Zacarias Agatep

Father Zacarias Guimmayen Agatep (September 6, 1936 – October 27, 1982),[1] also known by his nickname Apo Kari, was a Filipino Roman Catholic parish priest who was killed for speaking against foreign and local monopolies in Ilocos Sur's tobacco industry during the dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos. He has formally been honored as a hero of democracy who fought against the dictatorship, having had his name etched on the wall of remembrance of the Philippines' Bantayog ng mga Bayani.

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Guimmayen and the surname or paternal family name is Agatep.

Fr.
Zacarias Agatep
Detail of the Wall of Remembrance at the Bantayog ng mga Bayani, showing names from the first batch of Bantayog Honorees, including that of Zacarias Agatep.
Personal
Born(1936-09-06)September 6, 1936
Santo Domingo, Ilocos Sur, Commonwealth of the Philippines
DiedOctober 27, 1982(1982-10-27) (aged 46)
Salcedo, Ilocos Sur, Philippines
Cause of deathGunshot wounds
ReligionRoman Catholic
Known forActivism against the tobacco industry in Ilocos Sur during the Martial law era.
ChurchOur Lady of Hope Parish (Caoayan, Ilocos Sur)

Advocacy work

As the parish priest of Our Lady of Hope Parish in Caoayan, Ilocos Sur father Agatep helped organize cooperatives, taught interested farmers about land reform, and spoke against foreign and local monopolies in the tobacco industry, which formed the backbone of Ilocos Sur's economy at the time.[2]

Arrest and release

He was arrested for supposed "subversion" in 1980 and was incarcerated for four months until he was released as part of Marcos public relations efforts in preparation for a visit by Pope John Paul II. Upon his release, he famously wrote a letter to the President, decrying what he described as a "frame-up" and lamenting the miscarriage of justice typical under the Marcos administration.[3]

Death

Father Agatep kept speaking out against the abuses of the Marcos administration until he was shot four times in the back by unidentified gunmen in October 1982.[4][5]

See also

References
  1. "AGATEP, Zacarias G. – Bantayog ng mga Bayani". Bantayog ng mga Bayani. October 9, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
  2. "21 gunshots for a dictator". Panay News. September 9, 2017. Archived from the original on September 10, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2020.
  3. Conroy Franco, Jennifer. (2001). Elections and democratization in the Philippines. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-8153-3734-5. OCLC 44517941.
  4. Youngblood, Robert L. (1990). Marcos against the church : economic development and political repression in the Philippines. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press. p. 81. ISBN 978-1-5017-4639-0. OCLC 646438787.
  5. Maximiano, Dr Jose Mario Bautista (October 10, 2018). "Martial Law and Jaime Cardinal Sin". Retrieved January 24, 2020.
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