YOUNG ANTONIO LIM NOT A COMMUNIST CADRE
DEAR Sir/Madame:
This letter is about an important section in the four- part series on Mr. Antonio Lim Toledo titled “THE LIFE OF A COMMUNIST CADRE” recently published in the online edition of your newspaper.
I have known Mr. Toledo from 1966 to 1974 as his high school and college classmate in Xavier University (XU), Ateneo de Cagayan. In my various capacities between 1968 to 1974 as staff member, photographer, photo editor, news editor and editor in chief of the high school and college newspapers and/or yearbooks of that institution, I have not even once witnessed Mr. Toledo participate in any demonstration, meeting or activity that would lead me to believe that he was ever a member of the Kabataang Makabayan or of even the more moderate student activist groups in existence at that time, like Khi-Rho. Instead, Mr. Toledo engaged in apolitical extracurricular activities. He was an ardent student of judo/jujitsu, was engaged in social outreach groups like the Sodality Club, and was one of the editors of the yearbook for several years. These statements can be verified using archived school and community newspapers at the XU library.
It is important to put this part of the story in the appropriate historical context. In the early 1970s, Cagayan de Oro was a small town, with one traffic light and one tiny bridge spanning the Cagayan River. As a consequence, the military, police and political establishments often knew who the local demonstrators were – many were close relatives, friends, or schoolmates of their own children. In this intimate and provincial setting, it would have been close to impossible to engage in any protracted “underground” activity. Although martial law was declared on September 21, 1972, it was not announced until a few days later, hence everyone in Cagayan de Oro was caught by surprise, including the many activist students who were arrested and who could not have known anything in advance because nonmilitary broadcast and print media were suspended – and there was no internet then.
Mr. Antonio Lim Toledo was not arrested in 1972 during martial law simply because there was no reason for him to be incarcerated.
I cannot comment on the other parts of the article, as I had not been in contact with Mr. Toledo for about 40 years (except once, when he and Mrs. Toledo invited me and some of their classmates to their wedding in 1983) until recently. When our classmates visited Mrs. Toledo this past year, they found out that Mr. Toledo owed the hospital a lot of money, exclusive of professional fees and medicine, due to the almost half year hospitalization of his wife. We then provided material and financial aid to the Toledo family, via a “Virgie Toledo” fund that our high school class president established.
Thank you.
Respectfully yours,
Ronaldo P. Ferraris Kauswagan, Cagayan de Oro, Philippines New Jersey, USA