In Memoriam, LEAN ALEJANDRO

He was the Chiz Escudero of his time.

The most eloquent, and omnipresent oppositionist
to the ruling class and the powers-that-be.

Unlike Sen. Escudero, however,
Lean Alejandro didn't survive his political wars.

He was assassinated, with extreme prejudice,
twenty years ago,
his murder unsolved to this very day.


True, Lean was a Marxist,
an unabashed Leftist.

I never agreed with his socialist views,
but I always admired his dedication to his cause,
the upliftment of the Filipino People.

Only the good die young.

By Ma. Ceres P. Doyo
Inquirer


The youth of this generation
ought to have and ought to know someone like him,
someone so passionate and dedicated to a vision and a cause --
and yet so endearingly likeable.
Ask his friends and comrades.

He was the quintessential student or youth activist.
Leandro "Lean" Alejandro was all of 27
when he was killed in a hail of bullets 20 years ago.

He was emerging from his organization's office
when the forces of evil swooped down on him and gunned him down.
The predators had caught up with their prey
and would turn him into mincemeat.

What they did not know was that
the spirit of this young man would live on and beyond...




...this young man who lived intensely, bravely and romantically.

Love, indeed, was at the core of Lean's commitment
to the cause of justice and freedom.

He saw beyond his time.
"I am quite convinced that in a few years' time,
the nature of our struggles will change drastically.
We shall have to launch a democratic version
of the socialist revolution.
The national democratic struggle will be left behind by history
and we shall be buried with it in the heap of antiquity
if we do not shake ourselves awake and really lead."


Yes, and really lead with integrity.

Lean showed how.