Historical timeline and milestones

• Studied BS Community Development, UP Diliman
• Associations/Positions held: 
  • C
  • ICCO Regional Office South East Asia and the Pacific
  • Sagip Sierra Madre Environmental Society Inc.
  • Philippine Peasant Institute
  • WISEACT
  • Philippine Network of Rural Development Institutes, Inc.
• Secretary General of the Freedom from Debt Coalition

Memorable Quotes

“Transparency must begin with those who call for it. Civil society cannot claim the moral high ground if it does not stand by it.”

— Speaking in 2011 on the involvement of a CSO  in an anomalous deal

As remembered by family and friends

Milo: the Genuine Face of Civil Society

The other beacon that shines brightly, Milo Tanchuling, former Secretary General of the Freedom from Debt Coalition, passed away three days ago.

Milo’s example is very relevant these days when the Napoles scandal, with its horrible cast of fake NGOs and fake NGO operators working hand in glove with corrupt politicos, has given non-governmental organizations a bad name. This is most unfair since for every Janet Lim Napoles, there are most likely 10 civil society workers serving the people in dedicated and honest ways. Milo exemplified the genuine spirit of civil society. 

As Secretary General of the Freedom from Debt Coalition, Milo was a leader in the effort to reduce our country’s unfair debt obligations to the big international banks, a massive burden that was harming the country’s efforts to develop. He was a strong voice in opposition to the Automatic Appropriations Law, which requires that the first cut of the national budget (now 20 percent of it) go to servicing the country’s debt to the banks. He was active as well in the fight against the EPIRA law, which privatized energy generation and transmission and has resulted in ever-rising increases in electricity prices, much to the detriment of the welfare of struggling consumers. He was also on the front lines of the struggle against unfair trade, the World Trade Organization, and global warming, and before that, he was an innovative organizer of peasants and farmers.

Milo may not have been known to the wider public, but this engaging and humble man was popular and much loved in civil society circles, which were greatly saddened by his falling victim to cancer at a relatively young age. The trajectory of commitment and service to the people that Milo followed, instead of what would undoubtedly have been a successful career in law, politics, or business, was summed up well by Lidy Nacpil, one of Milo’s longstanding associates in civil society: “Milo was 51 years old. He spent more than 30 years of his life as an activist and leader in Philippine movements and struggles for freedom, for justice, to build a new and better world. He started during his student days in the University of the Philippines, working with farmer’s movements as a community organizer. He spent many years working for rural communities and advancing the struggles for agrarian reform and rural development as part of fighting for an alternative development path for our people.”

These are trying times, but amidst the gloom, there are gems that shine, people who dispel the darkness. Commissioner Sano and Milo Tanchuling are two such gems, and there are more like them out there.” — An Excerpt from the Privilege Speech delivered by then Akbayan Representative Walden Bello in November 2013, as published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s “Beacons of hope in troubled times”

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“….what matters is every act of integrity, compassion or courage that enriched, empowered or encouraged others
…what matters is not your competence but your character
…what matters is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you’re gone
…what matters is not your memories, but the memories that live in those who love you” 

Living a life that matters, doesn’t happen by accident. It’s not a matter of circumstance but of choice.

Para kay Milo…

Ang makahulugan ay dili ang iyong tagumpay kundi ang iyong kahalagahan.
Hindi ang iyong natutunan kundi ang iyong naipangaral.

Ang mahalaga ay ang bawat pagkilos ng katatagan, ng malasakit, ng lakas ng loob o paglalaang nagpapayaman, nagsasasakapangyarihan o humahagod sa iba upang tularan ang iyong pagkahuwaran.

Ang mahalaga ay hindi ang iyong kagalingan kundi ang iyong pagkatao.

Ang mahalaga ay hindi sa kung gaano karami ng iyong kakilala kundi gaano karami ang makararamdam ng malalim na pangungulila pag ika’y nawala.

Ang mahalaga ay hindi ang iyong ala-ala kundi ang mga ala-ala ng mga nagmamahal sa iyo. Ang mahalaga ay lumaon man ika’y nasa alaala ng sinuman at para sa ano……” — Milo’s wife, Ging

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“Maalala ka namin lagi lalo na sa panahon na kailangan ang liwanag sa dilim.” — A college friend

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“Milo is the ideal activist to many of us, someone who always acted with love, humility, and whose strength comes from a solid sense of purpose and humor.” — A college friend

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“I met Milo as an incoming Community Development major. He (with another good friend, Ome Dolleton) took me under his wing; and so it is thanks to him that my life — up till then rather clueless and carefree — took a turn towards activism and eventually development work.

Long before “authenticity” became a buzzword, Milo was its epitome. His actions, his stance and positions were guided by a genuine empathy for the poor and an inherent sense of what was right and just. He was an innately kind person, diplomatic, humble, interested in what others had to say, never presumed he had the best opinions. 

Yes, he would call people out if he thought things were going wrong; but he would never humiliate or antagonize. All these made him such an effective organizer and networker, and an asset to coalition politics. In this arena, he is sorely missed. It is said that when people pass away, we tend to gloss over their faults — but, honestly, the worst I can say of Milo is that his humor tended towards the corny. But they were so corny that it made us laugh anyway. 

We also used to tease Milo about being kuripot; but that was frugality and it never got in the way of being generous. The generosity extended to taking us into the Tanchuling family – their home became our refuge; Mama Ludy and Papa Tony, our role models; and the siblings, our extended family. 

My love and respect for Milo grew even more when I, having had the privilege of helping care for him in the last few months of his illness, witnessed his courage and strength. In moments of pain, he would never complain but instead say how fortunate he was, compared to those who did not have the resources for medical care. Towards the end, his constant reminder to us was the importance of a development model that was truly fair and equitable, and that we should keep working towards this. And his last words were “thank you”.” — A college friend

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“I miss Milo. He reminds me often of what the ideal activist is. Easy to laugh, fully committed yet capable of celebrating the smallest of things, someone whose voice mattered so much so often, because he spoke gently, patiently, persuasively, always telling stories, always encouraging, always finding something encouraging in the way things happened. And when things fell apart, as they often do, he’d find time for a beer to laugh, drink, rinse, celebrate something humble, and go for a reboot.” — A college friend

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