Manila Bulletin (MB) reporter Bong M. Reblando (2nd from left) smiles in this undated file photo taken during a past Saudi Arabian national day celebration in Makati City.

This is a very personal note for my Brother Alejandro “Bong” M. Reblando, 53, the Manila Bulletin reporter who was among the journalists senselessly murdered in the line of duty while covering an event in Maguindanao Province, which normally would not have gotten so much attention.

Heaven and all of humanity are crying justice for you and the rest!

The journalists were part of the 50 or so strong convoy from Buluan, Maguindanao, on Monday morning covering the filing of Certificate of Candidacy (CoC) of Vice Mayor Ismael “Toto” Mangudadatu, who was going to run for governor against the clan of former Gov. Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr.

And big attention it did, because, as survivor John Paul Jubelag of Manila Standard Today said in an interview Tuesday with radio and television anchor Ted Failon over dzMM radio, another Moro clan, which is thought to be just as powerful and influential would be contesting the gubernatorial race of Maguindanao, one of the provinces of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Thus, the impending Ampatuan-Mangudadatu race in 2010 was a surefire magnet for news coverage.

As of Tuesday morning, the total count of the massacre victims was still at 24, with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) joining to literally unearth the victims’ bodies and identify them.

Failon read over the radio the list of the confirmed dead, one of them my Brother Bong.

I knew Bong as a dedicated journalist, warm person, friendly and full of laughter.

Together, with another Manila Bulletin reporter Ali G. Macabalang we've been in many places in Mindanao to cover events and occasions.

Sometimes, he would come over to Manila and join me in covering some events.

Religion – he was a staunch Catholic and me a Muslim – was never even an atom of factor to divide us. I called him “Datu” and called me “Datu” in return, in our conversations, emails, and text messages.

“Datu” is a Malay word that, without its “warlord-ish” connotation, also means a term of endearment. Moro elders usually call young boys datu to show fondness.

To my dear Brother Bong, my heart is crying and I have shed a few tears upon hearing the tragedy that befell you. I will never forget you. I will remember you as a dear brother who had counseled me in the past, both personal and professional matters. I owe many good things that now I cannot repay.

I can’t remember the date when we first met through Ali at the office. But when we met, there was a certain amount of lightness of being, maybe because we are of the same 53 summers in our lives.

I wish from my heart that your family, your wife and children, your relatives and friends would have the strength to bear this tragedy. A tragedy that has now caught the world’s attention. And there lies justice. Those you and the others left behind will not rest until justice is served.

The last time we have contact through text was Sunday morning (November 22). I asked him if he was in Manila with Ali. “No,” he texted back. He did not tell me about the next morning’s coverage in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao.
With my dear Brother Bong’s death, I am a lesser person.

I am sure my Brother Bong would be in some place good, with his Notebook computer and fingers on the keyboard. Ready as usual to pound the keys and report the news!