fraternity Alliance. His task was to unite all fraternities, who have always been traditional nemeses, in an umbrella organization whose main work was to provide much-needed security services for then high-profile student leaders of the University of the Philippines.

After his successful work with the Frat Al, Lui transferred to the League of Filipino Students (LFS) and provided security for its National Chairperson, Pepe Alcantara.  He was elected National Vice-Chairperson of LFS in the ‘80s when Sonia Soto was Chairperson. 

A funny incident involving Lui happened one Human Rights Day. A comrade in the student movement recalled, “December 10. We were required to provide security detail for the International Human Rights Day celebration. We were at Christ the King Seminary talking to seminarians who will form the frontline defense unit for the rally when one of them mentioned they had three spare habits (abitos). We wore these habits to prevent detection. The next day, the head of the University security called us “brothers”, which made us laugh because we were not incognito after all.”

The same comrade reminisces that Lui was a member of the original “pogi boys” of the second-floor republic of CAS because of their “limited height”. The pogi boys will usually set up a “checkpoint” at the 2nd floor every holiday season, at Lui’s insistence. “He was the loudest joker of them all.”

Upon leaving the University, Lui Gamit worked with the Aetas of Pampanga before becoming part of the Partido ng Bayan, the political party of the progressive movement that fielded eight senatorial candidates in the 1987 national election. After that, he transferred to an NGO, the Cooperative Foundation of the Philippne Inc. (CFPI), and worked as the Manager of its Cooperatives for the Poor Program based in the National Capital Region. He later worked with the Department of Agrarian Reform as its Legislative Liaison Officer in Congress. In the ‘90s, Lui worked in Congress, serving as the Chief of Staff of Tarlac Representative Aping Yap. Later he joined Yap’s official staff when he became Governor of Tarlac. 

At the time of his death, Lui was working for a transport sector partylist, One UTAK, as its founding member and officer. Till the end, he was consistent with his aim of serving the downtrodden and the deprived in society, striving to provide them venues for better access to services that will improve their lot in life.

In summing up Lui’s life and struggle, friends and comrades were one in recalling his work: that of consistent and dedicated service to the poor and marginalized, in his unique “boisterous arrogant, noisily happy way”. As another comrade described him, “Lui is indeed the life of every party. A room will light up once he enters it. He is loved by everyone he comes in contact with. Lui does not do anything halfway. It is always all or nothing for him. Napakaingay niya, napakayabang at napakasaya na kasama. He is one comrade that will truly be missed.”