The Story of Puri

Published in 2021 by the Schoenstatt Editions USA, The story of Puri is a Filipina nun’s account of how her younger sister Purificacion Pedro, a church social worker in the Philippines, became an activist against the Marcos regime and consequently died for it.

The author of this extraordinary account is US-based nun Sr. Angelita Pedro, older sister of Bantayog martyr Purificacion Pedro. The author enriches her account with her remembrances, letters exchanged by the family, in critical moments citing from telegrams and affidavits, as well as various statements.

“Our family was pro-Marcos… he was our pride,” Sr. Angelita wrote. The Pedro family rooted for Marcos, a provincemate, believing him to be a good man. An older brother worked in the Marcos government. But Sr. Angelita later began to have doubts. “There were too many unexplained killings,” she said. Unfortunately, her own sister Puri would soon be in that list.

From sister Aurora’s letter: “On Monday morning, Puri left the house with some friends… The next thing … we learned she was in the hospital in Bataan. A woman called… and called again… and said that if we doubt her, we must call Balanga hospital, and this I did. A sergeant answered … I asked him to describe her and it was really her description. Not content, I wanted to know who her parents were. The sergeant went back to the room and later said, ‘Genaro and Maria, and to please come first trip in the morning.’”

From sister Carmen’s sworn statement: “Sunday afternoon, she was so happy with the pace of her recovery she wanted to change her hospital gown to a t-shirt… but she could not lift her left arm so she asked for a fresh gown that opened at the back.” That was the gown Puri was wearing when she died while under military interrogation that late Sunday afternoon. The government’s official version: suicide. The family and those who knew the bubbly social worker could not accept that. That was on the 23rd of January in 1977, some 45 years ago. Still another case in the list of “unexplained killings.” Not many families have had the devastating experience of having lost a loved one in the hands of a government they had so warmly rooted for. Here is an honest and courageous account of the loss of a family’s beloved sister, now one of the country’s martyrs and heroes lost during the Marcos dictatorship, and how the family faced and dealt with both the bereavement and the disillusionment.

Copies will be available for sale in Manila by January 2023.

Book review by May V. Rodriguez