On January 31 at Kamuning Bakery Café, Quezon City, the Pandesal Forum gathered scholars, family representatives, and public historians to commemorate Pedro Abad Santos, a revolutionary leader and tireless advocate for workers and peasants. The discussion emphasized Abad Santos’s long-standing commitment to social justice: his leadership in the socialist movement, his advocacy for agrarian reform, and his legal and political work in defense of marginalized communities. Speakers recalled how he repeatedly sacrificed personal wealth and comfort to stand with the rural poor and organized labor, and how his anti-colonial and anti-fascist convictions shaped his public life.

Among those who spoke were Desiree Benipayo, who reflected on Abad Santos’s personal sacrifices and his legal aid to indigent farmers; Eufemio Agbayani III of the NHCP, who placed Abad Santos within the broader arc of Philippine nation-building; and moderator Wilson Lee Flores, who connected Abad Santos’s principles to contemporary struggles for democracy and economic justice. Renato Redentor Constantino observed that Abad Santos’s legacy endures not as a relic of the past but as a living challenge to present-day leaders, reminding the audience, “We are standing on the shoulders of a giant.”

For further coverage and context, see the Mabuhay News and Agila News report.

#PedroAbadSantos150 #PandesalForum

(Featured image sourece: Agila News)