Since 2005, Cuba has sent medical brigades to various countries to assist in combating the dreaded Ebola virus as well as COVID-19
We share with the far-off island of Cuba a long history of Spanish colonial rule that spanned more than four centuries.
We also freed ourselves from the same colonial master at about the same time in the late 19th century.
We likewise share a history of fierce resistance against tyranny and oppression.
Today, this shared historical experience against colonialism and tyranny finds concrete expression in the Philippines-Cuba Cultural and Friendship Association or PhilCuba, which, as the name suggests, seeks to foster solidarity with the Cuban people and supports their struggle to defend their national sovereignty.
The group recently issued a press statement to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Moncada Barracks Attack on July 26, 1953 that started the Cuban Revolution and eventually achieved victory in 1959 under the leadership of Fidel Castro.
PhilCuba pointed out that at present, despite economic difficulties, Cuba has shown the world how its people benefit from a system which considers the welfare of the people its primary concern.
“Cuba guarantees free education, from preschool to tertiary, to the entire population. It continuously trains medical and health professionals and improves its health system that caters to the entire population all throughout their lives. It has a very low infant mortality rate, even lower than those in some rich countries,” it emphasized.
The association also noted that in the last six decades, a total 605,698 Cuban health professionals have served in 165 countries in five continents.
Since 2005, Cuba has sent medical brigades to various countries to assist in combating the dreaded Ebola virus as well as COVID-19.
It has also trained thousands of medical doctors worldwide, and made significant advances in biotechnology and pharmaceutical development.
In fact, Cuba is the only Caribbean nation that has produced five candidate-vaccines at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which helped it cope with the pandemic despite the US-imposed blockade.
Cuba could have contributed immensely in responding to health crises and pandemics, the group said, if the blockade had been lifted.
The blockade and the “tightening of the sanctions make it almost impossible for Cuba to procure primary materials for its pharmaceuticals, to sell its products, especially the medicines and inventions in biotechnology, and even to allow people to freely travel to Cuba to conduct business.”
Much worse, PhilCuba said, after the Trump administration, Cuba was again included in the list of countries supporting terrorism, which further aims to strangle the Cuban people.
The Biden administration, on the other hand, recently announced a $1-million campaign to counter Cuba’s medical collaboration.
PhilCuba also emphasized that “as the Cuban people fight US sanctions that have gotten more cruel even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the lesson of Moncada that they should dare resist an unjust rule or dictatorship is one source of strength.”
It said: “We in PhilCuba call on the Marcos government to resist US pressure to take its side on Cuba, and instead, see how the Philippines and Cuba could learn from, and help, each other.
“We call on governments and peoples to make a stand against unilateral sanctions…Cuba has much to contribute to people’s development around the world, but instead of supporting the island-nation’s efforts, the US is tightening its sanctions. ”
PhilCuba was organized in year 2000 by Dr. Francisco ‘Dodong’ Nemenzo, who remains its head up to the present.
The website of the Philippine Social Science Council (PSSC), a private, non-profit organization of professional social science associations and social science research and instructional institutions in the country, describes Nemenzo as “one of the country’s most respected political scientists who, in his own words, ‘specialized in the study of unconventional politics.’”
Nemenzo pursued graduate studies at the University of Manchester in England, where he immersed himself in Marxist philosophy and political economy.
His scholarly works focused on the dynamics of revolutionary movements in the Philippines.
At UP, Nemenzo served in various capacities—as political science professor, college dean, Chancellor, and. finally, as University President.
During his stint at the helm of the premier State University, the council said, Nemenzo led the development of the Revitalized General Education Program which now allows students to choose their own general education courses which would lay the foundation of their college education; a special fund to support the academic growth of the faculty; and much-improved facilities and equipment that enhanced the learning environment in the University.
The PSSC concluded that “his contributions to the academic community prove his ‘commitment to education and belief in the Filipino youth.’”
Nemenzo was among those hauled to Camp Crame after the declaration of martial law in 1972.
Upon his release, he resumed teaching at UP.
I was among those who enrolled in his class on “Philippine Revolution” in the mid-70s.
I forget now what grade I obtained in his class.
What I do remember distinctly is that he smoked a cigarette while lecturing us on the theory and practice of revolution in the Philippine setting.
I did likewise and so did a few others, if I remember right.
Amid the haze from the cigarette smoke in the classroom, we listened intently to what he had to tell us about ‘unconventional politics’ that got him into trouble with the military at the time and landed him in the stockade along with many others because of Proclamation 1081. (Email: [email protected])