Prosopograpiya sa Kilusang Maralita ng Tundo

Abstract

Prosopography refers to the study of biographies with the goal of learning about patterns of activities and relationships within a historical period. This paper is about the three old women of Tondo, whose lives were once linked by a common struggle for land, housing and emancipation from poverty. They are Trinidad Herrera (known as Ka Trining), the feisty and first leader of Zone One Tondo Organization (ZOTO); Leona Zarzuela (Ka Leleng), the current national president of Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (KADAMAY), and Felicitas Guazon (Ka Feling), former member of Pambansang Kaisahan ng Maralitang Tagalunsod (PKML) whose husband, Eduardo Guazon, its president, died in the line of duty.
They are bound by a common historical context of migration from the Visayas to Manila after the Second World War, finding refuge in Tondo, and becoming true Tondeñas in the process. In Tondo, they soon found out the harsh realities of city-life: without homes, no food on the table, and a hard life made more dangerous by frequent demolition campaign by the government against "illegal" city dwellers. They hardly knew each other in the beginning. Soon, they joined neighbourhood associations and met. They found themselves in common urban poor mass movements. The rest is a history of reaching out to others, helping one another and finally, dedicating themselves to advance the struggle for land, housing, jobs and justice.
Together with original people of Tondo, they lived in the place like true-blooded Tondeñas, oftentimes sharing the difficulty and pains of being regarded as the poorest of the poor. However, these women mustered enough strength and courage, became not only members of their respective organization but two of them, Ka Trining and Ka Leleng, even led their organizations to the forefront of the struggle. Theirs are often regarded as the toughest and most militant in the history of urban poor struggle. Ka Feling on the other hand, did not become a leader, but her husband's leadership in KPML, would not have been possible without Ka Feling's concurrence and all-out support.
In the spirit of Tandang Sora, whose bravery and reliability during the 1896 National Revolution led by the Kataastaasan, Kagalanggalangang Kaipunan na mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK) cannot be questioned, the three women in this study can also be regarded as modern Tandang Soras, whose contributions to the urban poor mass movements in Tondo cannot also be denied. It is only fitting that like Tandang Sora, their lives and struggles should always be remembered.