Juan Escandor
Juan B. Escandor (November 14, 1941 - March 31, 1983)[1] was a Filipino cancer specialist, radiologist, and later a rural doctor. He is known for his social work during the Marcos dictatorship, and for the grisly nature of his death, one of the most prominent examples of human rights abuses of the Marcos dictatorship.[2]
Escandor was among the 65 individuals first honored by having his name etched on the wall of remembrance at the Philippines' Bantayog ng mga Bayani, which honors the martyrs and heroes who resisted the authoritarian regime of Ferdinand Marcos.[3]
Early medical career
Before Marcos' declaration of martial law in 1972, Escandor had been Chief Resident of the Department of Radiology at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), and head of the Research Department of the University of the Philippines' Cancer Institute.[4]
After Marcos' martial law declaration
Upon the declaration of Martial Law, Escandor quit his job to join the underground movement against the Marcos dictatorship, and to volunteer his medical services to impoverished residents of Cagayan Valley in Northern Luzon. The Marcos administration labeled him the "NPA doctor" and issued a P180,000 reward for his capture.
Torture and Death
Escandor and a companion, Yolanda Gordula, were last seen having dinner with friends in Caloocan City on March 30, 1983. According to official accounts of the time, Escandor was later shot dead during a firefight on Bohol Avenue in nearby Quezon City.
However, autopsies indicated that he had instead been captured, tortured, and murdered. The autopsy findings showed that his brain had been removed from his skull and shoved into his abdominal cavity, and his skull filled with rags, plastic bags, and a pair of briefs.[5][6] He also had six gunshots throughout his body. Gordula, meanwhile, was never seen again.[7]
Legacy
Mourning Escandor's death, his medical school classmates paid tribute to him saying his death “remind[s] us all that the primary duty of the physician is to heal. And that healing transcends social boundaries and political beliefs.”[1]
Escandor was among the 65 individuals first honored by having his name etched on the wall of remembrance at the Philippines' Bantayog ng mga Bayani, which honors the martyrs and heroes who resisted the authoritarian regime of Ferdinand Marcos.[3]
References
- ^ a b "Escandor".
- ^ "The Persistence of Past".
- ^ a b Malay, Carolina S. Ang mamatay nang dahil sa 'yo. Ermita, Manila, Philippines. ISBN 978-971-538-270-0. OCLC 927728036.
- ^ "Gone too soon: 7 youth leaders killed under Martial Law". 21 September 2017.
- ^ "Philippine Military 'Reformists': Specialists in Torture". Los Angeles Times. 4 February 1990.
- ^ "30 years after their deaths, colleagues still mourn doctors of the people Bobby Dela Paz and Johnny Escandor". 27 April 2012.
- ^ Subcommittee on Human Rights and International, United States Congress House Committee on Foreign Affairs (1983). Human Rights in the Philippines: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, Ninety-eighth Congress, First Session, September 22, 1983. U.S. Government Printing Office.
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