ATENEAN DUREZA SLAMS ATENEO

ON PHILIPPINE MINING

On ‘anti-mining’ Ateneo

Mr. Vinci Bueza:

Thank you for your  15 March letter in reaction to my column  published last week  at the Davao Catholic Herald captioned “On Church and Mining”. In that article, I expressed dismay at the way my alma mater, the Ateneo de Davao University was unduly converted  into an exclusive enclave for the “anti-mining” groups upon the instance of its president, Fr. Joel Tabora, SJ,  presumably  ignoring or bypassing  the Ateneo Board of Trustees which was  supposed to be the competent authority to decide on such policy matter.
I was dismayed because I had been made to believe all along  that the Ateneo was a place where all ideas and sides were allowed to freely interplay and that it was home to all views, however diverse they might be. To alter that needs a policy decision by its Board of Trustees. Not unilaterally or presumptuously by a president.
In that article, I criticized the way  Ateneo allowed its institution to exclusively cater to one sector (the anti-mining) to the   exclusion of  the “pro mining” sector.  Worse, it  even evicted those who were already inside the venue for “not being of like mind”.   You categorically denied that   there was such an  incident of eviction  and forthwith accused me as a liar .  In my long years as a journalist, this is the first time I am accused of writing an “outright lie”. Please know that  I am an “old fashioned” reporter. I check my facts before I write them. Hence,  this is an accusation most undeserved.
I am tempted to also re-enact the now popular “pro and anti mining”  encounter between Ms. Gina Lopez and Mr. Manny Pangilinan weeks ago.   Gina emphatically said “I don’t lie, ” but  at some point in the debate, Manny told her to her face: ”Now you’re lying”. I will however restrain myself and refrain from being unfairly accusatory, as you were, and  will just give specific details of the incident to prove that I did not  fabricate the story.
After the “anti-mining” forum, a communications man  told  me that he   came all the way to Davao  from Manila to attend that forum.  He was from the mining industry and wanted to just sit and listen and  hear the views of the “antis”. He  was of the belief that the forum was open to the public.  He claimed he got that impression from an earlier press conference with  Ateneo President  Tabora as guest.
Nonetheless, he was  already INSIDE  the venue of  that Ateneo  forum FOR ABOUT ONE HOUR when organizers accosted him and asked that he show his registration badge. He had none on his lapel.  He could not show one as he  entered in the company of another media person.  Wanting to stay just to listen,  he first argued with them  saying that he thought, (although erroneously), that it was open to the public. The organizers were adamant and  insisted that  he had to leave the place, the forum    being   “by invitation only”. He further argued but to no avail.  He left to avoid further trouble.
If this is not a case of “physically ejecting (or evicting)  someone who is already inside”, (which  you categorically denied and for which you called me a liar) then, I pray,  what is?
I now request that you categorically clarify once and for all whether the Board of Trustees was consulted or had the opportunity to pass judgment on such an important matter. Sadly, you further exacerbated the issue by invoking   “exercise of academic freedom” to justify why your own Trustees had to be  “out of the loop”. By saying so, you unduly deny  them the authority—nay,  the courtesy — that they deserve.  I trust  this is your own personal afterthought and that of Fr. Tabora   and is not the official position of the University. Otherwise, if I were your Trustee — thankfully I am not — I would quietly hand in my resignation from the Board out of self respect. Please don’t get me wrong. This is my own view. I have the highest respects for your Trustees as I know many of  them personally. And I do not wish to supplant their take on the issue.
One final point.  I always try my best  to avoid belaboring the issue on matters I write about.    However, your  accusatory letter had to be put in its right place. You sounded like many of the “anti mining” elements   who are cocky and who parade themselves as if  they have the exclusive monopoly of  truth, love of country and care for  the environment. JESUS G. DUREZA, Ateneo AB, 1967; Law 1973

CATHOLIC CHURCH OPPOSITION INSPIRING MORE GAY UNIONS

PASTOR Myke Sotero of the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) of Metro Baguio is thanking opposition for the increase of gay and lesbian unions.

Sotero said the publicity inadvertently given by the Roman Catholic Church and local councilors opposing gay and lesbian union increased since the June mass wedding in Baguio City.

“Mas madami na sila. The promotion of the Roman Catholic Church helped open the minds of people at how backward [the Church] thinks and how hateful they could get,” he said.

He added that since June when he united eight couples, there has been at least one union every month. “We have couples coming up to the city to have their weddings with their families.”

Sotero said couples have made Baguio as the venue for their union with the thought they could have their honeymoon in the city as well.

In June, a mass wedding was patterned after traditional Catholic ceremonies at an inn in the city officiated by pastors Sotero, Egay Constantino, Ceejay Agbayani and Regen Luna of the MCC, raising eyebrows and the ire of the Baguio Benguet Bishop Carlito Cenzon.

The MCC brands the “marriages” they solemnize as “unions”, making it free from legal implications and protecting the interest of their church as well as their clients.

Cenzon branded Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) groups as mentally ill and called the same sex union officiated by LGBT pastors as a sham.

City councilors questioned MCC pastors on the validity and morality of the union, as well as moved to ban gay and lesbian weddings in the city. The councilors were worried these unions may tarnish the image of the city as a place of character and good morals.

Talks have also circulated Sotero would be declared persona non grata for the act. After June, however, the council became silent.

Councilor Ed Bilog said although resolutions have been forwarded to the City Legal Office, no action has been made, to date, stalling the investigation of the same sex unions.

Bilog said he has called for the investigation of the unions and is waiting for the legal go-signal of city legal officer Melchor Rabanes. But until then, there is a standstill.

Councilor Philan Weygan–Allan likewise filed a resolution supporting the bill of Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago and Ruffy Biazon amending the family code; defining natural-born male and female as parties to marriage.

Sotero said the hoopla made by opposition has also opened the eyes of the public to LGBT rights, and House Bill 1483 or the Anti-Discrimination Bill to rage against LGBT killings and equal opportunities for all.

Church, SoCot provincial government should respect the law

Commentary

    It is sad when you see elected government officials passing ordinances (South Cotabato Provincial Environmental Code) without giving any respect to existing laws (Philippine Mining Act of 1995) and to businesses that are in operation contributing to its local economy. Furthermore when they succumb to pressure of the Catholic church (in this case the diocese of Marbel) whose stand on numerous issues can be attributed as one of the causes of poverty that we have in the Philippines.
Called some bloggers from nearby areas and familiar with the political territory. From what I was told, the people are for it (including tribal councils) – believing companies like SMI and later on San Miguel Corporation (through its acquisition of Sultan Mining) will do its part to ensure the environment will remain sustainable as causing neglect will affect their reputation and projects globally. All this with the government and citizens being vigilant as well.
Their economic contribution can’t be just disregarded. In 2008, SMI put in 1.2 billion in the local economy (read the Tampakan Project Sustainability Report for 2009 on additional activities done.
However the Catholic Church is its main opposition. A lot of politicians give in to the church and communities sowed with fears on what could happen with their relocation.
This issue has to be resolved according to the merits of the law. The Catholic Church, I also hope will respect the law and have some sense of humanity by giving regard to the businesses that invested in the community and livelihood of the people in the areas they are in. INFLUENTAL BLOGGER, http://www.influentialblogger.net

Why Father Pops was killed

EDITORIAL

BY ROGER M. BALANZA
After the anger and the anguish, the tears and grief, the question is: Why was Father Pops killed?
Because he defended God and people and the environment.
Our editorial cartoon by rOgerB below is a morbid depiction of what happens to priests straying out of their vocation to minister to man’s earthly spirit, and then dabble with concerns of the heart and soul of man and nature, of rights trampled,  of terrorism and harassment, and of the tools of government that make hell out of man’s life in this earth.
Especially in Mindanao, conditions for priests to confront these critical issues facing man and nature are aplenty, and place in grave danger the lives of priests with the courage to  stand up to challenge those who persecute man and nature.
Why was Father Pops picking a fight outside of his primary calling to save souls?
Because today’s Church and its priests have adopted another calling, and that is fighting earthly evils that assault the dignity of the sons and daughters of God and the earth they live in.
We have seen priests fight tyrants with their liberation theology. Today we see them as fighters for social and environmental causes waging wars against big business grabbing ancestral domains, or  government forces harassing civilians or illegal loggers raping our forests  and against those who assault the dignity of man and nature in whatever evil form.
Father Pops was one of these modern-day priests whose priestly vocation is embedded with the religious credo that man’s road on earth must be paved with good intentions before they meet their Creator in heaven, with the mission to fight those who make hell out of the life on earth of the sons and daughters of God.

cartoon by rOgerB

WELCOME, FATHERS

    While alive, Father Pops, the priest, and Fausto Tentorio, the savior and defender, made his message loud and clear about this other vocation of priests to fight for man and nature.
In death, he made the message louder and clearer that the mission for God, man and nature, is a never ending battle, that others must pick up from where he stopped when a bullet shattered his life.
Many priests are going to respond to the call to defend God, man and nature; and many of them,like Father Pops, will die for the sake of God, man and nature, in the battle against the oppressors. ROGER M. BALANZA

MURDER OF FATHER TENTORIO WILL NOT STOP CHURCH FROM ITS MISSION

ARCH BISHOP QUEVEDO

The murder of Italian priest, Father Fausto Tentorio in North Cotabato will not silence church workers, Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo said. Quevedo called Tentorio a “martyr for justice and peace,” who advocated causes to create a better society. The 59-year-old priest Tentorio died after being shot inside the church compound by a lone gunman.

The 59-year-old priest Father Fausto Tentorio died after being shot inside the church compound by a lone gunman.

Father Tentorio was the parish priest of the Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish church in Arakan and heads the Diocese of Kidapawan’s Ministry for Indigenous Peoples. Quevedo denounced the death as “pure murder” and condemned it as a “crime that cries out to heaven.”

“If the perpetrators think that his murder would silence priests, religious sisters and brothers, and bishops from proclaiming the justice of God’s kingdom, they are wrong,” he said.

“I strongly appeal to the authorities to search for the perpetrators and bring to justice,” he added.

Tentorio is only the latest in a line of “martyrs” who were killed while doing their work. Among the other priests who were killed in Mindanao was Fr. Godofredo Alingal, the defender of rights of poor farmers, who was shot dead in 1981; Fr. Nery Lito Satur, who was deputized to arrest illegal loggers, who was killed in an ambush in October 1991; Fr. Tullio Favali, who was killed in 1985 and Fr. Salvatorre Carzedda, who was killed in 1992, supposedly by the Abu Sayyaf.

Other killed in the line of serving their faith were Bishop Benjamin de Jesus, who stood for inter-religious dialogue, who was shot by three men in 1997; Fr. Benjamin Inocencio who was shot behind Jolo Cathedral in December 1990 and Fr. Jesus Reynaldo Roda, who worked for quality education who was bludgeoned, hacked and shot in Tapawan in 2008.

Quevedo said he learned of Tentorio’s murder on his mobile phone in Bangkok, where he was attending a conference of Asian bishops.

“I cannot fathom the minds of people who would be so evil as to plot the killing of a justice and peace loving missionary like Father Fausto,” Quevedo wrote.

“His assassination creates profound sadness and brings tears to the people who know of his kindness as well as his courage in the face of hazards to his life,” he added.

Cotabato Auxiliary Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo called for prayers for Tentorio, the people of Arakan and for his family, “in the spirit of forgiveness.”

Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) provincial director Fr. Lauro de Guia said that Tentorio worked to help the indigenous peoples and poor farmers of Arakan Valley.

“To die in such a manner, we are saddened by the fact that there are sectors in our society who are against our work to help bring about peace in Mindanao,” De Guia said in the CBCP report. Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

PNP remains clueless on Italian priest’s killer

MIDSAYAP, North Cotabato, Oct. 18 (PNA) – The police in Arakan, North Cotabato continue to gather physical and statements relative to the brutal murder of an Italian missionary here Monday.

“We can only theorize as of the moment,” Senior Insp. Benjamin Rioflorido, Arakan police chief, said in a radio interview on the killing of Fr. Fausto Tentorio of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions in Arakan town, some 50 kilometers from here.

He said all they have gathered so far were theories and physical evidence like empty shells of 9-mm pistol used by the gunman.

Most of the locals who belonged to Manobo tribe of Arakan were convinced that Fr. Tentorio’s passion of protecting the interest of indigenous peoples against intruders could have earned the ire of interest groups that led to his killing.

Lieutenant Colonel Leopoldo Galon, Eastern Mindanao Command spokesperson, said the Army is helping the local police in gathering information leading to the identification and arrest of the two suspects.

“We are assisting the police, we have sent special forces,” Galon said in a phone interview.

Before Tantorio was killed, it appears he knew it was coming.

In one of his conversations with Fr. Peter Geremiah, another PIME priest, Fr. Tentorio, also known as Father Pops, talked about his casket.

Geremiah said Father Pops said if he dies his casket should be made of wood from the Mahogany tree he planted in the 1980s at the back of Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish compound.

Geremiah said the congregation agreed to have Father Pops’ casket made of the wood that he planted.

In the meantime, the remains of Father Pops were placed in a blue casket at the parish chapel. It will be transferred to the Bishops Palace in Kidapawan City Wednesday, according to Kidapawan Bishop Romulo dela Cruz.

The police continue its appeal to the people of Arakan, especially those whom Father Pops have served to come out and help identify the perpetrators.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) also issued condemnation, describing the killers of Fr. Pops as “barbaric, satanic.”

Mohammad Ameen, head of MILF secretariat, said the MILF adhered to international principles that “people of God” should not be harmed while performing advocacy that would benefit the welfare of the masses.

The military said they have information on the possible motive of the attack on Tentorio but will leave the matter to the police. (PNA)

FR. FAUSTO TENORIO prepared for his death

Picked tree for coffin, burial site

ARAKAN, North Cotabato—At the back of the convent where Fr. Fausto Tentorio was killed, a mahogany tree, at least 6 meters (20 feet) long, lies on the ground, the lower portion of its trunk cut in half.

Percinita Sanchez, executive director of Mindanao Interfaith Services Inc., still remembers a day in 2005 when Tentorio, fondly called “Father Pops,” had once called her and showed her proudly the three mahogany trees he planted  there.

“I planted those trees when I first arrived here,” Sanchez quoted Tentorio as telling her.  “When I die ahead of you, please use those trees for my coffin.”

Sanchez protested this morbid suggestion, but on Tuesday afternoon, hours after the priest was gunned down by a still unknown assassin right inside the church compound, just a few steps from the convent, she remembered what the priest had told her.

So one of the trees was cut down.

But Fr. Peter Geremia, parish priest of Columbio town in Sultan Kudarat and a fellow member of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, found that the fallen tree could not be used because it was still fresh.

So a coffin was purchased from Somo Funeral Homes to be used temporarily.

Later, when the fallen tree is dry enough and a coffin is crafted from it, the remains of the priest will be transferred there, as the priest had requested when he was still alive, Geremia said.

But it was not only the coffin that Tentorio mentioned.

Three years after he told this to Sanchez, while in an evaluation workshop in Bagtok sub village, Tentorio also pointed to a place nestled along the slope of Mt. Sinaka, where he said he wanted to be buried.

“Promise to bury me there?” Sanchez quoted the priest as saying in the local dialect.

“This is the second time you’re talking like this, Father Pops,” Sanchez protested.

Tentorio smiled and reminded her about the towering mahogany trees.

“But you’re not going to die, yet. You’re still strong,” Sanchez said.

“But I won’t die of sickness,” Father Pops said. “I’m going to die from bullets.”

Tentorio had maintained a training center in Bagtok, a sub village in Arakan’s Tumanding village. It’s also a place where the Lumad group Tikulpa he helped organize is currently based.

On the day that Father Pops was killed, Sanchez was supposed to meet him in Bagtok to discuss the setting up of a consortium that would strengthen a Lumad education program by including environmental concerns.

Father Pops did not make it to the meeting. He was gunned down while he was opening the door of his car and pupils in a school in front of the Mother of Perpetual Help church were saying their “Pledge to the Flag.” Germelina Lacorte, Inquirer Mindanao

Catholic Church rapped for ‘bogus’ signature campaign vs. Sagittarius Mines

BY ROGER M. BALANZA

In a recent meeting by the South Cotabato provincial tribal council, tribal chieftains from Tampakan, Tupi, Tboli, and Norala said the 100,000 anti-mining signatures purportedly gathered by the Catholic Church do not reflect the true sentiments of the communities within the proposed Tampakan mining area.
“These 100,000 signatories are not even from the project area; they do not own the land where the minerals area,” said Benito Blunto, municipal tribal chieftain of Tupi.
The tribal council gathered to meet with the province’s indigenous peoples (IP) youth council and IP women’s group to formulate a common stand supporting the proposed Tampakan Project. The group intends to meet again soon with the tribal cooperatives organization, tribal pastors’ group, and the tribal professionals’ organization in what they call as a “consolidation of forces.”
Danlag tribal chieftain Dalena Samling said that this consensus-gathering is an expression of their “self-determination.”
“The whole South Cotabato tribal community consisting of different tribes has one concern and that is sustainable development,” she said.
But Samling clarified that this is not a war of numbers or who can muster more warm bodies.
“The issue of the minority tribal groups pursuing self-determination cannot be solved by the numbers (of the majority),” Samling said.
Tboli municipal tribal chieftain Samuel Hauz said that his people do not want a repetition of history when they were driven to the hills by settlers.
“The hills have the minerals, the hills are under our ancestral domain rights, and we want to use our minerals to help improve our lives,” he declared.
He said that it is easy for them to support the Tampakan Project since it has brought scholarships, livelihood assistance, and employment to the tribal communities.
“We see no one else who can provide an alternative to these benefits,” Hauz said.

SMI EIS an eye-opener for South Cotabato government executivess

The newly-released Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) of the Tampakan Copper-Gold Project in South Cotabato is seen as an opportunity for the provincial government to seek a review of the environment code that bans open pit mining.

John Arnaldo, Corporate Communications Manager of Sagittarius Mines, Inc (SMI) which operates the project, said that the disclosure of the EIS “now provides the provincial government with the opportunity to review the Code with all the facts in the public arena.

He added that the disclosure of the EIS to its stakeholders “is part of the process in seeking the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) from government before SMI can fully start the Tampakan Project.”

Earlier, a group called SOCSKSARGEN Climate Action Now based at the Social Action Center of the Diocese of Marbel commented that SMI was continuing to do feasibility studies despite the ban on open pit mining in the region.

Arnaldo clarified, however, that the project has been developed in accordance with government’s regulatory requirements.

“SMI’s comprehensive technical studies, which have formed the basis of the EIS, are being disclosed to stakeholders and the public since June this year as part of the process of seeking environmental approvals from the government.SMI will continue to engage with all relevant stakeholders about the Environment Code in relation to the Tampakan Project,” he said.

A wide range of stakeholders have called for the review and removal of the proposed open pit prohibition, including the national government, the Regional Development Council XII, Regional Minerals Development Council XII, affected indigenous communities, municipal and barangay local government units, and even some members of the religious sector such as the influential Christian and Missionary Alliance Churches of the Philippines (CAMACOP) and some Catholic priests.

In previous interviews, some members of the South Cotabato Provincial Board have expressed their willingness to consider a review of the Code, citing petitions from local communities.

SMI officials say the EIS was a product of “extensive technical studies” led by international specialists in mining, environmental management and engineering. It has identified open-pit mining as the “safest and only feasible method of extraction,” given the location of the deposit and the geology of the region.

inTOPNEWS

PUBLISHED IN THE DURIAN POST NO.74, August 15-21, 2011

Guest column: My encounter with the Holy Infant Jesus

MY HIC STORY

 A TESTIMONY

By EDDIE T. EVANGELIO

My first encounter with the Holy Infant Community (HIC), officially registered as Communitas Sancti Infantis with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), goes back to the time when I came back to Nabunturan in 1991 from my almost four (4) years of stay in Metro Manila where I assisted the couple Mr. and Mrs. Alexander L. Bon in their banana and hog marketing business. I came back home to Nabunturan because my family doesn’t want to come with me to Metro Manila to set up our own business there of whatever. 

            Here in Nabunturan with my modest savings of a little more than Twenty Thousand Pesos (PhP20,000.00), I was lured into venturing in small scale gold mining at Sitio Nuknukan in Bukal, Nabunturan, Davao del Norte (now Compostela Valley). My savings went down the drain with not even a milligram of gold to show. My farm at P-2 Pangutusan then was not yet productive and I was out of work.

            My wife Fely mentioned of a Spiritual Instrument Myra _________ (now at Buringot) who happened to visit her at NNCHS (Nabunturan National Comprehensive High School) where my wife worked as Values and Guidance Coordinator. This Myra, then only fourteen (14) years of age, has gone into a long fasting of two hundred (200) days and she was then at NNCHS to invite Mrs. Teresita Juson to attend her graduation, the culmination of her 200 days of fasting. She mentioned that if you attend the weekly prayer meetings of the Holy Infant Community (HIC) at Mawab, Davao del Norte (now Compostela Valley) and you request the group to help you pray for your intentions, your intentions will be granted. So I asked my wife Fely to do so and pray that I’ll soon find a job. That’s how I landed being a General Manager of the Davao Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives (DAFEDACO). It was while holding that job that I finally became a regular auxiliary member of the Holy Infant Community (HIC) here in Nabunturan.

            The first time I attended a HIC activity was when the HIC group of Nabunturan went to have a picnic at Omandac Beach Resort at Mabini, Davao del Norte (now Compostela Valley). My wife asked me to join in so I took a day off from my office and went with the group. I maintained a comfortable distance from the prayer meeting held there with Spiritual Instrument Temia Libuit then in a trance as the Holy Infant. That evening back at Nabunturan, I attended for the first time a prayer meeting scheduled at Ms. Norma Descallar’s residence. Feeling very awkward and in order to avoid getting any attention since I was already late and the prayer meeting had already began, I entered through the kitchen door and joined the prayer meeting at the farthest end at the back so I don’t appear very visible. Much to my discomfort then when the Spiritual Instrument Temia Libuit in a trance said to Norma Descallar,”Why did you allow my enemy to enter?” I felt very small upon hearing this because I just came in and I felt alluded to. When Norma asked, “Who did I let in, Lord?” I tried to hide the more so I will not be seen. If only I could escape unnoticed, I have already done so. When the Lord said, “Ang kahigwaos, ang kasuya, ug ang kalagot sa nangulo ning HIC nga wala magpakita ug pagpakabana sa grupo samtang nangadto mo sa pagpangaligo ug pagsalusalo didto sa beach karong adlawa, nganong gitugutan mo man kini dinha kanimo? Tungod niini, pagasilotan ko ikaw.” I felt a rush of relief within me upon hearing this. But because of this, Norma will be punished. It was here that Mrs. Teresita “Terry” Juson intervened, “Instead of punishing Norma, Lord, let me be the one punished.” So the Lord faced her and she suddenly fell to the floor and rolled over. Terry let out a piercing scream of pain while rolling over and her face became so red. We were all terrified and prayed loudly to the Lord to have mercy and to stop the punishment. The Lord heeded our cry for mercy and immediately stopped the punishment. I was very shaken by what I have just witnessed. What have I gotten myself into?

            The next night my wife prodded me to again attend a prayer meeting, so I accompanied her to said prayer meeting. This time Fr. Reynaldo Moso was there and he justified and related this HIC movement as one of the answers in coping with the church’s growth. I heaved a sigh of relief that at least HIC is not a cult and here is a Catholic priest, well versed in Canon Law, who is at hand guiding us the faithful in this kind of apostolate. I was fortunate that the next time around that I attended a prayer meeting, Fr. Jose “Jong” Sison also attended and further enlightened us in the HIC apostolate. I was greatly reassured. I needed to be reassured then because HIC was and until now is not yet recognized by the Bishop of the Diocese of Tagum as an apostolate of the Catholic Church. At that time also I really felt ashamed of being known that I, supposedly enlightened and educated, would cater to this weird kind of apostolate still unrecognized by the Catholic Church.           

            Let us go back to my work at DAFEDACO. My job as DAFEDACO General Manager did not last long. After a year, I quitted the job because of a collection problem created by my staffs who without my knowledge were trying to make a sideline and earn extra income. I was again jobless, but not for long. My wife attended the house-to-house prayer meeting of the HIC here in Nabunturan and expressed her intention that I find a job once again. Soon enough I met the General Manager of MASS-SPECC Mr. Guillermo Cua and he asked me to head the branch office of the Mindanao Alliance of Self-Help Societies – Southern Philippines Educational Cooperative Center (MASS-SPECC) at Davao City. Once again I have a job: as a Branch Manager of MASS-SPECC, Davao City. It was also during my stint at MASS-SPECC that I got appointed as Board Member of DANECO (Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative) to serve the unexpired term of Dr. Luisito Mojica who opted to run again for Mayor of Nabunturan. I was doing well at MASS-SPECC while simultaneously serving as Board Member of DANECO until the term of Dr. Mojica expired. It was as Board Member of DANECO that I met a lot of hassle and a lot of problems thrown my way. The DANECO General Manager, Atty. Jose Amacio, has been mandated to retire and he has recommended Engr. Vicente Tiu to replace him while positioning himself as DANECO Consultant with a far bigger salary. I opted for Mr. Edgar Savellano to replace him as General Manager and also chose not to have any Consultant in order to save extra cost. Because of my stand, I got the ire of Atty. Jose Amacio, the General Manager, and considered me as a persona non grata. He rallied the rest of the members of the Board and I lost very badly on my stand. Engr. Vicente Tiu got the position of General Manager on the strength of eight (8) votes against three (3) by the members of the Board of Directors while Atty. Jose Amacio got the position of Consultant on the strength of ten (10) votes against my lone dissent. Fortunately after that, former Vice President Emmanuel Pelaez retired/resigned as Chairman of the National Electric Commission and Fr. ______ Silva, then a member of said Commission, was recommended to take over his place creating a vacancy in the membership of said Commission. Because of that and because Atty. Jose Amacio also expressed his interest, the Board, on the strength of my motion duly seconded and unanimously carried, highly recommended him to take the place of Fr. Silva as member of the Commission. But this motion did not prosper because Fr. Silva opted to stay as just a member of the Commission while the chairmanship of the Commission went to the Secretary of the Department of Energy. All these while and because of all these problems that I encountered as Board Member of DANECO, I involved myself more and more with the Holy Infant Community where I poured out all these problems. The Holy Infant Community became my solace and my sanctuary.

Other problems of DANECO came one after the other fast. We had DANECO registered with the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) as a stock cooperative. Until now this has not been fully resolved. The whole Board of DANECO then except Mr. Gilbert Rosit was charged in court by Atty. Jose Amacio for syndicated estafa. At that time the whole Board of Directors stood for DANECO as a stock cooperative duly registered with the Cooperative Development Authority. Atty. Jose Amacio also became the Consultant of the Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC) owned by Aboitiz who manifested very strongly of taking over the management of DANECO. Fortunately the syndicated estafa case did not prosper and soon after that Atty. Jose Amacio died thus closing the book to Aboitiz’s bid to take over DANECO’s management. Engr. Vicente Tiu also got into management trouble and not long after also died a broken man. Mr. Edgar Savellano, Nabunturan HIC President, took over as the General Manager of DANECO. His troubles with DANECO have just begun.

But before all of the above took place, however, I was no longer a Board Member of DANECO. My term has already expired and when I ran for election as DANECO Board Member, I lost by a mile. Then also while I was holding office at MASS-SPECC Davao City Branch, this American woman Lois Kitch came over for orientation re cooperative situation in Region XI. Ms. Lois Kitch happens to be the newly designated Director of the USAID-funded Credit Union Empowerment and Strengthening Program (CUES-Philippines), a new cooperative program for implementation in the whole of Region XI. I gave her not only a thorough briefing of the cooperative situation in Region XI but also insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the cooperatives within this part of the country. I must have impressed her because not long after that, she wanted me to apply as a Credit Management Analyst at CUES-Philippines. The salary and fringe benefits were very attractive so I sought counsel and permission from MASS-SPECC management who were just too happy to give their support to my moves. I was already employed at CUES-Philippines when the move to set up the Holy Infant Community in Davao City began. Because of the message of our Lord using Spiritual Instrument Mr. Rogelio Digamon telling me to relate and coordinate with Mrs. Jennifer “Bea” Lim for the setting up of HIC Davao City, I got involved. In spite of the hassles and problems besetting me at CUES-Philippines, I managed to attend the weekly prayer meetings conducted in different residences within Davao City. It came to a point where we were able to finally set up our HIC Prayer House at IWHA and I was elected as the first President of the Holy Infant Community at Davao City. On the other hand, the conditions of my work at CUES-Philippines took turn for the worse. It was not my work per se but the relationship among personnel of CUES-Philippines that had gotten worse. It was neither the physical type nor the verbal abuse, but rather the subtle competition and professional jealousy that had gotten off-hand. To the point that I could not take it anymore and I opted to resign from a high paying job on the pretext that I go into setting up my own business. I did really go into business after I resigned but they all went pfttt. My capital went down the drain, I was out of work, and I have to close my losing business. I resigned from my position as President of HIC Davao City and went back home to Nabunturan to seek for greener pasture and hope that things will turn out for the better. Presidency of HIC Davao City went to Mr. Boy Gentalian, Sales Manager of Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company based in Davao City.

Back here in Nabunturan, I applied for work as Community Affairs Officer (CAO) at the Provincial Government of Compostela Valley headed by Gov. Jose R. Caballero. On the strength of the recommendations of both Mr. Mesael Caballero and Mr. Harry Ebba, I was immediately taken in as Community Affairs Officer in the Community Affairs Development Section (CADS) headed by Fr. Fernando Juab who just took over the position vacated by Atty. Mario Sapilan. Atty. Sapilan, by the way, became the Prison Warden immediately after passing the BAR Examination.

I was like a turtle thrown into a river when I became a Community Affairs Officer. I was at home with my work and I was assigned in my own hometown of Nabunturan. While serving as Community Affairs Officer of the Provincial Government of Compostela Valley, I continued attending to the affairs of the HIC and supporting its activities. Even the controversial setting up of the Home for the Sick here at Nabunturan, I fully supported it to the point of being shunned by the other members of the Community.

During the election of 2001, I resigned as CAO and ran for Municipal Councilor of Nabunturan at the urging of Mr. Mesael Caballero who also ran for Mayor. Both of us lost very badly at said election. But I managed to have my son Kim be employed at the Provincial Government through Gov. Jose R. Caballero who got reelected. For one year after that I didn’t have a steady job so I spent my time tending to my farm at Pangutusan and also made known my occupation of our long abandoned timberland area at Upper Cabidianan, Nabunturan, Compostela Valley Province. There I have the timberland (already cogonal) area cleared and planted it with five hundred (500) coconuts. I also constructed a hut there for shelter. All these to no avail, however, because all the coconuts that I’ve planted were eaten away by rats and whatever remained were all burnt out by a big brushfire. Fortunately, the hut was spared from the brushfire through a quick response from our nearest neighbor Mr. Leonardo Emia and his wife.

After a year of being a farm boy, my brother Loyloy told me the Assumption College of Nabunturan (ACN) is eyeing me to be one of the College faculty members and that if interested, would I please see Sr. Clarita Villaflor, the ACN President? I did and for the next two years I served as ACN College faculty member. I still desired to continue with my teaching at the ACN after that but my new employment as Personnel Officer at Shinsung Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd., a Korean company, made it impossible for me to balance the two (2) jobs. So I have to resign from ACN and concentrate on my new job at Shinsung E & C Co., Ltd. Up to this time I’m still here with this company at its project site at Km. 92 Magsaysay, Nabunturan, Compostela Valley Province supposedly up to the end of this particular Shinsung project.

All these while, I just placed my fate in the hands of the Lord and actively involved myself in the HIC activities. From the time I lost in the 2001 election to my sorties in developing my two (2) farms, to my being a College instructor, and to my being a Personnel Officer at Shinsung E &C Co., Ltd., I consider these as the workings of God in me. Because of my involvement with the HIC which I consider my apostolate as a Roman Catholic faithful, I have developed a new outlook in life and a more vigorous attitude towards my faith. The HIC deepened my spirituality and strengthened further my relationship with God.

THIS IS MY TESTIMONY.