Reflections on Brother Armin Altamirano Luistro, FSC

Brave, Courageous Acts

American Christian Brothers were sent to the Philippines after World War II to teach and to recruit Filipino young men to become Brothers, train them well, see that they got their doctorates and then hand over the schools to them and leave, which is what we did.

Brother Armin, Secretary of the Department of Education, Republic of the Phillippines, who came of age during Ferdinand Marcos’ repressive 20-year regime, was among the young Philippine Brothers who took a brave stand against their government’s corruption, human rights violations and the increasing poverty the government’s policies created. These brave De La Salle Brothers of the Philippines wrote a letter of protest that was published in the papers, on TV and the radio. It shocked people and was an incredibly bold thing to do. The few American Brothers who were still there were thrilled. We could never have done what they did. We would have been thrown out of the country immediately.

When Corazon (Cory) Aquino challenged Marcos in a 1986 presidential election, the Christian Brothers offered her several rooms in their house at La Salle Green Hills in Manila as refuge. They defended and supported her in her peaceful demonstrations. He and the other Brothers were out there in their white robes, marching with her. Her late husband, Senator Benigno Aquino, a vocal critic of Marcos, had been jailed, forced into exile and finally assassinated by the soldiers who brought him back to the Philippines, something people blamed on Imelda Marcos, the president’s wife. Cory was in considerable danger of assassination, which would have been an easy way for the government to get rid of her. When she made public appearances, Brother Armin, who had become her close spiritual and political confidant, joined other Brothers and supporters in forming a protective ring around her wherever she went. If someone tried to shoot her, they would have to shoot some of these other people first.

These are some of the brave, courageous acts of the Philippine Christian Brothers.

After a disputed election in which Marcos was accused of twisting the outcome, the strong man fled the country when Cory Aquino prevailed as the winner. She was the first woman president of the Philippines. And because the Brothers became known as the supporters of true and honest elections, and supporters of the poor and the working class, a building on their Green Hills campus became the home of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), the central body for elections in the Philippines where polling and tabulation took place.

When Cory died in 2008, Brother Armin was asked to deliver her eulogy at her national funeral, a very high honor. Cory’s son, Benigno Aquino III, was elected president in 2010, and the Philippine Brothers were a part of that, as were the poor and the working class, who got him elected. The new president asked Brother Armin to be his Secretary of Education. The Philippine Brothers had already begun to transform Philippine education, creating in their schools a more fair mixture of poor, working class and wealthy Philippine children.

As Secretary of Education, Brother Armin refuses any kind of protection or bulletproof car, unlike everyone else in the president’s cabinet. He drives his own simple car, and reports a modest net worth—just over $2,000. He simply cannot be corrupted.

Brother Armin is a particularly hands-on Secretary of Education. He is known for taking off by himself in that humble car and driving, unannounced, to some school in his nation to just see how they’re doing. He drops in, with no trumpets, fanfare or festivities, to talk with the principal and just say hi to the kids.