On Friday night, September 22, 2026, I had a meeting at the residence of Noel and Elin Mondejar at the second floor of a two – story building at the corner of P. Tuazon and N. Domingo Streets in southern Quezon City.
Among those present were Charlie Avila y Roberts (FFF Vice President, Public Affairs Department), 1971 Constitutional Convention Delegate and Peasants’ Attorney. Camilo “Mil” L. Sabio (FFF Legal Panel Head), Victor Gerardo “Gerry” Bulatao (FFF National Secretary), Gerardo “Gerry” Esguerra y Jaminola (FFF PAD), Noel (FFF VP, Local Affairs Department), Elin and me (former KASAPI Chairman).
Our agenda for the night was no longer about demonstrations, mass actions, novenas, lobbying, pickets, rallies and vigils. It was about the November 1973 National Elections and the launching of a new political coalition that would field and support candidates at all the national levels, President, Vice President, Senatorial and District Congressmen/Representatives.
For over a year, Christian Social Movement (CSM) Founder and 1971 Constitutional Convention Delegate and former Senator (1961 – 1967) Raul S. Manglapus and Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) President and Atty. Jeremias Montemayor had been wooing Philippine Confederation of Trade Unions (PHILCONTU) President Democrito Mendoza (as well as Ed Nolasco of the Philippine Musicians’ Guild)), Federation of Free Workers (FFW) President Johnny Tan and Philippine Association of Free Labor Unions (PAFLU) President Cipriano Cid to join a political coalition based mainly on farmers and workers but to include middle class (Christian Social Movement [CSM]) and professionals.
While Jerry Montemayor concentrated on drafting and writing the ideology and program of government for the alliance, the younger officers of the FFF led by Charlie Avila and Gerry Esguerra did most of the political education, training and organizational legwork.
We also wooed the leaders and core groups of the Moderate Student and Youth Organizations like, Hasik Kalayaan (Bert Gonzales), Lakasdiwa (Fr. Ed Garcia), Buklod Kalayaan (Edgar Jopson), KASAPI (Linggoy Alcuaz), YCSP (Art Valdez) and YCW (Rita Dava).
It was because of this long - range plan that I resigned as the Chairman of KASAPI, just a week or two or three before Martial Law. At that time the average ordinary student and youth activist was suspicious and wary of direct involvement in electoral politics. In order, to avoid the perception that we were using our organizations for politics, I resigned under a different pretext.
Our priority for recruitment among elected political leaders was former Secretary of Justice (SOJ), incumbent Senator (1963 – 1975) and Bar and CPA Topnotcher Jose Diokno y Wright. Thus, we requested for a meeting with him at his Magallanes Village residence after the Senate session recessed that night for the weekend.
Charlie, Gerry and I had briefly met with him earlier that week at the Social Communications Center (SCC) in Santa Mesa, Manila. He was there to video tape a TV program with Manglapus. We were successful in convincing him not to attend the last big Movement for a Democratic Philippines (MDP) rally before Martial Law.
The whole night, I was kept busy dialing the phone in the Senate Session Hall and at Diokno’s Magallanes residence. I was not able to speak to him at the Senate because he was busy re interpellations on the proposed 1973 budget. Finally, the Senate Session Hall phone just kept ringing. His residence phone that was being answered earlier went dead before Diokno got home. He had just been arrested.
We continued meeting and planning with the help of Elin Mondejar’s coffee and midnight snacks. We finally broke up before dawn. On the way home to his apartment near Boni Avenue, in Mandaluyong, Charlie took a short cut through Wack Wack Subdivision and ran across the scene of the fake ambush of Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Juan “Johnny” Purugganan Ponce Enrile. As soon as he got home, he called us and reported what he had seen.
(To be continued)
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