Fabian G. Hallig may now be in his mid-70s but there is still fire in his belly, and he has never retired, as he admits in his collection of poetry entitled “Ruminations of a Defiant Mind” that was launched in September 2024, but only got sturdier “tires” to keep him going. Surely, Hallig fought wars, engaged in skirmishes and organized legions of teachers, government workers and citizens distressed by a system that increases the wealth of plutocrats but never diminishes the misery of teeming millions.
In “Reapirmasyon,” Hallig tags the enemy immediately: “Binabaka ko’y kulturang sa kaisipa’y bumulag/At nagbunsod sa lahi ko ng pagkawatak-watalk/Sistemang makadayuha’y pinipilit ipatanggap/Na likas lang sa lipunan ang may mayama’t mahirap.” In “Hiwaga ng Balintuna,” he dwells on worker exploitation, the extraction of surplus value and why workers should break their chains: “Abang buhay-manggagawa/ Hiwaga ng balintuna/ Amo ang nagpapasasa/ Sa sakripisyop ng aba/ Bawa’t yamang nalilikha/ Ng kamay niyang pinagpala/ Sa kapitalista’y biyaya/ Sa timawa ay dalita.”
Having been an organizer of teachers, Hallig pays homage to those who fought to advance the rights and welfare of educators, including those who paid with their lives in doing so. Thus, in “Pagpupugay at Panata,” he wrote: “Panahon at buhay na inyong inalay/ Upang paglingkuran ang sangkaguruan/ Testimonyang buhay ng kabayanihan/ Pamukaw ng sigla sa pinanghinaan/ Mataas na pugay tangi naming handog/ At panatang sa yapak n’yo kami’y susunod/ Asahang di naming kayo malilimot/ Paagka’t nasa puso ang inyong bantayog!”
“Hustisya’y Nasaan?” condemns the harsh treatment of Baby River, whose detained mother, Reina Mae Nasino, was released to allow her to take care of her baby. The baby died and Reina’s jailers sent 43 personnel to guard her as she grieved over her child’s remains. Hallig wrote: “Hindi madalumat ng aking isipan/ Inosenteng sanggol na wala nang buhay/ Ihahatid na lang sa huling hantungan/ Pagkakaitan pa ng respeto’t dangal!/ Apatnapu’t tatlong de-susing halimaw/ Lahat nakatanod, intensyo’y sagkaan/ Madamdaminmg tagpo ng pamamaalam/ Ng inang ang puso’y dinurog ng lumbay.”
In “How do I fault Thee?,” Hallig says: “For telling our youth to uphold justice while glorifying tyranny and injustice/ And thus justify the perpetuation of a system that only serves to oppress.” In “This is Us,” he argues “We have been tested in the crucible of arduous struggles/ Whether in plains and clearings, vast mountains or jungles/ We may fail or fail or perish in the thick of the fight/ But these are not enough reasons for us to cower in fright.” Only four lines make up “Fear of the Unknown.” In it, Hallig says: “Fear of the unknown is the mother of cowardice/ And so ignorance breeds powerlessness/ Power holders keep the masses ignorant/ So they can do to them whatever they want.”
As the sages said centuries past, learned men must do at least two noble acts during their lifetimes. One is to write a book and the other is to plant a tree. Hallig has already done both and may still do other things as a bonus accomplishment. Despite trials and tribulations, he has kept the faith and kept the spirit alive. Even when tasks are daunting, as the celebrated poet and cultural worker Gelacio Guillermo said, one must keep the spirit burning. Or as the late musical icon Quincy Jones described himself, he claimed that throughout his life, he was driven “by a spirit of adventure and a criminal level of optimism.”
On New Year’s Eve of 2020, Hallig penned “Rage, Rage, Rage,” perhaps in remembrance of Dylan Thomas, but clearly a commentary on contemporary events. “Shame, shame, shame, my people be damned/ Ruined by someone with a very sick mind/ One which cannot be reviewed/ By even the most promising/ New year of all time/ Rage, rage, rage all through the night/ The New Year won’t bring a bright new light/ Unless we change the essence of the way/ That has shaped our lives and led us astray/ But change won’t come by mere fond wishes/ But by determined strifes in concert with the masses.”
Placed in its proper context, Hallig’s work contemplates not the retrofitting of Philippine society, or the reworking of Potemkin villages to please the elite, or implementing cosmetic projects for the feel-good effect desired by bureaucrats. Gustavo Gutierrez, the founder of liberation theology who died in October 2024, said it succinctly: “The poverty of the poor is not a call to generous relief action, but a demand that we go and build a different social order.” It will be a massive social project that requires a will that should infinitely be stronger than the combined skill of Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Rocky Marciano and Oleksander Usyk.
