Crispin Beltran died this week, at age 75, from an accidental fall from the roof at his home.

From the KMU website:

For the last two decades, the name Crispin B. Beltran has been associated with pickets, demonstrations, strikes, and generally everything connected to the militant labor movement. Not surprising with him being the chairman of the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU).

Since August of 2001, however, he has become known as something else – a member of one of the biggest, most influential bastions of conservatism in the country, the House of Representatives. From 2001-2003, he was one of three Bayan Muna solons. From 2004 up to present, he now stands as the chairman and representative for labor and urban poor concerns of the Anakpawis partylist. Ka Bel breathes, lives and practices the politics of change and nationalism with the same fervor he does as a leader of the parliament of the streets

There’s more about him here and Carol Araullo has a nice summary here.

But if you want to read a real story - I mean a real, life story - read this pdf. It’s a love story. And it captures so much of the reality of life in the Philippines that I’ve come to understand so much better. So few people in the U.S. have any concept of the realities described in this story - truly Dickensian but oh so common here.

For you not familiar with the Philippines, the story above is set initially in Tondo. And it helps to understand the character of Tondo, which of course isn’t easily captured briefly. It’s captured beautifully in many many books and stories that I can’t recount here. But you might at least start with the Wikipedia entry.