Historical timeline and milestones

• Education: Batch 1982, UP Diliman
• Positions held:
  • Councilor, College of Arts and Sciences in UP Diliman
  • Peasant organizer in Nueva Vizcaya

As remembered by family and friends

“I worked with Connie during the time that the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) was divided into three colleges: the College of Science, College of Arts and Letters and College of Social Science and Philosophy. Our group was in charge of overseeing the election campaign of these new colleges under UP-SAMASA. Our campaign machinery held candidates’ training for the three colleges and wrote and edited speeches and other campaign materials. Despite the rigorous schedule, Connie remained calm and composed and oftentimes giggling with excitement and fervor. Our efforts paid off and SAMASA’s candidates won the college elections headed by Senator Francisco Pangilinan. To celebrate our victory, we watched the movie Ghostbusters in Cubao and had a lot of fun!” — A fellow activist

******

“It was inevitable for our paths to cross when I joined the League of Filipino Students-AS. I learned that she was my elder sister’s batchmate, meaning she was ahead of me by three years. Unlike my sister though, Connie did not graduate on time. She was still enrolled when we met in 1985.

Connie and I were casual acquaintances at first until one day, around 9 in the morning, she asked me and another lady LFS member if we could accompany her to Shakey’s in Katipunan. She needed a drink and good company. I didn’t have a class that morning so I acquiesced to her request. Shakey’s was still closed when we arrived, but one of the employees allowed us in. We had barely warmed our seats when Connie and our lady friend ordered a pitcher of beer and a pizza. They finished their drink in no time at all while I was struggling to finish half a glass of the beer that I mixed with coke. They ordered another pitcher. By this time, their tongues had loosened. Before we all knew it, they were pouring out their heartaches. I played the role of a good listener.

Connie’s case was unrequited love. She was madly in love with another activist who was in love with another activist. They were officially on, leaving Connie watching from the sidelines with a broken heart. Our lady companion’s case was the opposite. She was torn between two loves. And so the morning passed us by with them telling their stories, crying at some point and me crying and laughing with them. We left Shakey’s at lunchtime just when customers were beginning to fill the area. Connie and our friend were both drunk so we walked away from the pizza parlor with me standing between them, my arms holding them both by their shoulders to keep them steady. Thus, began my friendship with Connie. It was more of a sisterhood than a comradeship. We often hung out together whenever we both had free time. Sometimes, on our way to the UP Shopping Center, I’d ask for some time to drop by the UP Chapel and pray. Out of the corner of my eye, I’d watch Connie to see her reaction. I took it for granted that she was an atheist like many activists of our time. She’d make the sign of the cross and kneel down in prayer like I did.

I’ll never forget the day she said goodbye. As we were walking out of the UP Chapel, she took my hand and slipped something into it. It was a round metal that turned out to be a finger rosary. “This is my gift to you. Keep it,” she said.

When school opened after the break, Connie was nowhere to be found. I thought she’d go for late registration. A week after the official opening of classes, she still had not made an appearance. I asked one of our friends from SAMASA if she knew where Connie was. That was when she revealed with hesitation that Connie had dropped out of school to join the New People’s Army. It didn’t come as a surprise but I was shocked nonetheless.

Connie came to visit twice or thrice after that. Things had changed. The visits were brief and she went by a different name every time. She told me she had married a fellow revolutionary named Jonas. She also told stories about her life as a member of the armed revolutionary movement — how they had to move from one place to another and how they had to forage for food in remote areas where they had set up camp. We drifted apart after those visits and I never heard from her again. I graduated from school, found a job, got married, and started a family while Connie remained in the movement, fighting for what she believed in.

One day, I overheard one of my husband’s employees telling a story about her best friend in Batangas. “She joined the NPA,” she said. Apparently, when this friend of hers died, her funeral was “bantay-sarado” (heavily guarded) by the military. There were so many attendees waving red flags. “What is the name of your friend?” I asked. “Connie. Concepcion Medalle,” she replied. I stood before her with my mouth agape, goosebumps crawling all over my body. “I knew her. She was my close friend in college,” I said. I could not stop the tears from falling as I recalled the times we spent talking, laughing, and crying about unrequited love and about anything and everything under the sun.

“How did she die?” I asked. She told me that Connie died of natural causes — kidney ailment if I remember it right. I heaved a sigh of relief. It was a bit of consolation to hear that hers was not a violent death.

I still have the finger rosary that Connie gave me. It is a reminder of the friendship that I had with a brave soul. She remains alive in my heart and I continue to remember her in my prayers.”— A fellow activist

******

“One time, Connie and I rode a bus to Nueva Vizcaya. Along the way, she suddenly stood up and talked about the raging issues at that time. It was quite dangerous to do so but Connie did not hesitate to seize the opportunity to enlighten the people on social issues.” — A colleague in Cagayan Valley

******

“Connie suffered systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and later died due to this autoimmune disease.” — A colleague in Cagayan Valley

Copyright 2024 © SAMASA Alumni  |  Created by Creative Coconut Ph