‘Non-Government Individual’ Joel Rocamora’s Leisurely Walk Down Memory Lane
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Dr. Joel Rocamora
Joel’s previous “non-book” has three broad parts – as summarized by Filipino pundit Manolo Quezon – covering the hot topics of the period: (1) then-president Rodrigo Duterte, who is now in jail in the Hague awaiting trial for crimes against humanity; (2) federalism as a viable system of government for the country; and (3) Akbayan, a progressive socialist political party that positions itself as an alternative Left. Joel was one of the founders of Akbayan and continues to provide guidance as Chair emeritus. The Party, over the years, had successfully fielded party list Congresspersons in the Philippines’ House of Representatives as well as the upper chamber through Senator Risa Hontiveros.
The book launch of Impossible Is Not Easy was held at the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) building, not far from the current venue – the UP Asian Center – and I was the emcee. My task was simpler then: I just had to introduce and listen to the speakers and be a smartass, in keeping with Joel’s default temperament. The speakers included Karina Bolasco, who holds a track record for marshalling the publication of noteworthy Philippine titles; Butch Abad, another progressive who served as the budget secretary of former president Noynoy Aquino; and Chito Gascon, the late, great former chair of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) who also graciously hosted the event.
Much has happened since that 2020 book launch. The Covid 19 fell upon us after less than a month – a phenomenon of such global impact that Joel was impelled to devote an entire chapter on it in his memoir, Retrieving the Past, which we are launching now. Among others, the pandemic claimed the life of Chair Chito Gascon – whom I have known since we were both activist-student leaders in the 1980s. Chito, the youngest member of the Constitutional Commission that crafted the 1987 Philippine Constitution, is one I can describe as simultaneously down-to-earth and larger-than-life. Many other earth-shaking events followed. One was the “pink wave” led by opposition presidential candidate Leni Robredo that swept the entire country with such force and momentum, mobilizing rallies by the hundreds of thousands in different cities of the country – even reaching a million heads in its final push. However, the groundswell was still not enough to defeat the impregnable “uniteam” of the scions of former presidents that ruled the land with an iron fist: presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos and vice presidential candidate Sara Duterte. In his memoir, Joel laments being unable to join the Leni campaign, having suffered a mild stroke a couple of months before the May 2022 elections.
Dr. Rocamora at the book launch of “Retrieving the past”
It did not take long before the Marcos-Duterte alliance crumbled, with both camps viciously attacking each other, surfacing issues of accountability especially on the bloody “war on drugs” that eventually led to the arrest of former president Rodrigo Duterte. This development caught him – and the rest of us – by surprise! Even now as Duterte stays in relative convenience at a prison cell in the Netherlands, we still shake our heads at how the political tide has turned. And then there were more occurrences over the recent months: the historic double-gold victory of Filipino gymnast Carlos Yulo in the Olympics. The return of Trump. The foul-ups of Trump…
Joel is so lucky to have lived through the Japanese occupation in the 1940s and witness the victory of young Filipina tennis sensation Alex Eala just a few days ago!
In preparing this opening speech, I had to quickly read Retrieving the Past. It wasn’t too hard – the book is engaging and highly readable – in the familiar, collegial way Joel writes. The book is a solidly condensed narration of a life so far well-lived – hearts, warts, and all – for 84 years and counting. It may as well be a representation of Philippine history, politics, reform, and resistance from the pre-war period to the present.
Retrieving the Past by Dr. Joel Rocamora
Joel’s memoir is not chronologically arranged, but appropriately begins with his family history, illustrating a storied clan’s share of hardships and glories. He paints a vivid picture of a family struggling to break out of poverty though a combination of grit and innovation. He grew up in the small Visayan Island of Siquijor, known for its pristine beaches and witchcraft. He went to the University of the Philippines (UP) in college despite his father’s fears of him becoming a communist there (a fair warning, it turns out). As freshman he stayed with the family of his grand uncle, Francisco “Paking” Nemenzo, the father of Francisco “Dodong” Nemenzo, the radical academic who would later become UP president. Joel agonizingly recalls how the elder Nemenzo would compel him and Dodong to hear Mass regularly – which obviously impacted them in reverse.
For the rest of the book, Joel guides us through his life as a student, an activist, a political prisoner, and a pot-smoking hippie partygoer with a PhD in Cornell who failed to graduate from being a KK, or kandidatong kasapi (candidate member) of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). His explanation was simply that his contemporaries – who were leading Party cadres – studied Marxism, Leninism, and Maoism far more diligently than he did.
He speaks fondly of his comrades in the Netherlands back in the day and recalls deep bonds developed during solidarity work abroad. This includes playing basketball with party-mates and their respective sons, as well as banter with the late CPP Chair Jose Maria Sison. Once, he asked Joma if he engages in sports. Joma replied with his usual tongue-in-cheek, “Only at night.” To which Julie, Joma’s wife, retorted: “Disinformation.” Joel regrets the lost comradely friendships because of the CPP split in the early ‘90s. The Reaffirmists (RA) stuck with the old party doctrine and organization, while the Rejectionists (RJ) left and created new left formations and movements. Waxing astronomical, he imagines the RA-RJ split as a black hole involving a dwarf star orbited by smaller stars.
Once, he asked Joma (Sison) if he engages in sports. Joema replied with his usual tongue-in-cheek, “only at night.” To which Julie, Joema’s wife, retorted: “Disinformation.”
Apart from the Netherlands, Joel spent many years in the US where he was involved in organizing political movements of Filipino Americans through the Union of Democratic Filipinos (KDP) and the Transnational Institute (TNI).
In this slim volume, Joel was able to seamlessly weave the story of his long, adventure-filled life – partly as a government official, but more as an NGI, or a “non-government individual” who is more in his element fighting futile battles against windmills. Secretary Rocamora was part of President Noynoy Aquino’s Cabinet as head of the National Anti-Poverty Commission, where his innovations included “bottom-up budgeting” (BUB) and urban poor housing through participatory “People’s Plans.” However, he considers his 10 years as head of the Institute for Popular Democracy (IPD), a political thinktank, as his most productive period. IPD came out with well-researched books and newsletters and pioneered in novel advocacies for democratic governance. It supported left political coalitions like Laban ng Masa and provided a haven for our human rights group, the Peace Advocates for Truth, Healing, and Justice (PATH) – which looked into the bloody anti-infiltration purges of the CPP-NPA.
Last but not the least, Joel talks about his love life. Or, more importantly, his love lives. I won’t go into details as I have given enough spoilers already. Also, his lovely wife Hanneke is listening here and, like Joel, I am more afraid of her! But kidding aside, Joel devotes pages of his book in showing how the personal is weaved into the political and vice-versa. There is a touching photo of his kid, Diego, as a young tot in a rally holding a protest placard.
Let me now end by enjoining you to secure a copy of this important book, appropriately launched on March 28, 2025 – incidentally Duterte’s birthday and mine – and learn the country’s recent history from someone who has – almost like Marcos, Sr.’s Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile who is now 101 years old – lived through most of it.
Adapted from Robert Francis Garcia’s Welcome Remarks at the book launch of Retrieving the Past: A Memoir by Joel Rocamora on 28 March 2025 at the University of the Philippines Asian Center.
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For book orders, contact:
Marinette Flores Eugenio, Institute for Popular Democracy (IPD)
Contact No.: +63977304 5702
Gcash No: +639773045702
Address: 63 Masikap extension Brgy Central, Diliman 1100 Quezon City Philippines
Robert Francis “Bobby” Garcia is the author of To Suffer thy Comrades: How the Revolution Decimated its Own. He was Undersecretary at the Office of the Political Adviser for President Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. He previously worked at the UN, Oxfam, ASEAN, and other international organizations. He is the Board Chairman of the Institute for Popular Democracy (IPD) and Founding Chair of the Peace Advocates for Truth, Healing, and Justice (PATH), a human rights organization.
He presently leads the Technical Assistance Team of Governance in Justice (GOJUST) II – Human Rights, supporting the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) through funds from the European Union (EU) and the Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) of Spain.
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