That all ended in complete victory with the dismissal of all charges (they never got near a trial) and his release in mid 2007.

Now I come back to you with one final appeal for Ka Bel. And it really is final. Tragically, he died this week. It’s not usual for 75 year olds to die as a result of falling off their roof but he was not a usual 75 year old (he was up there to fix a leak).

Money is needed urgently for his funeral (which will attract huge crowds and is being staged over several days). And, believe it or not, the hospital was still after him for the last of the bill he incurred during his false imprisonment (that debt will now become the liability of his family). Before they released him last year (remember, all charges were dismissed) he had to sign an IOU.

Ka Bel lived his entire life as one of the Philippines’ tens of millions of the poor. Official records published after his death establish that he was very poorest of all the Congressmen in the House of Representatives, whose only assets were his very modest family home in a poor part of Manila, clothing and his glasses. That’s it.

If you would like to help Ka Bel’s family in this time of grief and very real financial need, please send cheques to: PSNA, Box 2450, Christchurch, with anote saying that it is for the Ka Bel Appeal. If you want to deposit it straight into our bank account, ask me for the account details.

PSNA (which is making a substantial donation of its own) will forward it in one lump sum, so that we only have to pay bank fees once.



Murray Horton

Secretary



PSNA

Philippines Solidarity Network of Aotearoa

Box 2450, Christchurch, New Zealand

cafca (at) chch.planet.org.nz

www.converge.org.nz/psna