Still fighting the good fight

Father Brian Gore (‘60) has celebrated 50 years of outstanding service to humanity in the Philippines, including 14 months spent in a Filipino jail on trumped up charges of multiple murder and illegal possession of ammunition.

The Columban priest shared his incredible story on a recent visit to his old school, blaming his passion for adventure on the St Columban Mission magazines distributed by Brother Hodgson when he was a young student.

Freshly ordained and ready to take on the world, in 1970 Fr Gore arrived at the island of Negros in the Philippines. The country was struggling under President Ferdinand Marcos’ regime, and the rookie priest was plunged into a very different world to what he had left behind.

“We learned nothing in the seminary about how to work in a revolution where there was fighting going on, murders, people disappearing – it was a very steep learning curve,” Fr Gore said.

In 1972 Marcos was unable to run for president for the third time, and declared martial law. All institutions, including the church, were ruled by decree, and the grassroots humanitarian organisation that Fr Gore and his fellow community workers were providing was viewed as a threat by the dictatorship.

Looking for a way to be rid of the foreigners, which included Fr Niall O’Brien from Ireland, in 1983 the regime arrested Fr Gore for the murder of the local mayor and also for inciting a rebellion with apparent possession of subversive documents, a hand grenade and five bullets.

“As one journalist put it: ‘If Father Gore had wanted to start a revolution, he had a lot to learn,” the passionate priest said.

Along with Fr O’Brien and six church workers, the CBC Old Boy was thrown in jail and spent some 14 months in custody while attempting to clear their names. The group became known as the ‘Negros Nine’ in the international press and the case even came to the attention of the Prime Minister of Australia at the time, Bob Hawke.

Eventually, after 14 months in jail, the Philippines government offered a pardon, but Fr Gore continued to fight to be completely exonerated from the charges.

On 3 July, 1984, Fr Gore was released, returning to Australia as part of the agreement to have all charges exonerated. After three years, when Marcos was no longer in power, the persistent priest returned to Negros where he continues to work with the local people to this day.

In fact, Fr Gore has no intention of leaving the people he has spent so much time amongst. Despite being semi-retired, he is still an active Missionary and remains a driving force behind the Negros Nine Human Development Foundation. The organisation seeks to empower the poor and alleviate poverty with projects to provide a sustainable future for the locals, including education and training, environmental issues and, a particular passion of Fr Gore’s, the abolishment of human trafficking.

Half a century after commencing his mission, the boy from Fremantle is still seeking recognition and reparation for the human rights violations of thousands of people who suffered during the violent Marcos regime. With a conviction of values that distinguishes a CBC gentleman, Fr Gore continues to fight the good fight.

“Human rights are human rights and we don’t discriminate on race, nationality, sex, whatever.” he said.