Sr. Mariani Dimaranan ran away from home to enter the convent two years
after graduating from college. Her father, unable to convince her to
return home, filed a case against her in court. But Sr. Mariani stood
her ground and with all determination and feistiness became an ordained
nun of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Concepcion (SFIC). When
asked why she became a nun, her ready answer was, “because I
want to help the poor.” And for Sr. Mariani, serving the poor
meant not only doing charitable works but being with them in their
struggle for a better life.
By the time of Martial Law, Sr. Mariani was already identified by the Marcos dictatorship as a supporter of what the military deemed as being front organizations of the Communist Party of the Philippines. Because of this, she was detained and having witnessed the torture of political prisoners while she was in detention, upon her release Sister Mariani joined the newly established Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP). The TFDP was set up by the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (AMRSP) to defend political prisoners and document human rights abuses. The class action suits brought by the victims of Marcos’ Martial Rule against his estate rely heavily upon TFDP’s documentation.
Sister Mariani was twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
She
served the TFDP as its Chairperson until 1996.
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