By Niña Catherine Calleja

First Posted 00:42:00 12/15/2008

MANILA, Philippines—It was his poetry that kept him sane during his darkest moments in prison. It was also his poetry that may have brought him close to death and—ironically— what probably saved him.

Now a free man and author of a recently published anthology of poems, Axel Pinpin, one of the so-called "Tagaytay 5" farmers, can look back with grim humor at his two years of detention in Camp Vicente Lim in Laguna.

"I was even thinking of giving them (the police) copies of my book, a gift for them this Christmas," he told the Inquirer at the launch of his "Tugmaang Matatabil" (Glib-tongued Verses) collection at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, on Dec. 3.

He said he hoped his poems would tear through the "thick hides" of his tormentors.

At the book launch were National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera, poet Gelacio Guillermo, playwright Bonifacio Ilagan and singer-composer Bobby Balingit, who all praised Pinpin's craft.

The anthology of 53 poems hit the bookstands three months after a judge threw out the rebellion charges against Pinpin and his four colleagues.

"Many say this book is a small consolation (pa-konsuelo) for what the police took from us while we were buried in the graveyard of the living," Pinpin said, referring to their detention cells.

He recounted to the Philippine Daily Inquirer how government agents kidnapped him and his colleagues at gunpoint, blindfolded and punched them and, in Pinpin's case, made him feel the cold barrel of a gun on his temple.

Punched and kicked

In 2006, after attending a Cavite farmers' meeting, Pinpin and his companions were cruising in Tagaytay City when they were blocked by a white van. His companions included Aris Sarmiento and Riel Custodio, and hired drivers Michael Masayes and Rico Ybañes.

By Pinpin's account, armed men in civilian clothes forced them out of their car, handcuffed them, and shoved them into the van.

Pinpin described as "unimaginable" his group's first seven days in captivity, when they were held incommunicado and got blows and kicks between questionings.

Police filed charges of rebellion against Pinpin and his group in a Regional Trial Court. Later, they were presented to the media as members of the communist New People's Army.

In a previous interview, Pinpin talked about how his poetry either nearly got him killed or saved him.

'Last performance'

Asked by his interrogator what his occupation was, he said: "I'm a poet, Sir." The officer did not believe him and dared him to write a poem and recite it right away.

Pinpin was quick to answer: "Ay, kamatayang anong tamis! Ihimlay mo ako sa pagitan ng putok ng mga baril at ng aking tugmaang matatabil. (O, sweet death! Lay me down between the volleys of gunfire and my glib-tongued rhymes.)"

The officer clapped and said: "Very good but that would be your last performance. "

Collective solitude

There are poems in the book that tell how Pinpin agonized while waiting for his group's acquittal, such as "Isang Dapithapon sa Bilangguan" (A Twilight in Jail), "Sudoku" and "Kung Paano Paslangin ang Pagkabagot sa Loob ng Karsel" (How to Slay Boredom inside the Cell).

In the latter, one stanza reads: "Kapain ang kinis ng pisngi, ikumot ang bali-balita/ Wag nang buhayin ang radio, palayain ang diwa. /At saka makipaghabulan sa bagal ng oras/ At sa di-maabutang kupad nang gulong ng batas."

After 28 months, the celebrated case ended with a victory for the Tagaytay 5. Judge Edwin Larida Jr. dismissed the charges against them and ordered their release.

Poet and critic Jun Cruz Reyes said Pinpin's poems transcended personal issues and that his pieces about isolation were a discourse on "collective solitude."

Inspiration for others

Reyes said: "Words for him are not just for amusement (panlibangan) but an instrument for fighting."

Pinpin, a native of Indang, Cavite, and a BS Agriculture graduate, fell in love with poetry in high school, an influence of his Tagalog poet-father, who wrote love poems for his mother.

Donato Continente, head of the Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainee Laban sa Detensyon at Amnestiya (Selda), said Pinpin's book could be an inspiration to those imprisoned for their political beliefs but who have lost hope.

Copies of the book, published by Southern Voices Printing Press, are available at Popular and Ibon bookstores. It is also expected to be sold this month in National Bookstore, Powerbooks and Goodwill Bookstore.