When
two Tsinoy kids were kidnapped and killed in September
of 1992, the Filipino-Chinese community became distressed.
Kidnapping was on the rise and the perpetrators were
targeting mostly Chinese as victims.
At that time, long-time NGO worker Teresita Ang See and some members of the Tsinoy
community started gathering to plan what to do in the face of increased kidnappings.
A crisis was brewing and something had to be done fast before kidnappers could
abduct yet another member of their community.
But come January of 1993, 15-year old Charlene Mayne Sy got killed in a crossfire
between her kidnappers and the police. Many were outraged but the soft-spoken
and frail-looking Ang See stepped up to voice out the pain that the Tsinoy community
was feeling.
“It was not something I did out of choice,” Ang See told One Philippines. “It
was something that I had to do out of sheer necessity. Talagang kinailangan.
I had to give a face and a voice to the kidnapped victims who refused to reveal
themselves, who do not even report the crime.”
Harrassment
To stand up against kidnappers is one thing. But to fervently fight against kidnapping
while single-handedly raising two kids as a widow is another. And Ang See got
into a lot of trouble for doing just that.
“On two occasions, they (unidentified men) tried to run me off the road,” bares
Ang See. “Actually hindi ako binangga eh, talagang harassment. There
was a big PLDT digging, then they tried to crowd me so that I would fall there
sa
digging.”
There were also times when unidentified men tried to scare her by following her
around.
“Talagang ipinaaalam na sinusundan ako. Pagbaba ko ng kotse, titigil pa
sila just to stare at me, without cover.”
The worst threat, though, came when she received an anonymous
page saying that
they’re going to get her son from school.
“Nag-panic ako kasi tinawagan ko ang school and they couldn’t find
my son,” says Ang See. “‘Yun pala, may activity (sa) grounds.”
Because of the harassments, Ang See deliberately went high
profile. As the head of Kaisa Para Sa Kaunlaran, Inc.,
a non-governmental organization that works
for the integration of Filipino-Chinese into mainstream society, Ang See used
the power of the press to get the Tsinoy community’s cries for help across
the country. Even the international community started paying attention to the
Philippines’ kidnapping crisis.
“The public opinion’s on my side,” she explains. “If
something happens to me, then the government also had to do something in restoring
peace and order.”
Three shifts of bodyguards
Soon after, the Ramos government forced Ang See to get security for herself.
She narrated how, for a time, she had three shifts of bodyguards watching her
every move for her own safety.
“It’s an insane and abnormal way of living. Like my children, they
have to tell me that they’re leaving the house, they tell me when they
reach the place, and they tell me when they get back to the house.”
Living became very uncomfortable for the Ang Sees. The
harassments even forced her family to move apartments thrice
just to
hide from her “enemies.” So
for her children’s safety, she eventually took them to the United States.
“Life was difficult for them,” says Ang See. “But they never
took it against me. They were old enough to understand that sometimes, there
are things that you have no choice, you have to do it, just because you’re
there.”
On their part, Ang See’s children have asked her
to take a break from her
anti-crime crusade.
“They said, ‘Mama, maybe you’ve done enough. Maybe it’s
time for you to stop na,’” says Ang See says of her kids. But like
any true activist, she continues her work with the passion of someone who’s
doing it for her own children.
Trying to be there for her children
“I have to apologize to them that sometimes, maraming occasions na I wasn’t
there for them,” shares Ang See. She’s extra proud, though, of her
children’s capacity to understand her work and their family’s situation.
“One time, I saw ‘yung theme writing ng son ko when he was Grade
4 pa lang. He (said) he appreciated that he knew that I was very busy that day
but I made it a point to be present during his investiture as a scout,” shares
Ang See. “Alam niya na compared to his classmates, it really takes so much
effort out of me to be there for him…He understood.”
Lately, Ang See says that her group, Citizens Against Crime
and Corruption, now has a good working relationship with
the government’s Police Anti-Crime
and Emergency Response (PACER). The harassments have stopped for some time
now but she and her group still remain as vigilant as they
have always been.
“You cannot solve the problem by hiding from it, by burying your head under
the sand,” says Ang See.
With that, would she want her children to thread on that same path?
“I hope not. I really hope na ‘yung anti-crime part of my work can
be discarded soon,” explains Ang See. “It really doesn’t
speak well of the community or the society that we do have groups like this
na anti-kidnapping.”
“Dapat talaga ma-solve na ‘yung problem so we don’t have to
be doing these things.” |
