A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO SIR PETER EISELE

Eulogy

For his fearless stand against who he perceived as the tyrants of the day, Sir Peter Eisele faced the figurative firing squad of Sir Virgilio Esguerra and Sir Rogelio Quiambao. In the most ironic way Acting Supreme Commander Esguerra (who's been said to be a puppet of Quiambao) gave the ultimate tribute to the valiance of a crusading Knight of Rizal by "accepting" and doing so arrogantly the resignation of Sir Peter from Manila-based 96-year old Order of the Knights of Rizal.

To Sir Peter's credit Esguerra's acceptance demonstrated his naivette by not understanding that the resignation of Sir Peter and those of many other illustrious Knights were a simple announcement of their personal and unilateral decision to leave the organization and not from a position or an office. The decision to single out Sir Peter was in essence an admission that they were (and still are) incapable of dealing with the issues squarely and that the best way out for them was to let Sir Peter go! Funnily, any fifth grader would understand that Sir Peter's resignation is the type that needs no approval from anybody. Esguerra and company are obviously of the illusion that since they did not accept any other resignation apart from Sir Peter's those members are still with the Order and that they (Esguerra/Quaimbao) continue to wield power which for all intents and purposes is only imaginary!

It is the very same illusion that the fraternity is over 10,000 members strong worldwide. Such boast by Esguerra hides the fact that a measly 115 members or only 0.0115 percent attended the International Assembly held in Manila last March, 2007, an embarrassingly clear indication that most are members in name only or most simply do not care anymore. Sir Peter longed but sadly will never see the revival of the once noble brotherhood carrying the name of Dr. Jose P. Rizal.

His Pronouncements

Through the pages of the Knights of Rizal News and through various emails sent to just about every member Knight, Sir Peter expressed candidly and without equivocation his concerns, criticisms and suggestions intended to bring to light the problems as he saw them and to encourage the righting of wrongs through rational means.

His Cause

Realizing that he was not alone in his quest for reforms in the organization which process of self-destruction started as recently as 2002, Sir Peter quickly joined the Knights of Rizal Reform Movement (KRRM) that was borne out of the Scarborough Manifesto published by the Scarborough Chapter in Canada in 2005. As a result of his reinforced energy he upped the ire of Manila and to them he was public enemy number one. His burning issue - and one that conflagrated in Europe was the alleged highly explosive racist activities of Sir Lino Paras against the non-Filipinos. The latter's own controversial appointment as Regional Commander only complicated the matter. The last part of a three-part administrative debacle was Paras' case of multi-plagiarism. To this day they all remain unresolved.

Sir Peter - and for that matter any decent, civilized, educated and cultured "Knight" - would not tolerate such a situation and a demand for investigation was only natural. Alas, Manila's reaction was not only pathetically inadequate but grossly tolerant of such anomalies by crowning Paras as if he were an untouchable royalty. No wonder Sir Peter was Quiambao's torn in the flesh.

During his time Rizal traveled to Europe to labor and lobby for reforms in the Philippines' colonial government. That was his most important legacy. He modeled a non-violent reform movement for positive and progressive change. It is indeed tragic that today the Knights of Rizal who are supposed to preach the teachings of their hero are fighting for reforms within the Order itself and that the movement is spearheaded by members in foreign countries in a contest against the powers-that-be in Manila!

Observing that despite the efforts of the KRRM Manila would never budge to reason, Sir Peter decided he did not want to waste any more time in what to him was a hopeless situation. That decision proved to be ominous. He probably thought that in view of his failing health he did not have the luxury to wait for a reformation or a revolution ala people power to occur. So, together with other highly respected and respectable true Knights of Rizal in Europe he founded the La Liga Solidaridad International - The Rizalists

His Deeds

Sir Peter - a Friend of the people. He puts to shame many members whose joy and delight in his observation is to display meaningless medals and useless titles by practicing what he preached. Reminiscent of Rizal's La Liga Filipina which objective it was to help the economically insufficient and socially disadvantaged, the Valiant Knight reached out philantropically to countless poor children in Davao, Philippines through his organization "Kaibigan". He talked the talk and he walked the walk.

His Victory

Perhaps silently knowing that he did not have the luxury of time to wait for the desired reform measures to be enacted and put into effect, Sir Peter did what one under the circumstances would do if only to see an immediate application of the principles that he wished were present in the Order in the first place. Having determined therefore that the Order under the present leadership has failed in its mandate, Sir Peter took upon himself, in association with other illustrious Knights in Europe, to launch what he believed would be the more appropriate vessel to carry out his Rizalian aspirations. Before he died, La LigaSolidaridad - the Rizalists, was born!

Grand Kapehen 2007

International Conference on Reforms in the Knights of Rizal

This Conference is dedicated to the memory of Sir Peter Eisele, Reformist, Philanthropist, Rizalist


A Special Tribute