In Memoriam

Ka Luis Jalandoni
Filipino Revolutionary, Stalwart of Peace

On June 7, 2025, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) issued the sad news that Comrade Luis Jalandoni passed away at the age of 90. Comrade Jalandoni was a proud member of the CPP. Forced to live in exile with his life-long partner in the struggle Comrade Coni Ledesma, he represented the Party’s International Relations Department in Amsterdam, spearheaded the International work of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and built its International Office in Utrecht, Netherlands.

The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) had the honour of working with Comrade Jalandoni on several occasions and cherishes fond memories of solving problems facing the movement together and learning from him the truth of the heroic struggles of the brave Filipino people.

Our Party expresses its deepest sympathies to Comrade Coni, all Luis’ family members and to the Central Committee of the CPP and all its fighters for liberation, freedom, democracy and peace.

Comrade Luis’ fidelity to the cause of the Filipino people, his courage and ever forward-looking counsel will ever serve to inspire us and encourage the work to build support for the struggle of the Filipino people by uniting in action here and abroad against common enemies.

Message of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of the Philippines
June 7, 2025

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) confers its highest honors and pays tribute to Ka Luis Jalandoni, in recognition of his steadfast dedication and contribution to building and strengthening the Party and the National Democratic Front, and to waging the people’s democratic revolution, principally through armed struggle, as well as other forms of struggle, including peace negotiations.

Ka Luis passed away today. He was 90.

Ka Luis lived a life that was nothing short of extraordinary. Ka Luis was born into a family of big landlords and sugar barons in Negros Island on February 26, 1935. Despite the comfort and privilege he was born into, Ka Luis developed a deep political consciousness through his immersion in the lives and struggles of sugar workers who toiled endlessly in the sugar fields of Negros.

He took seriously the maxim of “preferential option for the poor” as a guiding principle in life. As a former Catholic priest, he took part in the “Church to the Barrios” program, leading initiatives in neglected rural communities and learning firsthand the harsh realities of poverty, exploitation, and state repression. His work among the masses transformed him, and deepened his resolve to act not just a shepherd of faith, but as a servant of the revolution.

On February 17, 1972, Ka Luis played a key role in founding the Christians for National Liberation (CNL) as he organized progressive-minded religious workers like himself to resist the fascist state terror of the Marcos Sr. dictatorship. In its founding assembly, both Ka Luis and his wife Ka Coni were elected to the National Executive Board. The following month, in March 1972, Ka Luis joined the Communist Party of the Philippines. The CNL would later become one of the founding allied organizations of the NDFP in 1973.

When Marcos declared martial law, Ka Luis went underground in defiance of the fascist dictatorship. He and Ka Coni were arrested in 1973 and detained at Fort Bonifacio. There, Ka Luis was kept for almost a year in a dark, windowless cell with six or seven others. A wave of protests and campaign efforts by religious and international human rights groups forced the Marcos regime to release them in July 1974.

Ka Luis resumed revolutionary work upon his release. In 1975, he helped organize coordinate the historic La Tondena workers’ strike in Manila – the first major labor strike under martial rule. The strike effectively shattered the climate of fear caused by martial law and marked the resurgence of a series of mass struggles and widespread demonstrations through the late 1970s and early 1980s.

In 1976, Ka Luis went abroad to lead international relations work for the Party and to expose the Marcos dictatorship’s brutal crimes. Due to threats on their lives and the certainty of persecution should they return to the Philippines, Ka Luis and Ka Coni sought and were granted political asylum in the Netherlands – becoming the first Filipinos to do so. From exile, Ka Luis worked tirelessly in building support for the Philippine revolution.

In July 1977, Ka Luis was formally designated as the International Representative of the NDFP. He played a vital role in building the NDFP’s International Office in Utrecht and organizing global support for the Filipino people’s resistance against the U.S.-Marcos dictatorship. He was a key organizer of the People’s Permanent Tribunal on the Philippines in 1980 which exposed the regime’s gross violations of human rights and recognized the NDF as the genuine representative of the Filipino people.

As the NDFP’s chief international representative, Ka Luis undertook proto-diplomatic work and established relations with foreign governments, international agencies, solidarity groups, and revolutionary movements and parties across the globe. He helped amplify the voice of the Filipino people by articulating the revolutionary movement’s just cause.

In 1989, Ka Luis was assigned as chief negotiator of the NDFP in peace negotiations with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP). In this role, he exemplified the revolutionary movement’s firm commitment to achieving a just and lasting peace – one that addresses the roots of armed conflict: landlessness, poverty, and foreign subjugation. Through countless rounds of negotiations, Ka Luis firmly stood as a pillar of integrity and revolutionary resolve, always placing the Filipino masses at the center of the process.

We express our deepest gratitude to Ka Luis Jalandoni for dedicating his life to the Filipino people, to the National Democratic Front, and to the Communist Party of the Philippines. We will forever cherish the immense contributions he made in advancing the people’s struggle for national and social liberation. As we mourn his passing, we firmly vow to carry forward his legacy of selfless service, boundless humility, revolutionary integrity, and commitment to waging the people’s democratic revolution until final victory is won.

Mabuhay ang alaala ni Ka Luis Jalandoni!

Ipagpatuloy ang kaniyang dakilang rebolusyonaryong pamana!