Ditto Sarmiento: Portrait of the Writer as a Valiant Hero
by Vichael Angelo Roaring, Philippine Collegian, 04 October 1997

We all have personal images of what heroes ought to look like tucked in the personal recesses of our minds. Such concepts of heroism, courage, and martyrdom are more commonly associated with power, strength, and physical might. But how do we reconcile this association of heroism and martyrdom with the life of Abraham “Ditto” Sarmiento Jr. the lanky bookworm who vigorously fought the repression and depravation of the martial law regime?

The Bespectacled Bibliophile
” Ordinary” and “quiet” were the words family and friends would use to describe the young man wearing a thick pair of bifocal lenses. Born the eldest son to the affluent couple Attorney Abraham Florendo Sarmiento and Irene Montano Pascual, on June 5, 1950, Ditto lived a pampered, sheltered and silver-spooned existence. He studied in the exclusive Ateneo de Manila from grade school to high school. His mind was considered at par with the level of geniuses by family, peers, and school officials. Up to his adulthood, Ditto’s exceptional intellect did not go unnoticed, with even his military interrogators asking about his impressive IQ. His preference for the company of books and his perennial bouts with asthma did not help erase the ‘geeky nerd’ label attached to Ditto during his grade school, high school, and to some extent, even in college.

Ditto’s asthma and his weak physique were problems that hounded him throughout his life. This, coupled by his maternal grandmother, Lola Inggay’s overzealousness in shelling out cash for his forays in the bookstore during his early days gave Ditto a head start in his passion and appreciation for books. Ditto entered college and had his first dose of radicalism and activism in the University of the Philippines during the summer of 1967. At the age of 20, Ditto married Marsha Santos. Their short marriage eventually ended in a separation but bore a son named Dritter.

The Paper
The University of the Philippines and its official campus paper, the Philippine Collegian, became institutions central to Ditto’s life. During his sophomore year in UP, he joined the Alpha Phi Beta Fraternity, and the Philippine Collegian. Starting as a reporter, Ditto’s diligence paid off. He became editor-in-chief in 1975.

Ditto’s assumption of the Editorial post had come at a time of severe political turmoil. Under Ferdinand Marcos’ Martial Law, printing presses were being padlocked and journalists were being arrested en masse. It was in this time of eerie silence that the Collegian, at the leadership of Ditto, found its strongest voice. With a sharp mind and an equally sharp pen, Ditto openly bashed the dictatorship, rousing student concern about the worsening national political crisis. In the editorial for a September 24, 1975 issue titled “On the Right of the Studentry to be Represented,” Ditto wrote “The University is not, after all a Diliman Republic. We do, after all, live in the Philippines. And the Philippines, after all is in a state of crisis.”

Ditto’s clear cut stand on the role of UP during the dictatorship rang clearly in his editorials. One, dated July 23, 1975, stated “We must never lose sight of the fact that we are under Martial Law with its concomitant restrictions on civil liberties and personal freedom. For opposed to this is the idea of the University, a University dedicated to molding young men and women into mature adults capable of thinking and deciding for themselves. The University should not only offer knowledge it should also inculcate wisdom, for as Dr. Renato Constantino wrote, knowledge is power, [but] only wisdom is liberty.”

Crimes Against the Military State
The Collegian soon faced the ire of the Martial Law bigwigs. Abraham Sarmiento Jr. was “invited” by the military for an interrogation on December 26, 1975, only a few days after his mother died. But Ditto remained unfazed, his editorials not in the slightest bit lacking in sharpness. In the article “A Message of Hope to Filipinos” of the December 16, 1975 issue, the Collegian printed an article citing 500 signatories challenging Marcos to convene the Interim National Assembly which would provide an orderly transmission from the presidential to the parliamentary government. From the Bangkok Post, Collegian reprinted “Where Does The Philippines Go From Here?” an article questioned the way the military regime was leading the country.

In a bold and unprecedented move, Collegian distributed copies of its January 14, 1976 special issue with the editorial titled “Uphold Campus Freedom” right inside the building in the University where Marcos and his wife Imelda were invited as ‘honored’ guests, almost directly in front of them. In the editorial, entitled “The Collegian and Suppression” Ditto’s remembered words appeared: “Kung Hindi Tayo Kikibo, Sinong Kikibo? Kung Di Tayo Kikilos, Sinong Kikilos? Kung Hindi Ngayon, Kailan Pa?” Ditto continued “If it is the youth’s conviction that the time has come to uphold strongly their right, not only for free expression but to pursue truth, justice and freedom, then so is the Collegian’s decision to begin with the struggle for people’s and student’s rights.” The editorial adds “The time has come for us to take action and not lie silently about as our rights increasingly become trampled upon. The time is now, for if not now, when?…Only us the studentry in alliance with other progressive sectors of society can stand up to fight our inherent right for free expression.”

This, it turned out, was the straw that broke the old Apo’s back. The next editorial by Ditto for the Philippine Collegian entitled “Where Do We Go From Here?” was published a week afterward, disputing Marcos’ New Society or the “Bagong Lipunan.” This was to be his last editorial and presswork for the Collegian as he was arrested at his house and detained at Fort Bonifacio on January 24, 1976 for his violation of Presidential Decrees Nos. #33 and #34, rumor mongering and printing and circulation of leaflets and propaganda materials.

Ditto’s incarcerations at Fort Bonifacio and Camp Crame worsened his fragile health. While his father continuously lobbied for his transfer from the sub-human conditions in the military prison to a hospital, Ditto shared his prison cell with other detainees, those whom the Military dictatorship considered detrimental to the “New Society” because of their critical view at the government and their desire to enact change. It was in prison that Ditto met the urban poor, and the others of society whom he never got to know of during his sheltered childhood. In prison, Ditto met such activists as Leonardo Nicdao, Nestor Bongayong, Mariflor Parpan, Edgar Maranan and Satur Ocampo. In a letter to Ditto’s family, Ocampo, his cellmate, wrote, “Ditto in one sense was quite a boy, but he was in times of crises, no ordinary man. His rectitude and courage as a Collegian editor attested to this. At close range I witnessed his strong will to disregard his frail health and prepare himself for a hunger strike when the two of us were faced with such a challenge.”

The fetters of captivity did not bar Ditto from fighting his battle in the four corners of his cell. Ditto was more than willing to engage in a hunger strike, along with other political detainees. Fellow inmates in the Bicutan Rehabilitation Center said, “Ditto rose above the situation and braved the wrath of the powers to assert truth over falsehood, principle over obsequiousness, the people’s interest over the ruling few.”

A Comet Exits
Under orders from Philippine Constabulary Chief General Fidel V. Ramos, Ditto was granted temporary liberty on August 27, 1976. But the almost six months he was denied adequate medical attention coupled with the non-conducive surroundings of his prison had taken their toll upon Ditto’s frail body. On November 11, 1977. Abraham Sarmiento Jr. died of a heart attack, alone, in his room. He was twenty-seven.

Ditto’s heroism and courage will never cease to inspire. Former President Diosdado Macapagal’s words ring deep and true in his reply to Ditto’s queries. “Kami ang kikibo, kami ang kikilos, hindi bukas kundi ngayon.”