Manolo Hollero Sr. was a college student in Manila during the First Quarter Storm and was drawn into the militant student movement. He joined several demonstrations and rallies where, on one occasion, his right hand was hurt by an improvised explosive (pillbox). In early 1971, Manolo decided Manila had become too dangerous and went home to Iloilo, where he continued to organize protest activists together with local activists.
In 1974, Manolo was arrested and subsequently detained for seven months at Camp Delgado. He was tortured. After his release, he left Iloilo City and went to join the armed opposition in the hinterlands of central Panay. There he continued his organizing work among the peasantry.
Manolo easily won the affection of the people in the communities he stayed in. He was helpful and sensitive to the needs especially of the poor and the oppressed people. He also showed leadership qualities.
Manolo was killed in November 1977 in Calinog, Iloilo, in circumstances that have not ever been established.
According to his comrade’s accounts, Manolo was hurt in an ambush. He was hit in the leg and unable to run away, so he was captured by the soldiers. But he was brutally tortured and finally killed by his captors on November 3, 1977 in Calinog, Iloilo. The military commander who led the ambush was Captain Nick Roca of the Constabulary Security Unit then operating in Panay island.
When his body was recovered and brought home to Jaro two days later, it bore stab wounds in the neck, ears and body, his right leg almost totally severed,. His hands and feet were broken, and parts of his body bore torture marks. His remains were never autopsied.
Hundreds paid homage during his funeral although it was the height of martial rule.
