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Remembering Fredo Jaravelo

Fredo Jaravelo is one of the pioneers of Community Organizing in the Philippines. Almost all of those who were involved in its popularization and propagation in the country will surely have something to say about Fredo. Virtually all of of the founding generation of community organizing and social development in the Philippines would have worked with or crossed paths with Fredo at one time or another.

Having served PAFID and Indigenous Communities in the Philippines for 14 years as a senior Community Organizer, trainer, mentor, an older brother and a Tatang (father) to the PAFID family, Fredo passed away last February after a long battle with cancer.

Upon he instance of friends like Fides Bagasao, Lily Presbiterio, Jane Austria and others, a short mass was held at the COTRAIN office followed by a sharing among friends of their times, experiences and moments with Fredo.

Below is an article written by Raymund Fernendez during the time that their group the Pagtambayayong, Inc. was courageously fighting to help Fredo overcome his ailment.

Fredo on his way to the front-line to help Manobo tribals in a negotiating their entry into an illegal sugarcane plantation in Bukinon

A Community Organizer Needs Help
By: Raymund Fernandez


I grew up surrounded by community organizers. Since the 60s community organizing was an idea that would be critical to the political life of the country. Beyond the realm of traditional politics there had always been the authentic drive towards empowering the poor and powerless in our society. Such empowerment is only possible if grassroots people learn how to organize themselves and pursue their collective goals. The learning or pedagogy required to do this would be provided by people especially trained in this field.


Needless to say, this is a difficult line of work and not too many people would last too long in this field. The good thing about Fredo Jaravelo is that he had never stopped working this field until now. I first knew him as an organizer assigned to the Lorega district. To organize well one must be effectively immersed in the community. In time, the organizer must seem as if he is native to the area. Which was why Fredo and I would often find ourselves drinking his favorite concoction of beer and Tanduay and eating octopus heads at the North BusTerminal. The dish was called "Noritake" for some strange forgotten reason. The North Bus Terminal was situated at that time near the area where you now find the City Health Office. It was a rough place and often we would be dining and drinking on the same table with crooks and cops. Sometimes I would find myself wondering why Fredo took such great effort to bring me here. But I suppose it was his way of "educating" me in the true state of our country. And in this enterprise he succeeded quite well. My total knowledge of local politics and the dynamics of this thing they called "people power" came mostly from Fredo and his peers.


Then quite suddenly, Fredo was assigned to a project in Mindanao and we lost contact with each other. I went to art-school and on with my life until Fredo came back quite suddenly. He had been arrested in Mindanao and beaten up so badly his eyes had gone almost blind. He underwent surgery but there was the chance he might nevertheless go entirely blind. For months he rested at our home and spent the better part of his time reading every book he could lay his hands on. I found this rather quaint for what else could a man do who might go blind? Read until he can read no more?


But this was always Fredo's strength and luck. In a few months his sight would recover fully and he was back into organizing in the slums of Manila. He would move from one NGO to another and I would not hear from him except for rare visits. We have not yet had the time to talk about the old days but in the mean time we had grown quite older. Two weeks ago, Fredo paid us a visit but it would not be an entirely happy occasion. Fredo is suffering from renal failure and now must have dialysis every few days. Fredo comes from a family of fishermen in Tabuelan and they can not afford the cost of this. We thought we were ready to say good-bye until the doctors informed us that Fredo is not a lost cause after all. There is a good chance his kidneys can recover if the doctors can treat infections in his lungs and liver. But we must keep him alive for now.


The only way Fredo can be helped now is if his old community-organizer-friends can raise enough funds for his treatment. This is exactly what they are doing now. Using Internet, word-of-mouth, letters, media and any other means of communication we are inviting everyone to donate whatever amount for Fredo's treatment. If you are reading this and feel the need to support Fredo, contact Pagtambayayong Foundation at 102 P. Del Rosario Ext., Cebu City. Call telephone numbers: [+6332] 2537974 / 4182168 for inquiries or Email: pagtamba@mozcom.com.
Please help. Any donation of a few pesos will extend Fredo's life a few days but knowing Fredo's luck I have no doubt at all that he will fully recover. I am hopeful this invitation will be received well by readers. Fredo is one of the few people who has done genuine work for the poor. It is only by this type of work that we can hope to solve the problem of poverty in this country. But people like Fredo can hardly afford medical insurance. For that they have only us.