Liliosa Hilao was a 21 year old activist for academic freedom, and editor of Hasik, the official newspaper of her school. She was the seventh child of an impoverished fisherman from Bulan, Sorsogon. She was murdered two weeks before she would have graduated summa cum laude at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. During the first quarter storm of 1970, she became a democrat, joining the Demokratikong Kabataan (Democratic Youth Alliance), formerly called Aletheia. Despite her family's impoverished state at the time, she, together with other activists, worked in the slums of Intramuros, helping the squatters with their basic needs.
She was tortured, raped, killed, and her body was returned bloodied, mutilated, and scorched with muriatic acid.
Before her Death
In April 4, 1973, 15 men and a woman alighted near the Hilao residence in Project 3, Quezon City. These included Col. Felix, Lt. Castillo, Lt. Garcia, Sgt. de Sagun, George Ong, another man named Felix, and a Women's Auxiliary Constabulary (WAC) named Ester. The rest of the group positioned themselves about 20 meters away, presumably in case anybody escaped the residence.
Together, they ransacked the apartment while Liliosa's mother, her youngest sister Gigi, 16, and the second-youngest daughter, Marie, watched in horror. Her mother was even in a plaster cast, recovering from an unrelated accident. Ester held Gigi in one room, two of the other men held Marie in another room.
Miraculously, Marie managed to escape, leaping over high concrete walls, past howling dogs, and ignoring warnings from the two men that she would be shot. Gigi, on the other hand, was not so lucky. The men, furious at the escape of her sister, brought Gigi back to camp Crame, before returning her to her home again at 6 PM. One neighbor realized what was happening, and attempted to warn Lily before she got home. Unfortunately, Liliosa was still capture and brought back to her residence.
Her Torture
Liliosa's cries echoed through her neighborhood until well past 1:30 AM. A loud, desperate, and anguished scream could be heard as Lt. Castillo undressed Lily, who kicked and fought the entire time. Tension spread throughout her neighbors, who were anxious to help but knew that there was nothing they could do. Lily struggled so hard, for so long that the rape attempt at their residence ultimately failed. Instead, they brought her back to Camp Crame, handcuffed.
All of this happened in the span of a single day. In following day, there was no news about her, and her family was under heavy surveillance for the time being. Lily's cousin Arnold was tortured so severely that he couldn't work the next day.
April 6, 1973 was the last day Lily was seen alive. Gigi was summoned by the WAC to supposedly bring clothes for Lily. Gigi was held for the entire day, and allowed to return home on April 7. She brought home a placard saying "Sister is dead."
Her Gruesome Fate
When her body was returned to the family, Lily's skirt was torn and bloodied, her torso covered with bandages, and her underclothing completely missing. It was clear that she was re-clothed after her death. Nobody knows what happened to Lily at Crame except the guards who were there, but the V. Luna Hospital holds records of her autopsy. Her face, especially her mouth, was scorched by muriatic acid. Her neck and throat were badly burned. Two pin punctures were found on the arm. In an attempt to prevent an impartial autopsy, the internal organs were removed. Hypodermic needles were jabbed into the arms to make it appear as if she was a drug addict. Her eyes and mouth were wide open.
Before her burial, the military attempted to fool the students by hiding Lily's body. Of course, seeing her body would reveal the awful nature of her death. Her body was taken out of a coffin and placed in a stretcher, purportedly for re-autopsy at the Funeraria Popular. They tried to hide it in the basement for the meantime, planning to transfer it elsewhere, but a group of students were on the way to the Memorial Center at the time. The guards shuffled to get near the body, but they were driven away by angry students who formed a human cordon around it.
Versions of her Death
The military gave three conflicting versions of her death.
Her torturer claimed that she committed suicide by drinking muriatic acid from the men's bathroom in Camp Crame.
A telegram sent by the military to her teachers and classmates at her school said simply that she had "died of drug addiction."
The military informed her father in Bulan through perhaps the most ridiculous lie of the three: "Lily had died of a heart attack."
Note: Readers of the first book may recognize the omission of Cpt. Rogelio Roque's involvement in the story. We've been informed of some discrepancy in the story regarding his involvement and, in an effort to prevent defamation of Mr. Roque's character, we've omitted this detail until we have completed our investigation.