Francisco ‘Dodong’ Nemenzo: In memoriam
The day after Bishop Ambo David returned from Rome as one of the newly appointed cardinals of the Catholic Church, he visited my dear friend Dodong Nemenzo at the Philippine General Hospital to anoint him. Dodong’s son, Fidel, had earlier shared with me that his father, whose health was rapidly declining, would see a priest only if it was Ambo. On Dec. 19, just five days after this visit, Dodong passed away, two months shy of his 90th birthday.
Dodong once told me that during the COVID pandemic years, he often listened to Ambo’s Masses online to break the monotony of isolation. He liked Ambo’s homilies so much that he joked about returning to the Church if Ambo were ever elected Pope. Beneath the humor, however, I always sensed an unspoken spiritual side to Dodong—a part of him that remained fastened to something beyond the merely cerebral.
Dodong’s spiritual roots ran deep. Raised by devoutly Catholic parents, he spent his first year of high school in a minor seminary in Argao, Cebu. Yet, this experience proved to be disastrous for a young boy with an inherently inquisitive mind. Instead of nurturing a vocation for the religious life, the seminary fathers inadvertently awakened a contrarian nature in Dodong, leading him to challenge beliefs often regarded as untouchable.
In an autobiographical essay that serves as the opening chapter of an upcoming book, Dodong reflected on his brief time in the seminary as the moment he realized he was a rebel. He sought out books to challenge established doctrines and gravitated toward mentors who shared his skepticism of conventional religious and cultural norms. By the time he entered the University of the Philippines (UP), Dodong’s skepticism had evolved into a deeper, more critical view of all human belief systems.
As a mature intellectual, he professed a keen interest in the emancipatory theology of Gustavo Gutierrez and admired Paulo Freire’s humanist praxis outlined in Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Though he unabashedly identified as a Marxist, his perspective leaned closer to the young Marx—the romantic theorist of alienation—than to the rigid doctrines of established communist parties.
Despite his incisive intellect and acerbic polemics, Dodong was never an unpleasant speaker or debater. His abundant Visayan humor and ability to find levity in the gravest issues made him a captivating storyteller. He often recounted absurd situations from his life with such charm that it was impossible not to laugh. He was fond of mavericks and had a deep respect for the so-called “nuisance candidates” who ran in elections. He found hidden brilliance in their unconventional ideas and viewed their antics as a form of rebellion against societal norms that favored the pompous and the corrupt.
This warmth and humor endeared Dodong to many in academe, even those who might have been put off by his radical views. After parting ways with the Communist Party, he devoted himself to academia, eventually rising to its highest echelons. From serving as the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, he became chancellor of UP Visayas, faculty regent, and ultimately, president of the University of the Philippines. His eloquence and vast vocabulary, nurtured by a lifelong love of literature and philosophy, lent a distinctive voice to his speeches and writings, delivered in his endearing Visayan accent.
Dodong was the quintessential progressive intellectual. He shattered disciplinary boundaries by advocating for interdisciplinary approaches to both national and global challenges. Having distanced himself from dogmatic Marxism, he sought to establish a broader political movement grounded in a uniquely Filipino socialist vision. This endeavor culminated in the formation of BISIG—Bukluran para sa Ikauunlad ng Sosyalistang Isip at Gawa (Union for the Advancement of Socialist Thought and Action)—an eclectic coalition of independent thinkers and indefatigable organizers seeking transformative change. My wife Karina and I were among his earliest recruits into this movement.
Though neither Karina nor I were formally his students, Dodong was the closest equivalent to a lifelong mentor we ever had. In the late 1960s, it was on his suggestion that we pursued studies at the University of Manchester in England, enrolling in the same Faculty of Economic and Social Studies where he and his wife Princess had spent years earning their degrees a decade earlier.
For over 50 years, we were neighbors in Area I of the UP Campus. Over time, our families became extensions of one another, our bonds strengthened not just by proximity but also by shared ideals and a common commitment to an unfinished socialist project.
Dodong Nemenzo was more than a loyal friend and mentor; he was for us an exemplar of intellectual courage and an irrepressible advocate of the necessity and possibility of revolutionary change. He challenged us to think critically, act purposefully, and to never stop striving for a better world. His wit, wisdom, and unwavering dedication to emancipatory causes will remain etched in the hearts of all who knew him.
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