The Leonardo Panaligan Command-New People’s Army (NPA) extends its heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and comrades of Ernesto Jude “Ka Dante” Rimando, a political detainee who died last July 23, 2024 due to Stage 4 liver cancer. More than that, we pay highest tribute to Ka Dante, our comrade, for serving the working and toiling masses up to his last breath. He is a planted seed of revolutionary wisdom and courage that will grow into more revolutionaries in the coming years.

Ka Dante’s political consciousness was already remarkable in his teenage years. In high school, he joined the massive campaign against the repressive 1982 Education Act. Consequently, he joined the anti-Marcos dictatorship movement when he entered the Univesisty of the Philippines-Diliman as a Mechanical Engineering student. These experiences exposed him to the realities of a semifeudal and semicolonial society which eventually prompted him to leave his comfortable life and spend his later years in Cebu for volunteer works, particularly in the worker’s sector.

Soon after, these volunteer works became his life-long advocacy. For almost 20 years, Ka Dante devoted his wisdom and talent in studying the condition of the workers in hopes of alleviating it, along with Alyansa sa mga Mamumuo sa Sugbo (AMA-Sugbo). He had given the same efforts in forwarding anti-feudal struggles.

Because the imperialist US and its local puppets fear revolutionary ideas and genuine development favoring the poor, Ka Dante became a walking target of the reactionary government. In 2021, he was illegally arrested, facing trumped-up charges just like most of the political detainees.

Amidst sacrifices and challenges, Ka Dante continued to emulate the characteristics of an exemplary cadre. He remained firm in siding with the poor and practicing the universal theory of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism (MLM). Despite the charges against him being dismissed by the court, he was unjustly kept in prison until his day of death. What occured was an intended denial of justice and a glaring example of state terrorism.

Thus, we condemn the US-Duterte regime for railroading the Anti-Terror Law that continuously victimizes thousands of activists, unionists, organizers, and civilians as well as the NTF-Elcac, along with the AFP and PNP, for executing the whole-of-nation approach. Likewise, we condemn the regime of US-Marcos Jr for continuing the bloody legacy of Rodrigo Duterte. Their inhumane maneuvers deserve to be faced with revolutionary optimism and determination. As such, we respond no less to the fascist US-Marcos Jr regime by mounting series of tactical offensives to give justice to the victims of state terrorism.

The death of Ka Dante as well as the revolutionary martyrs will inspire the broad masses to take up arms and defend their rights.