Ka Jinggoy: the past and the present

His many atrocities have made him a household name especially to the people who had been at the receiving end of his exploits. Civilians and soldiers alike shed blood from various mayhems he had staged.
But who would have thought that this bloodthirsty communist leader was once the child adored by his neighbors for being good and hardworking?
Ten years ago, he was Rizalde Cañete, bright young lad who manages to send himself to school by working for a family who is willing enough to support his education. He was taken in by a family who sent him to school until he was in the third grade.
Rizalde grew up in Sitio Palina, Barangay San Isidro in Monkayo, Compostela Valley, a simple community where farming is the primary source of living.
In his young age, he was praised by neighbors and playmates alike for being good and his attitude for work. His former neighbors say that the young Rizalde was a diligent child who, like typical barrio lads, manages to find and earn a living at a young age.
“Nagpundo na siya sa amoa, tabang-tabang sa mga trabahoon sa balay…dili badlongon” says Filipa Umbao, a long-time resident of the place who had supported Jinggoy’s schooling in the elementary.
In school, Rizalde was good in class and according to his former classmate; he was never the type who would assume superiority even if he can.
If only he choose another path, his would have been a good success story worthy to be emulated. However, the young Rizalde choose another path which led him to the mountains into the cradle of the communist movement.
None of his former neighbors though that the boy they had once admired would grow up and become of the most cunning leaders of the communist movement. Who would have thought that the once silent, unassuming Rizalde would become Ka Jinggoy and be the cause of so many heartaches and headaches to the community?
Though no one is absolutely sure when he actually joined the guerilla movement, his former neighbors assumed that he joined the New People’s Army in 1998 at the age of 11. This, according to Filipa, was the time when the lad was taken from her home by her mother.
“Dili unta to siya ganahan mokuyog sa iyang mama galing kay gikuha man gyud siya…” Filipa said. She added that she only knew years later that he was no longer with his mother and that he was already in the movement with his brother who is also a member of the NPA.
After years in the communist movement, the young Rizalde is now Ka Jinggoy, a commander in the communist movement and the mastermind of many tragedies that befell his tiny natal place as well as surrounding communities.
He was best known for various attacks he has staged in Monkayo which caused the untimely demise of soldiers and civilians alike.
Barely ten years after he was taken from the home of Filipa, has Jinggoy already made a name for him self; that of a rebel who never hesitates in his war against the government, even if this would mean sacrificing the lives of innocent civilians.
Described by many as charismatic and good-looking, Jinggoy has become one of the many leaders of the communist movement who blindly fights for their beliefs. Jinggoy has been involved in the series of attacks to various detachments in Compostella Valley, the kidnapping of some soldiers and the attack on the banana plantation of Mayor Brillantes of Monkayo which killed two civilians.
Just recently, he has been involved in yet another attack that left two children injured and killed four soldiers of the 28th Infantry Battalion stationed in Sitio Palina, Barangay San Isidro, Monkayo.
Though his old neighbors respect his decision in joining the New People’s Army, Filipa still regrets the day that Jinggoy was taken from her home by the child’s mother. “Ug wala pa unta siya gikuha sa amoa, siguro wala unta siya nahimong rebelde…lahi siguro iyang panginabuhi karon…” Filipa laments
But destiny has already played its part and the silent Rizalde has now been replaced by the vicious Jinggoy.
Whatever his reasons for his actions are, we can only hope that the goodness of the young Rizalde still remains in the heart of this young rebel and would give him enough sense to spare the lives of the innocent civilians in his war against the government.
[©May2008.A.Gargantiel]