Holganza: Resilient man of action

An oil painting of Ribomapil “Dodong” Holganza Sr. as a political detainee in the 1980s is mounted next to his tombstone in Cebu Memorial Park where his cremated remains were placed on Thursday. (CDN Photos/Tonee Despojo)

An oil portrait of a younger Ribomapil “Dodong” Holganza Sr. behind prison bars in the 1980s sits beside his ossuary in the family mausoleum in the Cebu Memorial Park.
The words “freedom fighter and hero” are carved in his tombstone, a fitting tribute to one of the leaders of Cebu’s political opposition  during the Marcos regime.

Holganza was laid to rest last Thursday beside his wife, Rosie, who died in 2009.

The elder Holganza, who was called “Papalo” by his grandchildren, died last Sunday from complications resulting from a stroke. He would have turned 80 this April.

A five-day wake at the Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes in Lahug ended last Thursday when his remains were cremated and brought to the memorial park.

Loss for words
“We chose to divide in half his ash just like my mom’s remains. Half will be laid in our family mausoleum in Cempark and the other will be in our chapel in Bantayan,” youngest daughter Rosemarie Holganza-Borromeo told Cebu Daily News.

All of Dodong’s six children were present at the burial last Thursday led by eldest son Ribomapil “Joey Boy” Holganza Jr.

Father and son were the “Christmas Day detainees” of 1982 when they along with Dr. Filemon Aberca, were arrested on Dec. 25 and  spent more than two years in detention on charges of subversion.

Holganza Sr., secretary general of the oppositon PDP–Laban was an apparent election winner for a seat in the National Assembly if not for poll fraud, and ended up in a military stockade like other opposition leaders Aquilino Pimentel in Cagayan de Oro and former Sen. Eva Kalaw under house arrest in Manila.

The Cebu detainees were later freed on bail in 1985.

Joeyboy, 54, was at a loss for words over his father’s death.

Bullheaded
“It’s really difficult for me to talk about my father. We actually spent so much time together, more than all my other siblings combined. We got to be so close that I became his most vocal and worst critic,” he said.

They often argued over matters from politics to their family farm in Bantayan, business enterprises and personal issues, he said.

They had lived near each other for the past nine years since the elder Holganza was based in Bantayan town, where his son is president of the town’s Association of Barangay Councils (ABC) and concurrent member of the municipal council.

Joeyboy said he learned from his father the value of staying true to one’s self.

“He openly admitted that he was bullheaded. Whatever people say, he never allowed it to get him down. He was always true to himself,” he said.

Resilient spirit
A Mass was celebrated for “Dodong” at the St. Therese Church in Lahug.

There, some of his grandchildren gave their eulogies and expressed their love for their “Papalo.”

Rosemarie’s 21-year-old son, Jose Marie Ramone, said he remembered his grandfather sitting on his chair, reading a newspaper and smoking a cigarette while watching the children as they ran around the house.

“I will remember his loud voice, as he would call us over for breakfast. But most of all, I will remember his love, how he would do anything for us,” he said.

Ariane Rosielle Holganza-Mercado, 21-year-old daughter of Rhori and Souie Mercado who are in the United States, said she was inspired by her grandfather’s “resilient spirit.”

“At least you’re with Mamala now. Papalo, thank you for being such a great grandfather. You taught me to always be proud of my goals and to pursue them no matter what anyone says,” she said in a eulogy read by one of her cousins.

Also read was a message from 20-year-old Rico Rey Francis “Ribo” Holganza who wasn’t present at the time.

He described his grandfather as a “man of action,” someone unafraid to go against the tide of  political forces.

“No challenge was insurmountable with the right attitude – that is how I remember my Papalo. There will be hard times and trials for all of us as individuals, as families, as Filipinos. It is in those times – when it is easier to back down and to give in – let us all keep his memory alive by summoning the courage to stand your ground – the same way he did during the protests in Cebu. We cannot only remember, but emulate Papalo Dodong,” he said.