“The long and winding road that leads to your door will never disappear” – The Beatles
The genuine agrarian reform advocates, rural development workers, and small producers lost one of its prime movers. Arnel Ligahon, “Tibo,” as he is casually and fondly called, went ahead and opened the door to his long and winding road. Several years ahead of me, this humble and savvy person is considered a mentor in one and more ways in my growth as a rural development worker.
His soft but penetrating wisdom left a mark among sugar workers, especially the agrarian reform beneficiaries of Negros where he made sure he would be inseparable with them whichever field of work or vocation he is in. After he mastered his international solidarity work with the foreign partners supporting the marginalized sugar workers through the National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW). Tibo moved to Alter Trade and later became the manager of its mill – the Alter Trade Milling Corporation that later became Alter Trade mill when assumed by Alter Trade Philippines, Inc.
Always a listener, it made him more effective in his craft. Tibo has always been appreciated and admired by colleagues especially by the sugar workers because of his demeanor and humility in dealing with issues directly affecting them as he offered some alternatives as solutions to the challenges besetting them. Whenever faced with critical and immediate problems never lost his composure and more often than not he was always driven by objectivity.
When I joined Alter Trade in 2017 I came to know better of Tibo. But prior to my entry his years with Alter Trade, Tibo was witness and at the same a major player perhaps in the toughest of times, together with colleagues overcoming those challenges. Over the years his life can be described as a colorful one, that can only be anticipated as he did not intend it to be. It was painted with colors not by him but by the people around him where he kept his effective silence and listening ears and with selfless acts. Naturally preferring to be at the backseat made him more effective in his struggle with sugar workers and colleagues.
Tibo spent three decades with Alter Trade and as far as the pioneers are concerned, there was not a decade that was not highlighted by a major challenge, starting from the sugar crisis in the 1980’s that paved the way for its establishment. Crossing through the late 1990’s was another blow to Alter Trade jumping into the new millennium, and culminating into the second decade of the year 2000 Tibo was always there with colleagues, Alter Trade personnel, and mill workers and the small producers, overcoming all those problems of almost all sorts.
The arena of battle that he chose has evolved in significant leap – the ARB’s have overcome the Tiempos Muertos ghost where they have improved their economic condition mainly by their own struggles, but it is safe to say that Tibo, his colleagues and fellow advocates have contributed to such evolution.
Tibo’s long and winding road may have ended but he is assured that his colleagues and partners especially the small producers and the ARB’s will continue and pursue what he left and those who went ahead with him with them as inspiration.
The pursuit for genuine land reform and poverty alleviation towards economic development in the countryside has evolved and gradually came into fruition where he made a contribution and left a seed for us to water and nurture.
Tibo opened the door where he found eternal rest. This is a consequential, yet inspirational cycle that we all will certainly go through. In the meantime, let us traverse our own long and winding road.*
