By RAYMUND F. ANTONIO and CZARINA NICOLE ONG KI
Slain activist and peace consultant Randy Echanis was laid to rest on Monday at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina City.
Hundreds of family, friends, and supporters of Echanis joined the funeral cortege to his final resting place after a mass held at La Funeraria Paz in Quezon City.
They were clad in white shirts printed with Echanis' image that said, “Hustisya!” Peace and peasant advocates as well as activists from different sectors also paid their last respects to “Ka Randy.”
Echanis, together with Louie Tagapia, was found dead with multiple stab wounds and two gunshots on his head in Novaliches, Quezon City on August 10. Five suspects were reportedly behind his killing.
Erlinda, widow of Echanis, and her children were very emotional in their farewell at his burial.
“Ka Randy did not die in vain. He died as a well-loved hero and martyr of the peasant and people’s movement. His lifelong struggle for land, justice, and peace is worth emulating,” she said.
In his message, Ka Randy’s son July raised his hand as he called for justice.
“Ang nais lang ni Ka Randy ay makibaka tayo, huwag matakot (Ka Randy wants us to fight, be not afraid),” he said.
Former Anakpawis representative Ariel Casilao, who worked with the victim, paid tribute to Echanis.
Echanis was chair of Anakpawis and a National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace consultant.
Fondly called "Tatang" by his colleagues, Echanis had been at the forefront of the advocacy for genuine land reform for five decades and had worked in peasant communities.
“You will remain in our hearts and we will fight for justice until the end,” Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said in a Twitter post.
“The fascist Duterte regime will be facing an ever indignant and militant peasant movement inspired by the life and death of Tatang Randy. Many more Ka Randys, champions of land reform and just peace, are set to bloom in his wake,” Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) chair Danilo Ramos.
The Center for Women's Resources (@cwr1982) said on Twitter: "No land, no justice no peace. Ka Randy Echanis will never be forgotten, for death cannot kill what never dies - his love for the peasant masses, and his fervor and commitment to achieve just and lasting peace."
"Fought. Organized. Advocated. Jailed. Freed. Struggled. Cornered. Tied. Bound. Bruised. Tortured. Shot. Killed. Stolen. Hidden. Manipulated. Insulted. And now laid to rest. This is the story of ka Randy Echanis, an old soul of the revolution and inspiration to us youth," said @rebmejino.
Meanwhile, AMIHAN Peasant Women National Chairperson Zenaida Soriano said on Twitter (@peasant_women) that despite Echanis' death, they will continue to fight for everything he stood up for.
"The women's peasant movement will continue to demand for justice for Ka Randy and hold the fascist and incompetent Duterte regime accountable for his death! Fight for freedom and democracy," Soriano said.